As a friend, hear my plea: Pray for peace. Pray for the ability to forgive. Pray for brotherly love. Pray as you mourn. Pray that justice in our broken hearts will roll down like waters and cleanse our nation. But above all, pray with hope.
Month: May 2020
The Problems With the Prosecution of Derek Chauvin
On May 25, George Floyd tragically passed away while being taken into police custody. The previous post on this situation broke down the available video evidence surrounding his death. This post explores the legal difficulties regarding the prosecution or liability of the police officers involved in that situation. As of this writing, Derek Chauvin has…
An Overview of Video Evidence Surrounding George Floyd’s Death
On Monday, May 25, 2020, George Floyd died while being apprehended by police. This post does not discuss any autopsy, as it was not available to review. All identifications of speakers and individuals in the video are my own using the linked videos. What we know is that according to news reports, the police were…
What IS a Spiritual Gift?
I write this post because I have not seen it written anywhere else. I’ve been thinking about spiritual gifts for years. I’ve seen debates like the Strange Fire position by John MacArthur. I’ve seen debates on cessationism and continuonism about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and I don’t like what I hear. So, just…
Serious Christian Talk About Depression and Suicide
I think Christians have a hard time talking about suicide, because doesn’t everybody have a hard time talking about something as weighty as suicide? I’d like to make my own attempt to bridge that gap and give some real talk. Jordan Peterson is one of the people I’ve seen honestly wrestle with this in a…
The Election and Free Will Debate
This post is an abbreviated version of a thought that I had about the whole “Election vs. Free Will” debate that exists in Christian circles. The Election of God and the Free Will of Man Is God sovereign and omnipotent and omniscient and good (all the traditional qualities of God)? Or do human being have…
Are You Sure You Know Joseph’s Hometown?
So let’s talk about Joseph — the supposed Father of Jesus (Luke 3:23), betrothed to Mary (Luke 1:27) — Where was he actually from? Nazareth, right? That’s what everybody thinks. He and his high-school sweetheart Mary, who was prego-by-the-Holy-Spirit with ya-boy J.C. got married and then went to the ancient ancestral home of Joseph’s 900-year-old-great-granddaddy…
A Second Look at Jesus’s “Wrong” Answer
There is a story in the gospels that we often skip over without delving deep into what it says. I’m talking about the rich young man in Matthew 19. The interaction is below: And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” And he said to…
Exploring Isaiah’s Prophesy About Cyrus the Great
Isaiah was a prophet in Israel, and this post is about a mind-blowing prophesy he has that — strangely — many people, Christians included, don’t even know about. First I’m going to explain the prophesy and why it’s amazing. Then, I explain why we shouldn’t buy into the “modern” historical take on this prophesy. Isaiah,…
Newly Discovered Fulfilled Biblical Prophecy? (Also, My Debate With Bart Ehrman.)
As I mentioned before, I was lucky enough to have Bart D. Ehrman himself comment the the Facebook post of my previous post on Judas’s death. To read that post, click here. Summary of the Previous Debate The disagreement is whether Acts 1:16-18 contradicts Matthew 27:3-10 on the Death of Judas. The passage in question…
Addressing Ehrman’s Mark 1:41 Text Controversy
I was thrilled that in a Facebook post of my previous blog post on Bart Ehrman’s work, Ehrman himself commented to defend his position. I will update the previous post to reflect Ehrman’s words on the matter, and I am very grateful to him for spending that time to discuss the matter. Now, I’d like…
An Interesting Observation of a Roman Historian
This is a quick post, but one that I couldn’t help but notice. The following Account is given by the Roman historian Tacitus, who was born in 56 A.D. and died in 120 A.D. WE have two of his works. The first is “the Annals.” The second is “Histories.” The following comes from his second…