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As a seminarian, I was shocked by my discovery of neglected but essential methods and approaches to biblical interpretation. For example, the scholarly census on 2 points which are foundational for modern Gospel and Pentateuchal study: (1) The scholarly consensus that Matthew and Luke (but not...

I am appalled by the bigotry and the simple-minded misguided perspectives on Catholic distinctives that are generally evidenced on evangelical chat boards. I have tried to bring some sanity to these sites by developing threads on the biblical basis for Catholic distinctives, but my last thread...

Once it is recognized that Jesus' primarily spoke Greek, it becomes clear that Jesus originally had in mind the elegant but still hyperbolic image of a trying to pull a rope (not a camel) through the eye of a needle. The underlying Aramaic word for "camel" in Matthew 10:24 is "gamla" which...

There are 10 million variant readings in New Testament Greek manuscripts. The KJV is based on the latest and most corrupt of these manuscripts. Text Criticism is the science of retrieving a text as close as possible to the original. It does this first by grouping the manuscripts into families...

With puberty near, I wrote this poem at age 11 to express my unrequited passion for a 6th grade girl. My poem lost when I entered it in a poetry contest at school and that defeat ended my fledgling career as a poet! My heart is broken at the very thought that thou hast spoken of our love as...

On the contrary, the use of both the face cloth (Latin: sudarium) and shroud to wrap the corpse was standard Jewish practice. Indeed, the sudarium of Oviedo (which was brought to Oviedo, Spain from the ancient Jerusalem church) once wrapped the same crucified corpse as the Shroud! The blood...

I just loved this distinction: A Philosopher is a blind man on a dark night in a deep cellar looking for a black cat that isn't there. A Fundamentalist is a blind man who pretends to come up with the absent cat on the basis of a blizzard of biblical prooftexts used to compensate for his lack of...

No, "one ought to conclude" that posters like you who are oblivious of modern academic Gospel Commentaries and the scholarly consensus must resort to insults to compensate for their interpretive deficiencies.

You are ducking the 2 apparent implication of these texts: (1) If you don't actively oppose Jesus, then He considers you to be on His side. In other words, exorcisms in Jesus' name demonstrate that one is on Jesus' team, regardless of what else one believes. (2) Jesus will ultimate reject...

Thanks for playing. Here is another text that poses interpretative problems: "No one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterwards to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us (Mark (9:39-40)." How do you explain the apparent tension between this text and the...

Excellent question! Acts 2 and 4 provide the closest NT parallel to the modern historic revivals described in this thread's videos: "So those who welcomed his [Peter's] message were baptized, and that day about 3,000 people were added (2:41)." "They praised God and had the goodwill of all the...

But what does it mean for the violent to take the reign of God (the kingdom) by force? This question has vexed modern NT scholars for generations. Prof. George Eldon Ladd omitted this text in his book "Jesus and the Kingdom."

The best evidence for the truth of Christianity is not the testimonial evidence for Gospel miracles or Jesus' resurrection; it is the supernatural move of the Spirit is the great historic revivals. I say this because in the First and Second Great Awakenings and in the Welsh and Hebrides...

On what basis do you read that interpretation into the mystical coming of God's kingdom, which by implication is previously absent?

No, Paul labels joy and peace "fruit of the Spirit" (Galatians 5:22-23), but he teaches that the kingdom of God depends on "power (q Cprinthians 4:20)," conceived in terms of "miracles" (so Galatians 3:3-5) and an evidential "demonstration" of that "power" (1 Cprinthians 4:19-20).

Marks, Please explain your alleged parallelisms. For example, how is Christ's word to Ananias explain the expression "I complete in my own body what is lacking or deficient in the sufferings of Christ for His body, the church? In what sense is Christ's suffering "lacking" or "defeicient?" And...

Neither do Mormons or Jehovah's Witnesses. Millions of Mormons have prayer this prayer and felt an inner witness that the Holy Spirit has confirmed their faith in the Book of Mormon. Your subjective faith is trapped on the same level. Thinking people rightly need evidence for faith. “And when...

Jesus, like Paul, refutes your false alternatives: "But if you do not, then believe me because of the works (miracles) themselves (John 14:11)."

Your politically correct response ignores the apparent implication that God is the actual (not just the theoretical) Savior of unbelievers as well. Also how can God be the Savior of all unbelievers if only the foreordained elect are saved? This text does not yield its meaning as easily as you...

Windmillcharge :"Everyone focus's in on power, but read the chapter, read the book, Paul is not focused on power but on the practical outworking of love." Your response nicely illustrates the wisdom of scholar B. F. Wescott's famous words: "The simple Gospel is no so simple as the simple would...