Gary Shogren's Blog
Chapter Seven – I teach in seminary I’ve now been a professor, teaching in English and then in Spanish, for over 30 years. The first seminary where I taught put us through a sort of Professor Boot Camp. Our academic dean stressed: “Your students will remember only a portion of the content you teach; they... Continue Reading →
From my ministry in Central America, I understand how names change from language to language: the English form of my name “Gary Shogren” is difficult for the Spanish-speaker – the “a” and the “e” don’t have exact counterparts in Spanish; nor does “sh”. I say my name one way if I’m speaking English and another... Continue Reading →
Link - How to calculate when Jesus will come - without even being a prophet! In my first days as a Christian, they filled me in that the Soviet Union was predicted in Ezekiel 38-39 and that Russia and the Warsaw Pact countries would attack Israel at any time. Hal Lindsey’s The Late Great Planet Earth... Continue Reading →
Chapter Five – I start to teach others For two years I had been taking in the Bible and growing in prayer and evangelism. I served a summer as a camp counselor at Camp Pine Ridge in Rumney, New Hampshire. The older counselors were students at Bible college, and they told me that the New... Continue Reading →
Since I just published an article on chronic sin (CLICK HERE), I thought I'd follow it up with another about the Wretched Man passage of Romans 7:14-25. It took me about eight years of back-and-forth to write. My conclusion may surprise you. Shogren Romans 7 Originally published in Evangelical Quarterly 72/2 (April, 2000): 119-134.
What exactly is a father supposed to do? Ask a dozen people and you’ll get two dozen answers. As a Christian, I believe that God wants me to walk a certain path that the rest of the world doesn’t follow, and that includes how I should live as a father (or a husband, or teacher,... Continue Reading →
Part of my traditional New England upbringing was to learn to maintain boundaries between private issues, family matters, and public information. When I asked my parents what they were talking about, at times I heard, “Well, it doesn’t concern you.” Nothing gruff, like “it’s none of your business,” no “you wouldn’t understand.” Just, “if you needed to... Continue Reading →
"When you're deciding which commentary to add to your library, what are the most important things to consider?" So asked Logos Bible Software on Facebook? To summarize my response: 1. Careful attention to the text, not an "agenda" (I see too many famous "exegetes" who merely reiterate what they already "know to be true"). I'm... Continue Reading →
A reader writes in: What really was Jesus’ name? Wasn’t it Yeshua? Is it an insult to him if we do not use his "real name" with the ancient pronunciation? Do we lose out on salvation if we call upon the wrong name? First, it is highly probably that his given name was Yeshua, a Hebrew and also... Continue Reading →
Should a preacher refer to Hebrew or Greek from the pulpit? In all but a few instances, emphatically not, see “But the Greek REALLY says…” Why Hebrew and Greek are not needed in the pulpit, Part 1 The study of original languages, like all study of technical background, is to inform the preacher, not to impress the... Continue Reading →
Open Our Eyes, Lord! 