Gary Shogren's Blog
By Gary Shogren, Seminario ESEPA, San José, Costa Rica The Bible does not tell us to refrain from correcting our elders; this is a misunderstanding that arises from 1 Tim 5:1 KJV, “rebuke not an elder”. We should understand that there is more harshness implicit in “rebuke”; the NIV for example says “Do not... Continue Reading →
The Twelve learned to pray by asking, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples” (Luke 11:1 NIV). For that they received the Lord’s Prayer, which functions as Jesus intended, whether used as a model or prayed verbatim. In general the North American church fails to teach its people to pray. For... Continue Reading →
By Gary Shogren, Seminario ESEPA, San José, Costa Rica On Monday Feb 22, 2010, I took part in a public debate with D. A. Hayyim, the editor of the Código Real, a paraphrase of the New Testament from the perspective of Talmudic Judaism. The Spanish transcript of the debate may now be found in my... Continue Reading →
By Gary Shogren, Seminario ESEPA, San José, Costa Rica Much of my formative ministry experience took place at a summer Bible Conference in New Hampshire. What I would see was a famous preacher speaking to a crowd of 500 people every morning and night, wowing them with his expositions. In fact, it was sitting in one session... Continue Reading →
By Gary Shogren, Seminario ESEPA, San José, Costa Rica Some thoughts I wrote on another wordpress.com blog, which I reproduce with respect to the blogger: Greek study is a science. As with any science, it's not possible to scan the web and read various articles and then make a truly informed decision. There are good... Continue Reading →
In 1 Thess 5:2 Paul speaks of the Day of the Lord, concerning which no-one knows the time. Later in 2 Thess 2:2 he speaks of the Day of the Lord and then says that it cannot be at hand since the great Apostasy and the Man of Lawlessness have not yet appeared. Let us... Continue Reading →
Most Christian scholars use what is called the Critical Edition of the Greek New Testament, and almost all modern versions are based upon it. There are several camps that prefer other editions, the Textus receptus or the Majority Text. Some do so because of a belief that it better represents the original; I think they... Continue Reading →
By Gary Shogren, Seminario ESEPA, San José, Costa Rica I have no sympathy with those who eliminate the hard teachings of the Bible. A Christian has made a prior commitment to follow Jesus and to speak and act as Jesus would. I have little sympathy with those who affirm right and left that they stand true... Continue Reading →
By Gary Shogren, Seminario ESEPA, San José, Costa Rica The reader should go through John 10:22-31, 10:39-11:46, 12:1-2 The story of Jonah is real and historical, I believe, but its main character is not a big fish. The passage about crossing the Red Sea is not a story about sea travel. Likewise, the account about... Continue Reading →
The following was published as "The Wicked will not Inherit the Kingdom of God”: a Pauline Warning and the Hermeneutics of Liberation Theology and of Brian McLaren in Trinity Journal 31NS (2010) Abstract: Emergent spokesman Brian McLaren promotes a view of the kingdom of God that draws near to and often merges with Liberation Theology. An examination... Continue Reading →
Open Our Eyes, Lord! 