Sadly, most Christian movies are long on preaching and short on acting, plot, and to the non-believer it seems ‘inauthentic’ to say the least. Many of them are preaching, or in this case singing to the choir. Well, this movie is a tearjerker in some ways, and the story is a real story about the lead singer of Mercy Me and his turbulent relationship with his father, an abusive father. This story is not so much about the song, except... Read more

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LAZARUS COME OUT!—- John 11 A Message Preached Feb. 18th 2018— Southern Hills UMC, Lexington Ky. Jesus shouted at a tomb containing a dead man— Lazarus come out. Very few have noted what an odd thing this is. I bet none of you have ever seen someone standing in a graveyard shouting something like this. But it reflects something important about Jesus who said he was the resurrection and the life, but also about how much he cared about Lazarus.... Read more

https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2018/02/14/arizona-woman-woke-up-with-british-accent.hln I regularly have students praying fervently that they will wake up one morning being fluent in a Biblical language, but I had never heard of ‘foreign language syndrome’ until now. A person has a stroke or the like, and wakes up with a different accent, in this case, a British accent. Weird, but somehow wonderful. What sayeth thou brain scientists??? BW3 Read more

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Here is an excellent post by Philip Jenkins. See what you think. I have posted several times on issues of translation, specifically about the New Testament. Today I want to address the Curse of Quotations. Recently, my church read 1 Corinthians 8, which in the NIV begins with the verse Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that “We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love builds up (8.1) Please note the quotes around “We all possess... Read more

Behold a piece of papyrus dating, conservatively to about 175 A.D. (based on epigraphy etc). It includes the very ending of the Gospel of Luke (notice as well the reference to what precedes being by Luke towards the middle of the document. This is the way a syllabus also worked— a toe tag that originally would be added to the scroll at its end to identify its contents or author or both). Now notice that what follows the identifier is... Read more

Here is a very helpful recent post by Larry Hurtado, which I am recycling here. We are learning more and more about the process as well as the product of copying of early Christian manuscripts, and the information is revealing. For instance, we learn from this post that manuscripts were not just copied in scriptoriums or formal church settings. BW3 —— A Splendid Study of P47: Papyrus Copy of Revelation by larryhurtado I’ve just finished an initial reading of a... Read more

Writer’s Reckoning When all the ink runs out Like a river that runs dry Will we wonder at the well spring And ask the reason why? When words fail to come And thoughts are jumbled too Will we blame a lack of inspiration, Or say our job is through? What will a greater Thinker think Of all those words and books Will we seek exoneration Avoid His seering looks? What sort of rationalization Or learned interpretation Will serve as vindication... Read more

There are of course some archaeological sites that are ‘no doubters’, for example the site of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. But it’s a whole different story when it comes to excavating tiny Galilean villages near the sea of Galilee. Recently, we have been told that the ancient Roman city of Julia has been found which is said to be the successor on the same site to the Biblical city of Bethsaida, home to Peter and Andrew, and perhaps other... Read more