In Matthew 5, Jesus gives his Sermon on the Mount. He starts out with the well-known beatitudes: Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those…
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 It seems to be something that looks “sexist,” and certainly out of date.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…
Human Origins And The Bible: Solving the Genesis Population Problem
Most traditional evangelical Christians believe that Adam and Eve were the first (and at one point, the ONLY) human beings in existence in the relatively recent past. I count myself among them. I don’t “believe in” theistic evolution, and I also don’t “believe in” evolution in general. While things obviously evolve, any use of “evolution”…
The Coherent Creation Account of Genesis 1 and Genesis 2
Genesis 1 and 2 contain the creation account in the Bible. The problem is, they are quite different. As such, there is a great deal of commentary about how they are supposed to fit together, even though there is great difficulty in making this happen. The general idea about Genesis 1 and 2 among Christians…
The Irregular Passage of Time Between Heaven and Earth in the Bible
This is a strange post, but one that I hope will be deeply informative. I am discussing the strange issue of the passage of time in the Bible, and I will concentrate on one of the clearest examples of the irregular passage of time. It appears in the book of Exodus. Most people know that…
The Resurrection of Lazarus Explained
This post is the fifth and final of a series that explains the seven signs in the gospel of John. 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 that has the elements of an analogy or…
New Product: The Complete Explanation of Matthew’s Genealogy of Jesus
Everyone who reads the Bible knows that Jesus has a genealogy in the gospel of Matthew. Everyone knows that this genealogy differs from Jesus’s genealogy in Luke. But does anyone know why? I do, and I can explain. Everyone who reads the Bible also knows that “Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel” is in the genealogy…
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 Problem With Using Matthew 18 as a Passage on Church Discipline
I am a Christian of the American Evangelical stripe. I have been in these churches for my entire life. If you have lived in the American South, then you know what this means. If you live somewhere else, you might not know what that means, so here is a definition from a Christianity Today article…
Healing the Man Born Blind Explained
This post is the fourth in a series that explains the seven signs in the gospel of John. In the gospel of John, there are seven signs of Jesus: Changing water into wine at the wedding at Cana (John 2:1-11); Healing the royal official’s son (John 4:46-54); Healing the paralyzed man at the pool of…
Evidence of Noah Outside of the Bible
Noah is one of the most famous people in the Bible. He is famous for building the ark and surviving the flood. But what happened afterwards? Surprisingly, we have some rather good evidence for what happened to him, and it is not from the Bible. This post is here to explain where the actual evidence…
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…