Gary Shogren's Blog
I was just reading 1 Samuel, and got to this passage: Saul and his servant were searching for two donkeys from his father’s herd and could not seem to locate them. Saul thinks they had better head home: But [the servant] said to [Saul], “Behold, there is a man of God in this city, and... Continue Reading →
It was the end of November when Elizabeth II gave a speech on the anniversary of her accession as Queen. At the outset she stated that the year had been an Annus horribilis, a dreadful year. The marriages of three of her children ended in divorce. Windsor Castle had a huge fire. This was years... Continue Reading →
I just visited our seminary in Costa Rica and gave an address on "Christian Leaders and LifelongLearning." I suggested that "reading" was one of the best tools for building up brain power. And that reading broadly, including books we disagree with, will help rescue us from our social media echo chambers. Just on the level... Continue Reading →
The answer of course is False. In fact, you might look around inside a cult group and see your neighbors who look absolutely normal and fit into their neighborhood and sing recognizable songs and still be in a cult. Let's break things down into groups: A - Doctrinal Error. They stray from historic Christian teaching.... Continue Reading →
I love books, and use the Goodreads app because it enables me to log what I have read. I project that mid-year 2022 I will have read 2500 books, although I’m sure I have forgotten some hundreds. Beginning in Christmas break 2015 I decided to join their Reading Challenge for 2016. I have been doing... Continue Reading →
Now that I am back in the US, I joined the local Planet Fitness. And as I did the reclining bike for the first time, two news stations were on the TV monitors in front of me. And was I ever shocked by what I saw! Shocked enough that I moved over 3 bikes to... Continue Reading →
For the first time ever in our blog’s 10-year history, we feature a series co-written by me, Gary Shogren; and our long-time friend, Tod Hannigan. Tod will do the heavy lifting on the philosophical end. Sign up for this blog if you want to get announcements when they come out, and we will keep a... Continue Reading →
I was fresh out of university when the editors of the Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary asked me to write the article on election. My starting point is exegesis of texts, not systematic theology. You can read the original article in volume 2:441–444; the following is slightly paraphrased. The nature of this article is a panoramic... Continue Reading →
I will share my conclusion up front: of course we do! And if we are able to settle that, the main issue now becomes one of logistics, not of theology. First some background. Churches are offering online worship services: Bible studies; small groups. A Mennonite church in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, is offering drive-through prayer: the... Continue Reading →
As someone who does an average of 50%+ of his work from his own office, being obligated to stay at home or work full-time from home is not a chore. However, I do appreciate that many will find it boring and bewildering, and for some, it will lead to emotional turmoil or even depression or... Continue Reading →
Open Our Eyes, Lord! 