Tag: bible

Genesis 3: When is a Snake not merely a Snake?

Posted in ANE, Bible, Biblical Theology, Education, Genesis, Philosophy, PoliticsTagged , , , , , , , , , , , 3 Comments

While I highly recommend Michael Cosby’s Intepreting Biblical Literature (see my post on this textbook), I have yet to read a textbook where I agree with everything in it. In his chapter on the Primeval History or Genesis 1-11, Cosby writes the following, “The talking snake in Genesis 3:1-5 is merely that — a snake.”

So, when we get to this moment in a classroom setting, I usually put this quote on the screen followed by the question in my title:

When is a snake not just a snake?  Continue reading “Genesis 3: When is a Snake not merely a Snake?” →

Genesis 3: What is the man doing? or Adam discovers the scientific method.

Posted in Bible, Biblical Theology, Church Fathers, Commentaries, Education, Genesis, Gospel, Jewish/Christian DialogueTagged , , , , , , , , , , , 3 Comments

“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” (Genesis 3:6)

After a series of close-ups involving the serpent and the woman, the camera pans back and reveals that her husband has been present all along. So, what was he doing? Why did he not intervene? Why did he not answer the serpent or better send it scurrying for speaking inappropriately to his wife, the queen of Eden? Continue reading “Genesis 3: What is the man doing? or Adam discovers the scientific method.” →

Ken Ham on Homo Naledi: See No Evidence, Hear No Evidence, Speak No Truth

Posted in Answers in Genesis, Bible, Christianity and Science, Education, Evolution, PhilosophyTagged , , , , , , , , , , 9 Comments

Today’s Reading: Psalm 115 & Jeremiah 7:4

Having read the post on Naturalis Historia about the release of information on H. naledi, I knew it would not be long before Ken Ham and Answers in Genesis (AiG) voiced their collective judgment on the finding. Moreover, I knew what that judgment would be in advance. I am prescient that way. For Ham and AiG, This discovery would change nothing.

So, I was not surprised when Ken Ham released a tweet and a link to an “article” responding to this release of information about H. Naledi. Continue reading “Ken Ham on Homo Naledi: See No Evidence, Hear No Evidence, Speak No Truth” →

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

Posted in Bible, Christianity and Science, Education, EvolutionTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

In my previous post “Diagnosing the Split-Brain Syndrome“, I focussed on my own experience growing up switching between absolute credulity and scientific rigour (at least a little more rigour than the average teenager). The most bizarre thing to me is that it did not seem to phase me or those around me. I could be talking about the latest discoveries in shark behaviour in one instant and recounting the latest alien abduction story in the next. No one ever questioned me about the incongruity. Indeed, if anything, people were more interested in the latter than the former.

It will surprise many non-Christians that for me the healing began shortly after my conversion to Christianity in my first year of university. While it began with a desire to understand the Scriptures better, the real healing began when I attended Regent College for Graduate School. Continue reading “Mind the Gap II: Healing the Split-Brain Syndrome in Young Adults (and the rest of us)” →

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)” →

Have Sex and Eat: The First Two Commands in Scripture

Posted in ANE, Bible, Biblical Theology, EducationTagged , , , , , , , , , , , 3 Comments

If I were to ask you to tell me the first commandment God gives in the Bible, I suspect many, if not most, of you would think of “Do not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.” We tend to think of the LORD’s commandments as a list of “Do nots” but the “don’t”s are always given in the context of the “do”s. In a sense, by focusing on the “do not”s, we have already accepted the premise of the Serpent’s question. Implicitly, the Serpent suggests, “Isn’t the LORD rather stingy and withholding?”. Continue reading “Have Sex and Eat: The First Two Commands in Scripture” →

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)” →

Damn Right I’ve Got The Gospel

Posted in Bible, Blues, Education, Gospel, Music, Rock and RollTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

Sometimes, the good news is found in unexpectd places. In my own life, I first learned of redemption from the final scenes of Return of the Jedi. But when I was dragged to a church, I was told that God was nothing like the force in Star Wars. Too bad, the force is way cool (Or, epic, as my kids now say). I learned about the nature of sin and the propensity of human beings to cross the boundaries that God has set for us from Stephen King’s Pet Semetary. King’s books were forbidden in my home. So, of course, I got them from my sister. Continue reading “Damn Right I’ve Got The Gospel” →

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” →