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Abortion

To Kill or Not to Kill

It seems to be old news, but I was unaware of it until recently. Australian academics argued that mothers should be allowed to terminate the life of a newborn child. [i] Why would they promote such an idea? Because before the child is born it is not always possible to…

by Ralph Allan SmithSeptember 12, 2019
pascal
Philosophy

Is the Betting Rigged in Pascal's Wager?

This is the second of two essays introducing Pascal’s Wager. Click HERE for Part 1. In “The Pop Star and the Mathematician” I gave an overview of the apologetic approach commonly called Pascal’s Wager. In that Wager, 17 th -century French mathematician Blaise Pascal argued that the choice between Christian…

by Alexander WhitakerSeptember 10, 2019
pascal
Philosophy

The Mathematician and the Pop Star: A Pascal's Wager Primer

This is the first of two essays aiming to introduce the reader to Pascal’s Wager. The second will address criticisms of the Wager. In the early 1990s, a perennially popular British pop star was interviewed on British television about his very public evangelical Christian faith. “What if,” the reporter asked…

by Alexander WhitakerSeptember 5, 2019
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Matthew

The Secret of the Middle of Matthew

Matthew 13 is about secrets. In this chapter, Jesus teaches eight parables and tells the disciples that they reveal the secrets of the kingdom (13:11). And much like Samson who both tells riddles and is himself a riddle that the reader must solve, so Jesus not only tells secrets but…

by John HigginsSeptember 3, 2019
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Biblical Theology

David, Goliath, and the Body of Moses, (Part 2)

Click HERE for part One. THE TEXT AS TABERNACLE Creation – Initiation – Genesis (1 Samuel 17:1-11) The gathered armies not only remind the reader of Ebal and Gerizim, but also of the very reason that Israel was established (Creation) , set apart from the other nations by the circumcision…

by Mike BullAugust 29, 2019
job
Job

The Man in the Middle

What to do with Job’s Final “Friend,” Elihu Elihu is a strange character, at least in the sense of how and where he appears in the book of Job. Why does he not appear with the other three “friends?” Does his argument differ from any of the first three who…

by Eric RobinsonAugust 27, 2019

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Philosophy

On the Idea of a “Word”

During his studies of Serbo-Croatian oral poets that contributed so much to the contemporary understanding of Homer, Albert Lord discovered that the Yugoslavian poets could not grasp the notion of “word.” They thought of language as a stream of sound, and the “units” of language were not distinct words but…

July 12, 2004
Philosophy

On the Idea of a “Word”

During his studies of Serbo-Croatian oral poets that contributed so much to the contemporary understanding of Homer, Albert Lord discovered that the Yugoslavian poets could not grasp the notion of “word.” They thought of language as a stream of sound, and the “units” of language were not distinct words but…

July 12, 2004

Eucharistic Meditation, July 11

Leviticus 21 There are many ways to describe the offerings of Israel. One of the most striking is that the offerings are God?s bread. This sounds very odd, but it would make perfect sense if we watched an Israelite offering sacrifice, or if we were in Jerusalem for one of…

July 11, 2004

Baptismal Exhortation, July 11

In the sermon this morning, we looked at the connections between Old Covenant sacrifice and New Covenant worship. The Levitical system sets the pattern for worship in the New Covenant. The sacrifice of animals is a figure, a picture of the true sacrifice, the sacrifice of praise that we offer…

July 11, 2004

Exhortation, July 11

In the sermon this morning, we will be looking at one particular kind of animal offering from the Old Testament, and looking at the system of offerings in general. As we will see, these offerings recapitulated in ritual form the major events of Israel?s history, particularly the Passover, exodus, and…

July 11, 2004

Continue in Sin?

Rom 6:1 is often described as an “antinomian” objection, but it is really a legalist’s objection. Paul does not perceive an antinomian opponent; he expects that HE will be perceived as an antinomian. One can imagine it coming from the Pharisees: You overturn Torah, and the world is thrown into…

July 10, 2004

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