13
Apr
2012
Can a Person Be "Overly Righteous"?
/
Be not overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself? (Ecc 7:16, ESV) Can “be not overly righteous” really be saying what it seems to be saying? Does God actually want us to tone down our righteousness? In order to correctly determine the meaning of this clause, it must... Read More
11
Apr
2012
One More Reason Why the Resurrection Is Such Good News
/
I realize that resurrection Sunday may feel a bit like last week’s news. After all, it’s done. We’ve celebrated. Now we’ve moved on to what’s next, whether that’s Pentecost or something (slightly) less noble like the pennant race. We’ll be happy to do it all again next year, of course. But for now, we’ve got... Read More
9
Apr
2012
The Embarrassing Preface to the King James Version
/
When the King James Version of the Bible came off the press of Robert Barker in 1611, it contained an eleven-page preface titled “The Translators to the Reader.” This preface is primarily a defense of the new translation, but it also provides important information about the translators’ views on the subject of Bible translation. It is... Read More
7
Apr
2012
The Date of Easter
/
Throughout church history professing believers have argued amongst themselves about all kinds of things. In retrospect, some of these debates have been key steps in hammering out the details of important theological issues. Other debates have been less than edifying. Many of the disagreements related to the date of Easter have fallen into this latter... Read More
5
Apr
2012
Length of Days in the Creation Week: Genesis 1–2:3
/
Though there are a number of Christians who question a literal interpretation of the creation week, a closer look at Genesis 1:1–2:3 should challenge those who have abandoned or are uncertain about the traditional understanding of the creation days. I will give four reasons to embrace a literal interpretation of the days in the creation... Read More
3
Apr
2012
The Modern KJV-Only Movement
/
In my first post on this subject, I argued that the KJV-only position believes that only the KJV of the Bible is the Word of God, and I suggested that the somewhat official beginning of this movement should be traced to the publication of the 1881 revision of the KJV, the Revised Version (RV). In my... Read More
1
Apr
2012
Palm Sunday: The Kingdom That Might Have Been
/
With the arrival of the Passion Week comes the curious and often forgotten event of Palm Sunday. Christ’s arrival in Jerusalem on that day was a truly triumphal event—a day of fulfilled prophecy where the Messiah rides into Jerusalem on a donkey (Zech 9:9) and suddenly appears in the Temple (Mal 3:1). He affirms his... Read More
30
Mar
2012
Book Note: John J. Collins's The Scepter and the Star (2010)
/
John J. Collins. The Scepter and the Star: Messianism in Light of the Dead Sea Scrolls. 2nd edition. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2010, xi + 298 pp. Why was Jesus crucified as a messianic pretender (“King of the Jews”) or, upon his resurrection, declared by his disciples to be the enthroned messiah if, as Collins... Read More
28
Mar
2012
The KJV-Only Movement Comes to America
/
In previous posts (here, here, and here), I have argued that the beginning of the KJV-only movement can be traced to the publication of the 1881 revision of the KJV, the Revised Version (RV), and the opposition to it by Dean Burgon, which was set forth in his 1883 volume, The Revision Revised. Even with the criticism... Read More
26
Mar
2012
Boys Will Be Men
/
Earlier this month many Americans were saddened to hear of an American soldier who allegedly killed some 16 Afghan civilians in cold blood—most of them women and children. Although this isn’t the first time an American soldier has been accused of murder in a time of war, such incidents anger us, and rightly so. Those... Read More