When I went to Iran at the invitation of the authorities there, I knew that a faction in the government welcomed my arrival. But I wondered whether that faction would be in the ascendant when I actually arrived and throughout my stay. There were, and evidently still are, fiercely competing groups within the regime. At that time, the relatively moderate Mohammad Khatami, a cleric, was serving as Iran’s fifth president, but the hardliners had recently managed to put his... Read more
New Testament Notes 96-99
Matthew 9:27-34; Matthew 12:22-24; Matthew 20:29-34 Mark 3:22; Mark 10:46-52 Luke 11:14-15; Luke 18:35-43 Compare John 7:20; 8:48, 52; 10:20 I have a certain respect for those who attempt to explain otherwise inexplicable miracles by invoking demons. Sometimes, frankly, that’s the best that you have. Sometimes, naturalistic explanations just can’t do the job. There’s a certain strain of anti-Mormonism — most famously exemplified, I suppose, by the notorious charlatan and mountebank Ed Decker, but also featuring... Read more