Gary Shogren's Blog
May I express two opinions: ONE: I am not a hard “cessationist”, that is, there is not a single Bible verse that says the gift of prophecy ended with the apostles. Not Hebrews 2:4. Not 1 Corinthians 13:8-12. Certainly not Revelation 22:18-19. If cessationism is not explicitly taught in Scripture, I have no right to... 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. This chapter is by Tod, who reports that, "Personally, the most difficult article I have written." “It was the best of... Continue Reading →
Make sure you check out other postings in this series!Chapter 1 "Am I in a CULT?" - Chapter 3 Welcome to Post #2 in our series on “Logic.” We are uncovering wrong ways of thinking, that is, fallacious logic. A fallacy is: You try to show that X is true; what you are trying to... Continue Reading →
A paper read at the 2012 Conference of the Evangelical Theological Society, and published in JETS 63.4 (2020): 703–20. Click here for the full pdf copy. jets_63.4_703-20_shogrenDownload WERE THE THESSALONIANS “MEDDLING IN DIVINE MATTERS”? A REREADING OF 2 THESSALONIANS 3:11 Second Thessalonians 3:11 contains a play on words: some Thessalonians were not “working” (from ἐργάζομαι/ergazomai)... Continue Reading →
For the first time in our blog’s 11-year history, we will feature an occasional series 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 notified when new Testing 4 Truth posts come... Continue Reading →
When we celebrate Communion, we usually read from 1 Corinthians 11. That’s a right practice, but another layer of studying the Bible is to ask, Why did Paul bring this up, here, in this letter? It wasn’t to teach them the ritual, because they had been celebrating communion for years. So, why now? Paul tells... Continue Reading →
Sermon given to Sovereign Grace Fellowship, Boscawen, NH, on June 7, 2020 Our text is 1 Cor 13:8-13 NLT; Paul emphasizes what we have now and what we will have them - Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! Now our knowledge is partial and... Continue Reading →
If I remember 8th-grade math correctly, and if I am hearing some of my fellow evangelicals clearly, either they or I have transgressed a basic principle of math. I’m pretty sure they are the ones who goofed about a basic issue, our worldview. What I mean is that, as a people, we are a priori... Continue Reading →
There is a whole genre of exposé literature, interviews, videos that follow this familiar formula: “I am an ex-[whatever] and I am going to reveal the shocking inside secrets.” Ex-Communist. Ex-Janitor at Area 51. Ex-Catholic priest (Charles Chiniquy, Fifty Years in the Church of Rome, 1885). Ex Guy-who-sprayed-chemtrails-from-my-jet (see below). Ex-Jesuit (Jack Chick's man, "Alberto,"... Continue Reading →
Open Our Eyes, Lord! 