Context Is Crucial
Every Bible reader acknowledges (at least in theory) that context is crucial for understanding the scriptures. If you want to make sure you've properly understood a verse, you need to…
Pulling Things Together
In evangelical circles, Ephesians 2:8-9 is perhaps the most frequently quoted text in the entire Bible: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves,…
Closing the Canon
Athanasius (296-373 AD) had a remarkable but tumultuous life. His physical appearance was apparently quite striking: he was very short with a dark complexion and black hair. His opponents dubbed…
New Wine & New Wineskins
The 27 books which were eventually included in the New Testament were all produced by the end of the 1st century. The gospel of Mark (which drew heavily upon the…
The Things Fulfilled Among Us
"Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the…
Musical Emergency
The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest has been held annually since 1982. According to the contest's website, this upside-down award goes to the author who pens the most "atrocious opening sentence to the…
All Israel Shall Be Saved
For the last few weeks, we've been considering the status of ethnic Jews within God's overall purposes. The Apostle Paul spent three entire chapters (9-11) in the book of Romans…
The Presence of God
In this series of blogs, we've set out to answer tricky questions raised by the ongoing conflict in Israel. The large majority of Israel's population are, of course, ethnically Jewish.…
The Plight of Israel
Last week, we examined the horrendous massacre perpetrated by Hamas terrorists on October 7th. Hamas still holds about 200 hostages and continues to hurl rockets towards Israel. The Israeli Defense…
Setting Things Right Again
Last week we saw how Jesus' visit to Jericho brought about an extraordinary result: Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector and a man of great wealth, dramatically amended his life. In…