Picking Your Successor? - by J.V. Fesko

Found here. Our comments in bold.
------------------------

All of these described pitfalls are a product of the unbiblical CEO pastor leadership model. The pastor is the boss, the manager, the H.R. person, the window cleaner, and the snow shoveler. For too many churches, he's the guy who gets paid to do things so that the congregants don't have to. Everyone else will show up on Sundays, listen attentively to his sermon, write their tithe check, and go home. That's all that's expected of them, and that's exactly what they expect of church.

However, biblical church leadership is a team of spiritually mature men: 

1Pe. 5:1-2 To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow-elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers...

It is the duty of this church leadership team of elders to train their congregants, not only for ministry, but indeed as their replacements. 

It is leadership malpractice to be a singular pastor over a church and not work toward maturing the flock and not equipping them for eventual leadership.

So the author wrestles with the problem singular leadership creates. The CEO pastor, happily perched on his pedestal, seems to have no motivation to train and raise up people into maturity of faith and ministry, in violation of 

Ep. 4:11-13 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fulness of Christ.

Lastly, there isn't a single Bible verse quoted or even mentioned. Not one word. We must deem this Bad Bible teaching.

-----------------------

Does God Punish Us for Our Parents’ Sin? - by Aaron Garriott

Found here. Our comments in bold.
---------------------------------

The author doesn't really answer the question, attributing the troubles of subsequent generations to "indirect" punishment. So in some manner, one might conclude that God does punish children for their father's sin.

The author doesn't like this answer, except when punishment comes from Adam's sin. He's ok with us being "directly" punished for someone else's sin if that someone is Adam.

In addition, the author's biblical documentation disappears at the key moment when it's time to answer the question. After liberally quoting the Bible at the beginning, we look in vain for any Bible verse in the article that bolsters the author's case.

We must deem this Bad Bible Teaching.

--------------------------------

Why Don’t Our Sermons Change People? - by Alistair Chalmers

Found here. Our comments in bold.
-------------------------

We have reviewed several of the author's teachings and found them lacking. But credit given where credit is due. The author provides a good teaching here, contrary to one we evaluated previously. 

There is a glaring exception, however. The author does not explain the crucial element of the Holy Spirit's work through the preaching. It takes the author over 850 words of this 1300 word essay to get to the true transformative agent of men's souls, but he never discusses this element.

But on the whole, a good article.

------------------------

4 Things We Added to the Bible - by ChrisB

Found here. Some interesting information.
------------------------------

I'm a nerd. Always have been, always will be. After college my nerdiness shifted some of its focus from science and science fiction to the scriptures. Yep, you can nerd out on the Bible. I haven't learned any esoteric secrets, but lately I've come to realize that a lot of what's rattling around in my head isn't exactly common knowledge, either, so we're going to start a series we'll call Bible 101. Some of the facts I'll share may only be interesting; others may have apologetic value or help us interpret the scriptures. Let's dive in by looking at things in our Bible that aren't actually in the inspired text.

Chapters

There's a more complicated history, but the chapter divisions we use now were developed in the 1200s by Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury. A tradition says he was reading as he rode on a mule, and whenever the mule stopped, he would mark a chapter division. And some of them feel that random, such as when the seventh day of the creation account gets bumped to chapter 2.

Chapter numbers allow us to say "Psalm 23" instead of "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want" to refer to that psalm. But the downside is we tend to think of them as hard breaks in thought when they usually are not. We often start reading one chapter without thinking about what came before. John 14 flows out of John 13. Romans 8 is a response to Romans 7. We rarely read Romans through in one sitting, much less John, so my practice has become, wherever I left my bookmark, I back up and read the last paragraph before proceeding. This helps maintain a sense of the logical flow of the text.

What’s so spiritual about spiritual gifts? It's not what you think - by Michael Jensen

Found here. Our comments in bold.
-------------------------

This seems to be a discussion of nurture vs. nature. Are people born naturally talented (and by analogy, specially gifted by God), or are the environment, dedication to the craft, and training more important (or by analogy, service to the church that comes by self-improvement)? The author wants to apply this to the spiritual gifts.

He believes that giftedness is acquired, not bestowed, in the same manner as physical or intellectual skills are developed. He provides no biblical reason for this, since he quotes only five words of Scripture.

We must deem this Bad Bible Teaching.

-------------------------

Guide to the Kings and Prophets of Israel and Judah [Chart] - by Jacob Edson

Found here. An interesting article.

----------------------------

Some years ago, a Bible Gateway-associated blogger named Craig T. Owens created a detailed chart of all of the kings and prophets of the united and divided kingdoms of Judah and Israel mentioned in the books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles. It’s remained one of our most popular posts ever since.

It’s easy to see why. When I was researching my article on chronological ordering of the Bible, navigating the timeline of these books was by far the most complicated part. (You’ll notice, if you review that post, that I decided to simplify the task: while I did put the books and prophets in chronological order, I grouped them by United Kingdom, Divided Kingdom, and Exile rather than match them up verse-for-verse.)

Owens did the work, though, breaking down the complete timeline into incredible detail. Here’s what he had to say about it:

One challenging point in history is the divided kingdoms of Israel (the 10 northern tribes) and Judah (the 2 southern tribes). What makes it challenging when reading straight through the Bible [in chronological order] is that the history is covered in 1 and 2 Kings and then again in 1 and 2 Chronicles. In the midst of these kingdoms, several prophets are sent by God. Some of these prophets only have their words recorded in Kings or Chronicles, while others have their words recorded elsewhere in the Bible (usually the book name is the prophet’s name).

In trying to keep all of these people and messages clear in my mind, I have put together a list of all the kings and prophets during the period of the divided kingdom (roughly 931-586 BC).

In honor of the seventh anniversary of the completed form of Owens’ chart, I decided to republish it and break it down into a heavily expanded text format as another way to digest the information.

First, I’ll share the chart again, which packs a ton of information into a super-compact graphic. Then I’ll go through and expand on some of the information, and provide links to the relevant passages. 

Note that all dates are approximate and contested due to the lack of a consistent calendar during this time (as throughout the ancient world).

First, the chart itself:

 

Got all that? Now, let’s dig in.

The United Kingdom, ca. 1050-930 BC

This was the “golden age” of the Israelite’s presence in the holy land throughout the Old Testament. It began with Saul establishing his kingdom after being anointed by the prophet Samuel, progressed through his army captain David’s ascension to the throne (also with Samuel’s blessing), and then through David’s son Solomon’s inheritance and consolidation of the kingdom.

Saul (r. 1050-1010) Prophet: Samuel

 
Scripture: 1 Samuel 8-31, 1 Chronicles 9-10
Summary: Marked by early divine favor and public support, Saul later fell into offering pagan sacrifices and failure to uphold God’s commands, leading God to turn his favor away from Saul’s line and toward Saul’s captain, David.

David (r. 1010-970) Prophets: Samuel and Nathan

 
Scripture: 1 Sam 16-31, 2 Sam 1-24, 1 Kings 1-2, 1 Chron 11-29
Associated works: David is listed as the author of 73 of the Psalms, and probably wrote more.
Summary: Religiously devout and militarily successful, David enjoyed God’s favor throughout most of his life (with the clear exception of his actions toward Bathsheba and Uriah). His conquests established Israel’s empire as a unified power across the region. It was David’s wish to build God’s temple, but God denied him on account of the blood he had spilled.

Solomon (r. 970-930) Prophet: Nathan

 
Scripture: 1 Kings 1-11, 2 Chron 1-9
Associated works: Solomon is credited with the books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song bearing his name, as well as 2 (and possibly more) of the Psalms.
Summary: Famously wise and devoted — it was he who built the temple in Jerusalem, among many other great buildings — Solomon nevertheless besmirched his name through marriages to pagan women and sacrifices to their deities. Because of this, at the end of his reign, God saw fit to divide the kingdom.

 
The Divided Kingdom, ca. 931-586 BC

Before Solomon’s death, his servant Jeroboam rebelled. Though the rebellion itself was a failure, Jeroboam returned after Solomon’s death, when Solomon’s son Rehoboam reigned, and laid claim to the northern kingdom of Israel. The smaller southern kingdom of Judah (which included Jerusalem) remained under Rehoboam. So began the period of the divided kingdom.
Kingdom of Judah (Southern Kingdom)

Rehoboam (r. 931-913) Claim: Son of Solomon

 
Prophet: Shemaiah
Scripture: 1 Kings 12 & 14, 2 Chron 10-12
Notable for: Dividing the kingdom
Evil or good? Evil (he “did what was evil in the sight of the Lord”)

Abijah (r. 913-911) Claim: Son of Rehoboam

Prophet: Shemaiah
Scripture: 1 Kings 15, 2 Chron 13
Notable for: War with Jeroboam I
Evil or good? Evil (he “committed all the sins that his father did before him”)

Asa (r. 911-870) Claim: Son of Abijah

 
Prophet: Shemaiah and Hanani
Scripture: 1 Kings 15, 2 Chron 14-16
Notable for: Being a good and devout king
Evil or good? Good (he “did what was right in the sight of the Lord”)

Jehoshaphat (r. 870-848) Claim: Son of Asa

 
Prophet: Micaiah
Scripture: 1 Kings 22, 2 Chron 17-20
Notable for: Making peace with Israel
Evil or good? Good

Jehoram (r. 848-841) Claim: Son of Jehoshaphat

Prophet: None
Scripture: 2 Kings 8, 2 Chron 21
Notable for: Marries the daughter of Ahab of Israel, bringing their idolatry to Judah and drawing plague upon them
Evil or good? Evil

Ahaziah (r. 841)

 
Claim: Son of Jehoram
Prophet: None
Scripture: 2 Kings 8-9, 2 Chron 22
Notable for: Idolatry, and ruling less than a year
Evil or good? Evil

Athaliah (r. 841-835) Claim: Mother of Ahaziah

Prophet: None
Scripture: 2 Kings 11, 2 Chron 22-23
Notable for: Being the only woman to rule; also, attempting to kill all her grandchildren
Evil or good? Evil

Jehoash/Joash (r. 835-796) Claim: Son of Ahaziah (grandson of Athaliah)
Prophet: Joel(?) [Note: Joel is notoriously difficult to place, and could be nearly any time before or after Exile.]
Scripture: 2 Kings 11-12, 2 Chron 23-24
Notable for: A long reign beginning at age 7; returned worship to the temple and defeated the Aramaeans but did not depart from idolatry; murdered by his servants
Evil or good? Mixed

Amaziah (r. 796-767) Claim: Son of Joash

Prophet: None
Scripture: 2 Kings 14, 2 Chron 25
Notable for: Reigned long but suffered humiliating defeat after provoking Israel to war; later a victim of a conspiracy for the throne
Evil or good? Mixed

Uzziah (aka Azariah) (r. 767-748) Claim: Son of Amaziah

Prophet: Isaiah
Scripture: 2 Kings 15, 2 Chron 26
Notable for: Very long reign hampered by leprosy
Evil or good? Pretty good

Jotham (r. 748-732) Claim: Son of Azariah

Prophet: Isaiah, Micah
Scripture: 2 Kings 15, 2 Chron 27
Notable for: Not much; he was a good king but failed to stop idolatry
Evil or good? Good

Ahaz (r. 732-716) Claim: Son of Jotham

Prophet: Isaiah, Micah
Scripture: 2 Kings 16, 2 Chron 28, Isaiah 7
Notable for: Pagan practices, including child sacrifice; becoming vassal state to Assyria
Evil or good? Super evil

Hezekiah (r. 716-687) Claim: Son of Ahaz

Prophet: Isaiah, Micah
Scripture: 2 Kings 18-20, 2 Chron 29-32, Isaiah 36-39
Notable for: First king of Judah to “remove the high places” and stop idolatry; rebelled against Assyria and regained independence
Evil or good? Very good (“the Lord was with him; wherever he went, he prospered”)

Manasseh (r.687-642) Claim: Son of Hezekiah

Prophet: None
Scripture: 2 Kings 21, 2 Chron 33
Notable for: Very long reign that brought idolatry back to Judah, including child sacrifice; shed “much innocent blood.” But he repented late in life after God rescued him from imprisonment in Babylon and tried to stop the idolatry.
Evil or good? Very evil (he “misled them to do more evil than the nations had done that the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel”), but he ended on a good note

Amon (r.642-640) Claim: Son of Manasseh 

Prophet: None
Scripture: 2 Kings 21, 2 Chron 33
Notable for: Returned to his father’s earlier idolatry; killed by his servants
Evil or good? Evil

Josiah (r. 640-608) Claim: Son of Amon

Prophet: Huldah, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, Jeremiah
Scripture: 2 Kings 22-23, 2 Chron 34-35
Notable for: Ending idolatry and bringing back the Law; died in battle against Egypt; last king before exile
Evil or good? Very good (cf. 2 Kings 23:24)

Jehoahaz (r. 608) Claim: Son of Josiah

Prophet: Jeremiah, Lamentations
Scripture: 2 Kings 23, 2 Chron 36
Notable for: Reigned three months before he was supplanted and captured by Pharaoh Neco of Egypt
Evil or good? Evil

Jehoiakim (r. 608-597) Claim: Son of Josiah, brother of Jehoahaz

Prophet: Jeremiah, Lamentations
Scripture: 2 Kings 23-24, 2 Chron 36
Notable for: Rebelled (very unsuccessfully) against King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon
Evil or good? Mostly evil

Jehoiachin (r. 597) Claim: Son of Jehoiakim

Prophet: Jeremiah, Lamentations
Scripture: 2 Kings 24-25, 2 Chron 36
Notable for: Reigned for three months before surrendering to King Nebuchadnezzar
Evil or good? Evil

Zedekiah (r. 597-586) Claim: Son of Josiah (Jehoiachin’s uncle)

Prophet: Jeremiah, Lamentations
Scripture: 2 Kings 24-25, 2 Chron 36
Notable for: Rebelled against Babylon, leading to the sack and destruction of Jerusalem and Solomon’s temple
Evil or good? Evil

BABYLONIAN EXILE (586-450)

Kingdom of Israel (Northern Kingdom)

Jeroboam I (r. 931-910) Claim: Solomon’s servant

 
Prophet: Ahijah
Scripture: 1 Kings 12-14, 2 Chron 10
Notable for: Seceding from Judah and dividing the kingdom; worshiping golden calves
Evil or good? Evil (he “there was no one who followed the house of David except the tribe of Judah alone”; i.e., not Israel)

Nadab (r. 910-909) Claim: Son of Jeroboam

Prophet: None
Scripture: 1 Kings 15
Notable for: Not much; killed by countryman during siege of Gibbethon
Evil or good? Evil (he “did what was evil in the sight of the Lord”)

Baasha (r. 909-886) Claim: Usurper

Prophet: Jehu
Scripture: 1 Kings 15-16
Notable for: Assassinating Nadab, destroying the house of Jeroboam
Evil or good? Evil

Elah (r. 886-885) Claim: Son of Baasha

Prophet: None
Scripture: 1 Kings 16
Notable for: Drinking too much and getting murdered by his servant
Evil or good? Evil

Zimri (r. 885) Claim: Elah’s servant (“commander of half his chariots”)

Prophet: None
Scripture: 1 Kings 16
Notable for: Shortest reign in the book (seven days); burnt himself alive
Evil or good? Evil

Omri (r. 885-874) Claim: Commander of the army

Prophet: None
Scripture: 1 Kings 16
Notable for: Seized power after crisis of succession and moved capital to Samaria
Evil or good? Evil (he “did more evil than all who were before him”)

Ahab (r. 874-853) Claim: Son of Omri

Prophet: Elijah, Obadiah(?) [traditional; others believe this to be a different Obadiah than the Minor Prophet]
Scripture: 1 Kings 16-22, 2 Chron 18
Notable for: Marrying Jezebel, worshiping Baal, and getting into conflict with numerous prophets
Evil or good? Very evil (“did evil in the sight of the Lord more than all who were before him”)

Ahaziah (r. 853-852) Claim: Son of Ahab

Prophet: Elijah
Scripture: 1 Kings 22, 2 Kings 1
Notable for: Not much; continued in his father’s way
Evil or good? Evil

Jehoram/Joram (r. 852-841) Claim: Son of Ahab (Ahaziah’s brother)

Prophet: Elisha
Scripture: 2 Kings 1,9
Notable for: Removed the pillar to Baal that his father had made; war with various neighbors
Evil or good? Slightly less evil

Jehu (r. 841-814) Claim: Military commander in Joram’s army; anointed by Elisha

 
Prophet: Elisha
Scripture: 2 Kings 9-10
Notable for: Slaughtered Joram, Jezebel, all of Ahab’s descendants, and all priests and worshipers of Baal; smashed Baal’s temple; but kept the golden calves
Evil or good? Neutral

Jehoahaz (r. 814-798) Claim: Son of Jehu

Prophet: Elisha
Scripture: 2 Kings 13
Notable for: Humiliating defeat in battle against Aram
Evil or good? Evil

Jehoash (r. 798-782) Claim: Son of Jehoahaz

Prophet: None
Scripture: 2 Kings 13-14
Notable for: Recovering land from Aram
Evil or good? Evil

Jeroboam II (r. 782-753) Claim: Son of Jehoash

Prophet: Jonah, Amos, Hosea
Scripture: 2 Kings 14
Notable for: Long rule; restored Israel’s borders
Evil or good? Evil

Zechariah (r. 753-752) Claim: Son of Jeroboam II

Prophet: None
Scripture: 2 Kings 15
Notable for: Killed by Shallum, ending Jehu’s dynasty
Evil or good? Evil

Shallum (r. 752) Claim: None (usurper)

Prophet: None
Scripture: 2 Kings 15
Notable for: Killed by Menahem, who sacked the region of Tiphsah
Evil or good? Evil

Menahem (r. 752-742) Claim: None (usurper)

Prophet: None
Scripture: 2 Kings 15
Notable for: Taxed the wealthy of Israel to successfully pay off Assyrian invaders
Evil or good? Evil

Pekahiah (r. 742-740) Claim: Son of Menahem

Prophet: None
Scripture: 2 Kings 15
Notable for: Killed by his captain
Evil or good? Evil

Pekah (r. 752-733) Claim: Pekahiah’s army captain

Prophet: None
Scripture: 2 Kings 15
Notable for: Lost much of his territory to King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria
Evil or good? Evil

Hoshea (r. 732-722) Claim: None (usurper)

Prophet: None
Scripture: 2 Kings 17
Notable for: Entered vassalage to Assyria, but double-crossed King Shalmaneser and so was imprisoned, leading to the capture of Israel and the Babylonian exile
Evil or good? Evil

BABYLONIAN EXILE (722-450)

Prophets of the Exile

Several prophets wrote from exile in Babylon:Nahum (fl. 615 BC)
Ezekiel (d. 570 BC)
Daniel (ca. 500s BC)

 
Conclusion: Sorting Through the Kings and Prophets

I hope this guide and chart help you to sort through the bewildering array of very similar names between the kingdoms of Israel and Judah in the books of 1 and 2 Kings — and help you to better understand the history of God’s chosen people as recorded in Scripture. Now, next time someone asks you who your favorite king of Judah was, you’ll have an answer ready.

The Sacraments and the Means of Grace - By Dave Jenkins

Found here. Our comments in bold.
--------------------------

We have commented some of the author's articles here, here, and here. We have found him to be superficial and even dishonest when explaining his version of Christianity. 

In today's article the author attempts to explain his doctrine, "the means of grace." This is a somewhat odd phrase not found in the Bible. He offers this definition: "...the ways God communicates His grace to His people." So it seems God's grace is expressed through certain avenues, "...especially the Word, sacraments, and prayer..."

The author will repeat this idea of "the means of grace" over and over, connecting it to baptism, communion, and on occasion, sermons. This repetition gets to be a grind after while, especially since they are bare assertions, rarely documented with the Bible.

The first task a serious Bible study would want to do is undertake is to define "grace," which the author does not do. Yet he uses the term a dozen times. The Greek word for "grace" is charis:

preeminently used of the Lord's favor – freely extended to give Himself away to people (because He is "always leaning toward them").

5485 /xáris ("grace") answers directly to the Hebrew (OT) term 2580 /Kaná ("grace, extension-toward"). Both refer to God freely extending Himself (His favor, grace), reaching (inclining) to people because He is disposed to bless (be near) them.

God wants to be near us. He leans toward us without regard for our status. Grace seems to be God's primary motivation regarding His creation. We ask the reader to insert this definition each time the word "grace" appears, and you will soon discover that the author's usage of the word borders on ridiculous.

Regarding the Bible, the author does manage to quote a couple of Scriptures, but neither of them document his central thesis. He also cites four Bible references, but none of them proves what he wants to prove.

In essence, the author is regurgitating the doctrines of his church tradition. He uses many words but explains nothing. He's not teaching the Bible, he teaching his doctrines.

We must deem this Bad Bible Teaching.

--------------------------

Wielding the sword of the Lord correctly - by Mike Ratliff

Found here. Our comments in bold.
-----------------------

The author writes over 1000 words based on a misconception that Hebrews 4:12 is referring to the Bible. It's not. The “word” is the Greek word logos, preeminently used of Christ (Jn 1:1), expressing the thoughts of the Father through the Spirit.  

Logos is not the Bible, Logos is the source of the Bible. John tells us the Logos was made flesh (Jn. 1:1, 14). Logos is the articulated words of God, particularly represented by Jesus, the Word of God. 

If the writer of Hebrews wanted to refer to the Bible, he would have used the Greek word graphé, which is the written word. 

-----------------------------

How Many Keys Are There? Who Has Them? - Rethink

Recently we've been reconsidering many of the things we thought we understood regarding doctrine and faith. We have begun to question certain beliefs, church structures, and practices of the western church. Too often we have discovered unbiblical doctrines and activities. This causes us concern. We have deemed this our “rethink.”

Our questions include, how did we arrive at our doctrines? Does the Bible really teach what we think it teaches? Why do churches do what they do? What is the biblical basis of church leadership structure? Why do certain traditions get entrenched?

It's easy to be spoon fed the conventional wisdom, but it's an entirely separate thing to search these things out for one's self. In the past we have read the Bible with these unexamined understandings and interpreted what we read through those lenses. We were lazy about our Bible study, assuming that pastors and theologians were telling us the truth, but we rarely checked it out for ourselves.

Therefore, these Rethinks are our attempt to remedy the situation.

We should note that we are not Bible scholars, but we believe that one doesn't need to be in order to understand the Word of God.

----------------

Theology is foundation of knowledge - by John C. Wright

Originally titled "The Ship of Theseus and the Demon of Descartes."

Found here. A very good article.
------------

This is a reprint of a column from a few years ago, but which bears repeating. Once the Church is restored to primacy, philosophy and related arts and sciences will likewise be revived, and the shameful neglect of generations undone. 

Philosophy traditionally was divided into seven major branches:

• Epistemology: the study of knowledge. What is truth?
• Logic: the study of formal reasoning. What follows truth? Wither leads it? What conclusion must be true if a given statement is true?
• Metaphysics: the study of first principles. What precedes truth? Whence come it? What premise must be true when a given statement is true?
• Ethics: the study of virtue. What ought men do to be true?
• Natural Philosophy: the study of the visible order of creation.
• Aesthetics: the study of beauty, both in creation and created by man.
• Theology: the study of the invisible order of creation.

Theology includes the study of revealed truth, which of necessity touches all these foregoing studies. Theology alone unifies all branches of philosophy, hence is rightly called their summit, culmination, and queen.

From these seven, several further branches spring:

• Epistemology includes Empiricism, Rationalism, Revelation, and perhaps more.
• Semantics, which asks how words are used, is a handmaiden to Logic, as statements must be put in signs or words. Geometry is logic applied to figures and ratios; Arithmetic is geometry expressed as magnitudes.
• Metaphysics, the study of first principles, includes Ontology, the study of first substances.
• Ethics includes Politics, which is the art of how to live in civilization, which necessarily includes Economics, the study of the trades in goods and services.
• Natural Philosophy includes the study of the inanimate world, Astronomy and Ballistics, Geography and Geology and Meteorology, and the various elements and energies of which they are composed, and includes also naturalism, which studies the growth and decay in due season of flora and fauna, their origins and destiny, and includes the study of man, his nature and his works.
• Aesthetics, ironically, also informs Rhetoric, which is the study of the figures of pleasant and persuasive public speaking, since persuasiveness is a type of beauty.

(...)

Three Crosses; Two Sabbaths; One Empty Tomb: The Timeline Of Holy Week - by Dr. Thomas E. Rush & Pastor Nathan Rush

Found here. Our comments in bold.
----------------------

Jesus said he would be in the grave for three days and three nights. The obvious problem is Jesus could not have been crucified on Friday if He was resurrected on Sunday, which is the traditional view. No matter how innovative the solution, there's just not enough time.

We stumbled on what we thought was a sensible and simple solution to this problem, which we proposed and posted here. But ever since we've been wondering if anyone else had also covered this ground. In today's article the authors echo our solution.

It doesn't completely agree with our calculation, but it's close.

We must note that the authors make several ancillary misstatements about Jesus' sacrificial death, which we corrected. In addition, these and other additions add unnecessarily to the length. This article could have been half as long.

-------------------------------

Download the Free Ligonier App - Ligonier

Found here. Our comments in bold.

-----------------------

We found this to be extremely odd. Reformists/Calvinists are really big on Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone), contrasting this doctrine with the eevil charismatics who they say want to add to Scripture with prophecy and tongues.

But notice that this helpful new app from Ligonier doesn't seem to contain a Bible. But it's chock full of extra-biblical information. 

It continually amazes us that these folks don't see the irony of this.

-------------------

Translations that don't improve the Bible - Colossians 1:21-22, TPT Bible

Introduction

There are a lot of Bible translations. A lot. Naturally, some are better than others. This can be "better" in word-for-word accuracy vs. "better" in the accuracy of the thought being conveyed. The word-for-word translations are highly accurate but can be difficult to read for those who tend not to be highly educated in theology, while thought-for thought-translations can flow more naturally for the casual reader, even though they cannot provide the same level of precision. 

It's an ongoing debate in Christians circles, one that we will not settle here.

A third category is a paraphrase, which places readability way higher in priority. Neither word-for-word nor thought for thought, paraphrases are story-based, more aligned with characters and the mood. These are the loosest in terms of accuracy, and generally thought of as not suitable to use for study.

The last category we want to mention is those translations that conform to one's preconceived doctrines. Such a translation comes with an agenda, like the New World Translation of the Jehovah's Witnesses. The NWT was written specifically to reflect the doctrines of the Witnesses. 

But even so-called "reliable" translations often have built-in biases themselves, particularly when it comes to Reformed/Calvinistic doctrines. It is not unreasonable to say that pretty much every translation carries some of the doctrinal bias of their translators. But generally, they are trustworthy and usable.

Given this, it shouldn't surprise us that The Passion Translation (TPT), by Dr. Brian Simmons, comes with its own bias. However, this bias is toward a particular brand of charismaticism that comes out of Bethel Church in Redding, California. Bethel is known for its sometimes spectacular claims regarding the manifestation of the supernatural. Some regard Bethel as a cult, while others consider it to be at the forefront of what the Holy Spirit is doing. 

This is also a debate we will not settle here.

There are notable connections between Dr. Simmons, Bethel church and its leadership, and Dr. Simmons' educational and ministry experience. So the main question we seek to answer is, does TPT carry a doctrinal skew based on its connections to a church? And, does Dr. Simmons have any formal, rigorous training in a recognized institution that would qualify him as a Bible translator?  

Lets deal with second question first. Please bear with us as we cover some background information.

Why ‘God Told Me’ Isn’t Biblical - By Elizabeth Prata

Found here. Our comments in bold.

----------------

Over 1200 words, yet Ms. Prata cannot bring herself to explain why (from the Bible) contemporary prophecy is unbiblical. 

So that the reader would understand, Mr. Prata, like a lot of cessationists, falsely believes that everything God says must be included in the Bible. The Bible doesn't tell us this, but that's what she believes. 

Towards the end of her article she writes,

The canon is closed. 

We certainly agree. But what does the closed canon have to do with contemporary prophecy? She continues:

God’s new revelation ended with Revelation 22. 

"New revelation" for her means anything God says after the closed canon, all of which must be put in the Bible. However, there is no biblical standard that requires this. Next:

I’m not saying God CAN’T speak now, of course He can. It’s just that He closed the Bible with a warning not to add to the book nor take away from it. 

Again we find her premise that God speaking is synonymous with adding words to the Bible. And finally:

He said that at the present time, He would not be speaking. 

Thus her unbiblical conclusion based on a false premise. 

The Bible tells us that God is still speaking today: 

He. 1:3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.

We have written detailed explanations about contemporary prophecy and the closed canon, here and here.

--------------------

The NKJV: A Deadly Translation - By Pastor James L. Melton

Found here. Our comments in bold.

-----------------------

This article is written by a "KJV onlyist." This is a sect of the Christian community whose adherents believe the KJV is the only true translation of the Bible and all others are corrupted. 

The author doesn't explain, but the "Textus Receptus" manuscripts of the NT are regarded by "onlyists" as the only authentic texts from which to translate, and the KJV is translated from these texts. But all other translations are corrupt because they are based on inferior "Alexandrian" (Westcott and Hort) texts.

So the author's premise is that all other Bible translations are heretical and evil, which includes the NKJV. Unfortunately, rather than articulate valid reasons for his position, he only manages to demonstrate nit-picking. None of the issues the author discusses represent a risk of departure from true doctrine or saving knowledge. 

Not one.

In addition, the KJV is also a revision of earlier translations, and has in fact been changed many times over the centuries. Here's an interesting discussion about this.

We also should mention that we are not writing to defend the NKJV, we are focused on examining the author's presentation.

Lastly, the author never quotes the Bible. Not once. We must deem this Bad Bible Teaching.

-------------------------------

God's word - guest post by Elijiah

My friend Elijah makes an important point: The Bible without the Spirit is a dead letter. 

----------------------------

Inspired or not inspired? Jude and the prophecy of Enoch among others

Recently we've been reconsidering many of the things we thought we understood regarding doctrine and faith. We have begun to question certain beliefs, church structures, and practices of the western church. Too often we have discovered unbiblical doctrines and activities. This causes us concern. We have deemed this our “rethink.”

Our questions include, how did we arrive at our doctrines? Does the Bible really teach what we think it teaches? Why do churches do what they do? What is the biblical basis of church leadership structure? Why do certain traditions get entrenched?

It's easy to be spoon fed the conventional wisdom, but it's an entirely separate thing to search these things out for one's self. In the past we have read the Bible with these unexamined understandings and interpreted what we read through those lenses. We were lazy about our Bible study, assuming that pastors and theologians were telling us the truth, but we rarely checked it out for ourselves.

Therefore, these Rethinks are our attempt to remedy the situation.

We should note that we are not Bible scholars, but we believe that one doesn't need to be in order to understand the Word of God.
-----------------------

Should Christians Plead the Blood of Jesus? - by Wanjiru Ng’ang’a

Found here. An interesting article about a topic we had not thought about before.

----------------------------

Rich's proverbs, book eleven **updated 3/7/25 with chapter four

Book thirteen here.

Book twelve here.

Book eleven here.

Book ten here.

Book nine here.

Book eight here.

Book seven here.

Book six here.

Book five here.

Book four here.

Book three here.

Book two here.

Book one here.

This is a continuation of my practice to take notes on what I prayed.

-----------------------

Rich's proverbs, book ten **updated 2/10/25

Book thirteen here.

Book twelve here.

Book eleven here.

Book ten here.

Book nine here.

Book eight here.

Book seven here.

Book six here.

Book five here.

Book four here.

Book three here.

Book two here.

Book one here.

This is a continuation of my practice to take notes on what I prayed.