Gary Shogren's Blog
This is how false teaching arrives: A man with a white lab coat and rubber mallet in his pocket protector arrives in order to “heal you.” And just think, you didn’t even know you were sick! Still, after hmms and haws, he pull a bottle of medicine from a pocket, holds your nose and chucks... Continue Reading →
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 →
A few weeks ago, a young Christian friend of mine turned 13. His mom asked some of us to write out words of counsel for him. Here are things I wish someone had told me at age 13, given in no particular order and no with aim to be comprehensive: At this stage, your brain is keyed... Continue Reading →
May Christians create holidays? The Bible gives us precedent to say Yes. First, God’s people have always celebrated holidays that are not mandated in the Bible. To name three, the feast of Purim was established in the 400s BC, when Esther and Mordecai saved the Jews from slaughter. The name Purim is the Hebrew form... Continue Reading →
When I open the Bible and see things that seem too harsh or too merciful, too strict or too easy, counterintuitive or surprising or even shocking, then I dare to hope that the Spirit is about to lead me away from my truths to a deeper grasp of his Truth.
Please read Part I before starting Part II; click HERE Chapter Three – My Sojourn in Pentecostalism Until I turned 14, the only charismatic person I knew anything about was JFK. Since then I have been charismatic (one year, give or take); then post-charismatic; anti-charismatic; teacher of charismatics; bridge-builder with charismatics; regular spokesman against neo-Pentecostals... Continue Reading →
In September 1972, I picked up a Bible, opened it and began to read it for myself. To be sure, I had grown up in a Bible-believing Baptist church. I went to Sunday School, memorized Bible verses, could recite the books of the Bible. I knew what Revelation was about and the basic plot of... Continue Reading →
Who dares to issue demands to God? Who dares command God to do a miracle? Not I, mister, I know my place: God is my King: he gives orders, I’m supposed to follow them. And God is my Father: when I need something, even a miracle, I ask him for help, sometimes over and over... Continue Reading →
Addendum from August 2020. In recent weeks (July, August 2020) some churches have decided to disobey the government's ban on large gatherings. In a fraction of these cases, their leaders assert that they are casting off government oppression. One California megachurch has reopened, without mandatory social distancing or face-masks and with congregational singing. They have... Continue Reading →
In October 2009, someone sent an email among us professors of ESEPA Bible College and Seminary in Costa Rica to ask, had anyone heard of a Hebrew-Spanish New Testament known as the “Código Real” (the “Royal Code of Laws”; not to be confused with the Hebrew Roots Bible or the Hebraic New Testament)? He said... Continue Reading →
Open Our Eyes, Lord! 