Abortion: what does the Bible teach?

Walking With Giants Posted on by

Richard Hays points out that the Bible contains no texts about abortion.  Those texts which are claimed to be pertinent to the question (Ex 20:13; Deut 5:17; Ex 21:22-25; Psa 139:13-16; Lk 1:44; Gal 5:20 and Mt 19:14) are more or less irrelevant.

However, a broader survey on the biblical material relating to pregnancy and childbearing would yield the following conclusion:

‘Children are a great blessing from God, and childlessness a terrible affliction. Children are seen as a guarantee of posterity and as a source of economic blessing and security.’

…

How Scripture frames the discussion of homosexuality

Walking With Giants Posted on by

Richard Hays, in his discussion of homosexuality, urges that no discussion of the biblical material can rest content with the few texts which refer directly to it.

We must consider, he says, how Scripture frames the discussion more broadly.  At least the following factors should be taken into account:

(A) GOD’S CREATIVE INTENTION FOR HUMAN SEXUALITY From Genesis 1 onward, Scripture affirms repeatedly that God has made man and woman for one another and that our sexual desires rightly find fulfillment within heterosexual marriage.

…

Did Paul write the Pastorals (and does it matter)?

Walking With Giants Posted on by

Dr Jennifer Bashaw teaches New Testament, Biblical Interpretation, Ministry, and Homiletics at Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina.

Dr Bashaw has contributed a piece to Pete Enns’ blog entitled, ‘Did Paul Write the Pastoral Letters? Well, It’s Complicated…’

I think the piece is unfortunate and misleading in a number of ways.

Dr Bashaw begins:

Evangelical (read: fundamentalist) Christians have all sorts of litmus tests for determining if a person is Bible-believing enough for them.…

The dynamics of preacher-listener connection

Walking With Giants Posted on by

Some preachers connect with their hearers.  Others don’t.

What’s the difference?

Peter Mead has highlighted five aspects of preacher-hearer connection:

  1. The personal life of the preacher.  Does the preacher have authenticity and integrity?
  2. The pastoral ministry of the preacher.  Does the preacher know, care for, and pray for his hearers?
  3. The content of the message.  Does it aim to engage the listener at the heart level?  Does it have a contemporary focus and a sense of purpose?
…

Is Jesus the only way?

Walking With Giants Posted on by

Writing in the Apologetics Study Bible for Students, Brett Kunkle writes:

That Jesus is the only way to God may be the most controversial claim of Christianity, so we had better have good reason for making it. I think we do.

What does Jesus say? We don’t want to claim something about Jesus that he wouldn’t claim of himself. If the Gospels are historically reliable (we have overwhelming evidence they are), then we have Jesus’s own words and by examining them we discover that he claims to be the only way to God.…

Preachers and their preaching – Henry Ward Beecher

Walking With Giants Posted on by

Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887) was one of the most popular and influential preachers of his day.

He was son of Lyman Beecher, popularizer of the ‘New School’ theology which sought to soften the Calvinism of New England.  Henry went still further in this rebellion, emphasising an emotional and ethical faith.

Duduit notes:

‘Where the father stressed God’s power and justice, the son came to emphasize God’s love and mercy.’

Beecher:

‘advocated women’s rights, opposed slavery, championed social reform, defended evotion, supported higher biblical criticism, and popularized romantic Christianity.’

…

Charles Simeon: ‘no friend to systematizers in theology’

Walking With Giants Posted on by

In the preface to his multi-volume collecton of sermon ‘skeletons’, Charles Simeon declares himself to be ‘no friend to systematizers in theology’.  And he expends a considerable amount of energy developing and enforcing this thought.

By theological systems, he means, principally, Calvinism and Arminianism.  He declares that, unlike the proponents of such systems,

‘he takes his religion from the Bible; and endeavours, as much as possible, to speak as that speaks.’

If he finds that two or more biblical texts appear to contradict one another, he endeavours to be faithful to the true sense of each of them, not favouring one over the other, as ‘systematizers’ tend to do.…

Josh 2:1-7 – Was Rahab right to lie?

Walking With Giants Posted on by

2:1 Joshua son of Nun sent two spies out from Shittim secretly and instructed them: “Find out what you can about the land, especially Jericho.” They stopped at the house of a prostitute named Rahab and spent the night there. 2:2 The king of Jericho received this report: “Note well! Israelite men have come here tonight to spy on the land.” 2:3 So the king of Jericho sent this order to Rahab: “Turn over the men who came to you—the ones who came to your house—for they have come to spy on the whole land!”…

Seven types of atheism

Walking With Giants Posted on by

“But I’m not that kind of atheist!”

I myself have had discussions with atheists who would disavoy the strident tone and intolerant rhetoric of the so-called ‘new atheists’.

Truth is, atheists comes in various shapes, sizes and flavours.

Andrew Wilson has reviewed a book by John Gray entitled ‘Seven Types of Atheism’.

Here are Gray’s seven types:

1. ‘New Atheism’

Dating back to 19th-century thinks such as Henri de Saint-Simon, August Comte, J. G. Frazer, the new atheism atheism lives on in the work of Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris, Dennett, and others.’ …

1 Cor 6:9 – ‘malakoi’ and ‘arsenokoitai’

Walking With Giants Posted on by

Disclaimer: I am not a linguist.  But I know (mainly through their writings) a number of people who are.  So, obviously, I am relying heavily upon their expertise in what follows.

1 Cor 6:9-11 ‘Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! The sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, passive homosexual partners, practicing homosexuals, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, the verbally abusive, and swindlers will not inherit the kingdom of God. …