In the book of 2 Kings, there is the story where Elijah, one of the great prophets in the Old Testament, gets taken up to heaven in chariots of fire. He leaves his legacy (and a “double-portion” of his spirit) with Elisha, another prophet who would continue to preach to a wayward Israel. But when…
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Coming Soon: The Magi Star
As readers of this blog know, I love astronomy, and I believe absolutely everything I read in the Bible. I also do really deep dives into things most people completely ignore. This brings me to the Star of the Magi. The Star of the Magi is what I have named both the “Star in the…
What is a Nation? Preliminary Thoughts Before Reading “The Case for Christian Nationalism.”
If you’re on the Christian internet, you know that lots of people are buying, reading, critiquing, reacting, and getting all up in a tizzy over the new book by Stephen Wolfe called “The Case for Christian Nationalism.” You might also know that there is a side-controversy about a guy named “Thomas Achord,” who apparently was…
EXCLUSIVE: Complaint of David and Mary Sills vs. Jennifer Lyell, Al Mohler, and Almost Everyone in the SBC World
This is apparently the third post in a series, which I did not expect to write. About six months ago, I wrote two pieces on the travails of the Southern Baptist Convention, the “sexual abuse” scandal, and the Guidepost Solutions Report which investigated those issues. Links to those posts are below: In the second one…
Numbers 30, the Vows of Women, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ
I recently noticed something in the Old Testament that is quite striking when you think about it. It seems to be something that looks “sexist,” and certainly out of date. However, it has an application that is EXTREMELY significant to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Therefore, I think it is worth being explored. A Sticky…
The Appallingly Unconstitutional Case Against Douglas Mackie
On August 15, 2022, Tucker Carlson in his opening monologue reported that a man named “Douglass Mackie” had been arrested for “vote theft.” Here is the monologue in full: This story sounded too crazy to be true, and I thought it had to be some sort of exaggeration. Tucker Carlson is not above exaggeration. So…
The Feeding of the Five Thousand and Walking on Water Explained
This post is the third in a series that explains the seven signs in the gospel of John. This one is about the feeding of the five thousand. Important in this series is the difference between a sign and a miracle. See this previous post to understand that difference. To summarize, a “sign” is something…
Explaining the Very Strange Problems of the Guidepost Report on Sexual Abuse in the SBC
This is the second post in a series. The previous post explained how the independent structure of the Southern Baptist Convention makes it difficult to address sexual abuse in the SBC. This post explains the substance of the Guidepost Report, which was released by the SBC Task Force on Sexual Abuse. Obviously, the issue of…
A Funny Thing About the Constellation of Virgo
If you look East in the springtime, between sundown and around nine o’clock in the evening, you will see a constellation rising over the horizon. That constellation is Virgo. As the year progresses, Virgo will be further and further west at sundown, traveling along the ecliptic, as Virgo is one of the 12 Zodiac signs…
The Utter Defeat of Satan by Christ
There is something funny in scripture that I’ve noticed. I do not think it gets enough attention. We all know that God is good and powerful and mighty and victorious, etc. etc. But I’ve noticed that God is also quite a show off. This is particularly reflected in the following passage from 1 Corinthians: But God…
How Did The Planets Get Their Names?
This post isn’t about remembering the planet names. This post is about remembering WHY the planets are named what they are named. Everybody knows that the planets correspond to classical characters in mythology. But I’m answering the question “Why did the ancients connect THAT spot of light — and not any other spot of light — to this PARTICULAR deity — and not another deity?”
As I’d like to show, there is actually an answer.
The Problem With Amanda Gorman’s Poem at the Joe Biden Inauguration
I watched the reading, and its presentation had the same tone, tenor, and pace of the “poetry” I’ve seen in many places these days.
Here’s my problem with the poem: IT IS NOT POETRY. If you read it at a different pace, it is A SPEECH.
Now, granted, it is a good speech. It has random rhymes with no real pattern (just like a speech). It has a nice flow, but no real meter (just like a speech). It has poetic metaphors, phrases, and analogy, but no set structure (just like a speech). It is a good speech, but it is a speech. It is not a poem, except for the fact that it has odd spacing when printed.