Category: hermeneutics

An Unhappy Marriage II: Stuck in the Middle with You

Posted in Answers in Genesis, Education, Evangelistic Atheism, hermeneuticsTagged , , , , , , , 1 Comment

“Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right, Here I am stuck in the middle with you.” — Stealers Wheels

We are all fools. One type of fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

“Answer a fool according to his folly.” Sometimes, you have to set aside your ultimate aims and simply meet people where they are. You can’t just point an atheist to a Bible verse. That’s like quoting your mother to your wife in an argument.

As I suggested in my previous post, we all have biases, prejudices, and presuppositions. In fact, it would be difficult to function in the world without them. Continue reading “An Unhappy Marriage II: Stuck in the Middle with You” →

An Unhappy Marriage I (or Atheists are from Mars and Young Earthers are from well Earth apparently)

Posted in Answers in Genesis, Bible, Christianity and Science, Education, Evolution, Genesis, hermeneutics, Ken Ham, Philosophy, Science, Sunday School, TeachingTagged , , , , 5 Comments

By entering into the discussion of origins and the Bible, I am not particularly interested in addressing those who are actively promoting Young Earth Creationism. Rather, my intended audience consists of those who want to consider these questions and are open to the possibility that other options presented by confessing Christians who are experts in their fields may be viable alternatives to the stark either/or position proferred by people like Ken Ham.

However, as one can imagine, venturing into this conversation sometimes involves attempting to “converse” with YE evangelists on one side and the evangelistic atheists that YECs fear on the other side. What neither of these “groups” realize is how similar they really are. They are in a symbiotic relationship with one another but it is an unhealthy relationship. While they feed off one antother, like parasites they suck the life out of the rest of us and out of the Christianity, Science, and Reason they claim to defend. Continue reading “An Unhappy Marriage I (or Atheists are from Mars and Young Earthers are from well Earth apparently)” →

Moses Strikes Out: Why was Moses not allowed into the Promised Land? (Exodus 17 & Numbers 20)

Posted in ANE, Bible, Biblical Theology, Commentaries, Gospel, hermeneutics, Sunday SchoolTagged , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

If Numbers 20 is read in isolation, God’s judgment that Moses not be allowed to enter the promised land seems disproportionate to Moses’s action of striking the rock in anger. Moses seems justified in being angry with Israelites and God’s response seems to be excessive and therefore unjust. Continue reading “Moses Strikes Out: Why was Moses not allowed into the Promised Land? (Exodus 17 & Numbers 20)” →

Mind the Gap I: Diagnosing Split-Brain Syndrome in Young Adults (and the rest of us)

Posted in Bible, Christianity and Science, Education, Evolution, hermeneutics, Philosophy, Science, TeachingTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

Many Christians seem to suffer from what I am calling “Split-Brain Syndrome”. That is, many Christians seem to switch unwittingly between a Science Brain and a Church Brain. This psychological problem is nurtured by a culture that divides the public and private spheres and is reinforced by a popular polemics that are framed by the conflict models of religion vs. science, faith vs. reason, religion vs. secular, Ham vs. Dawkins, etc. As my own story will demonstrate, this “double-mindedness” is not peculiar to Christians.

Though not a Christian at the time, in my youth, I experienced this split-brain syndrome. Continue reading “Mind the Gap I: Diagnosing Split-Brain Syndrome in Young Adults (and the rest of us)” →

How To Teach Genesis One in 30 Minutes

Posted in ANE, Answers in Genesis, Bible, Biblical Theology, Education, Evolution, hermeneutics, Ken Ham, Sunday School, TeachingTagged , , , , , , , , , , , 5 Comments

Having spent many words critiquing Ken Ham and AiG’s approach to this discussion, it is about time that I offered an alternative constructive approach to teaching Genesis 1. Continue reading “How To Teach Genesis One in 30 Minutes” →

Review: Interpreting Biblical Literature by Michael R. Cosby (Stony Run Publishing, 2009)

Posted in ANE, Bible, Commentaries, Education, hermeneutics, TeachingTagged , , , , , , , , 4 Comments

Interpreting Biblical Literature: An Introduction to Biblical Studies by Michael R. Cosby (Stony Run Publishing, 2009)

As I prepared to teach a section of Baylor’s Christian Scriptures course, I spent a day or two examining the available introductory textbooks. While it is not a survey course, Baylor’s Christian Scriptures course does cover both Testaments in a single semester. In a survey course, I would feel more compelled to say something about every book of the Bible. Such courses often leave little room for actually modeling and teaching exegetical (or interpretive) practices. Continue reading “Review: Interpreting Biblical Literature by Michael R. Cosby (Stony Run Publishing, 2009)” →

How To Read REVELATION For All Its Worth

Posted in Bible, Commentaries, Education, hermeneutics, TeachingTagged , , , , , , 3 Comments

As I write this post, in my Sunday School class, we will be finishing up our study of the The Book of Revelation. Without question, for the modern reader this book is one of the most difficult books for us to comprehend. So, below, I have compiled a list of good books that will help you read Revelation well beginning with its historical context. I list them in order of their relative difficulty. They are all linked to Amazon. So, you can read the descriptions and reviews there. Continue reading “How To Read REVELATION For All Its Worth” →

Why [my friend] is Not Teaching This Year…and the Heresy of Ken Ham

Posted in ANE, Answers in Genesis, Biblical Theology, Christianity and Science, Education, hermeneutics, Ken Ham, TeachingTagged , , , , , , , , 7 Comments

This post will be my last post on Ken Ham for at least a week. I promise. I may still tweet one-liners, though. @panth_ian

Many of the posts on #POPChrist and on my friend Joel’s blog ‘resurrecting orthodoxy’ have been about Ken Ham and the teachings of AiG. Below, there is a link to Joel’s initial post on this topic called “Why I am Not Teaching This Year” and will give you (my wonderful readers) a better understanding of why Ham is on our minds at the moment. Continue reading “Why [my friend] is Not Teaching This Year…and the Heresy of Ken Ham” →

Why Ham is Really Bacon, Or Irony and the Evolution of AiG’s Enlightenment Worldview

Posted in Christianity and Science, Education, hermeneuticsTagged , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Life is filled with irony. The regular tweets and articles posted by Ken Ham and AiG are like daily receiving a box of chocolates. You have already tasted one. Should you open the box and have just one more?

In recent tweets, he has delighted me with the following tasty tidbits:

@aigkenham When a well-known Bible teacher visited the Creation Museum, he told me that the museum “exceeded his expectations.”

@panth_ian Yes, Ken, if I ever visit, I expect it will exceend mine as well. #howlowcanyougo Continue reading “Why Ham is Really Bacon, Or Irony and the Evolution of AiG’s Enlightenment Worldview” →

Why Seven Days? Heavenly Bodies, Ancient Gods, and 24 Hour Tangents

Posted in ANE, Biblical Theology, Christianity and Science, hermeneuticsTagged , , , , , , , , , , 5 Comments

The number 7 plays a significant structural role in both the writings and practices of ancient Israel. Is there something ontologically significant about the number? Is the number 7 something like the c in e=mc2? Maybe, I don’t know. Ask a physicist.

(I am sure somebody somewhere has written a book with the spurious claim that the number 7 is the key to unlocking the universe and used the Jewish and Christian Scripture to “prove” it.)

Why is the number 7 significant? Why do we have a 7 day week? Continue reading “Why Seven Days? Heavenly Bodies, Ancient Gods, and 24 Hour Tangents” →