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Category: theology

the “plain meaning” fallacy

Posted on Wednesday, 25th January, 2023 by martin

There are many fallacies to which readers and commentators on the Bible fall victim from time to time (D. A. Carson has written a very useful book on many of them, replete with sometimes amusing examples), but there is one which is often overlooked yet often committed: what I’ll dub the “plain meaning” fallacy. This…

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lying by and for god in the bible

Posted on Monday, 11th July, 2016 by martin

We all know that lying is wrong, and we all know that God does not lie. After all, 1Sam 15:29 reads: … the Eternal One of Israel does not lie or change His mind, for He is not man who changes his mind. (HCSB) But is it really true that God never lies? It turns…

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what’s wrong with inerrancy?

Posted on Tuesday, 28th June, 2016 by martin

The doctrine of inerrancy is a point of contention among many Christians. For some it simply cannot be made to work with the Bible, but for others it is a foundational doctrine without which one’s faith is set adrift and certainty is lost. Rather than address the whole doctrine, in this post I want to…

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what’s in a name: name giving in genesis 2

Posted on Sunday, 5th June, 2016Wednesday, 8th June, 2016 by martin

Last week I heard Thomas R. Schreiner speak at Moore Theological College on the topic of “What the Bible says about Women in Ministry.” While briefly making reference to Genesis 1–3 he made a particular point that the man’s act of naming the animals and the woman is an exercise of authority on his part,…

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genesis 1 is not poetry

Posted on Saturday, 1st February, 2014Tuesday, 14th June, 2016 by martin

What can I say? Genesis 1 is not poetry, nor is it some weird hybrid of poetry and prose. Genesis 1:27 alone is poetry, but the rest of the chapter is pretty much stock-standard biblical Hebrew narrative in regards to its syntax. It is not poetry! Why is this an issue? It’s an issue because…

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is agape (ἀγάπη) love specially divine?

Posted on Monday, 13th February, 2012 by martin

This last weekend I heard a talk in which it was claimed that the word ἀγάπη (agapē) was little used prior to the New Testament in Greek and was infused with new and special meaning by the writers of the NT, a meaning that reflects a divine, selfless, love. This is not a new claim,…

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god and suffering part 2 — individual sin

Posted on Wednesday, 1st February, 2012 by martin

For previous parts of this series, see: Introduction Part 1 — Human Sin The supposition that individual sin lies behind suffering pervades a great deal of both biblical (e.g. Ezek 18) and extra-biblical thought. More often than not, however, the biblical material reflects upon the inadequacy of individual sin as a viable explanation for one’s sufferings….

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god and suffering part 1 — human sin

Posted on Thursday, 29th December, 2011Tuesday, 14th June, 2016 by martin

The most obvious place to start when discussing suffering is with sin. The opening chapters of the Bible (Gen 2–3) are an aetiological tale which functions to describe the original state of the world and explain why it is no longer in that original state.

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god and suffering — introduction

Posted on Monday, 28th November, 2011 by martin

Some time ago I heard a sermon entitled “How could a good God allow suffering?” There’s not much that can be covered in the brief time allocated to a sermon, but while (or perhaps “instead of”) listening I set about thinking of reasons offered in the Bible for suffering. This introductory post is simply to…

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the impassibility of god

Posted on Friday, 9th April, 2010Tuesday, 27th April, 2010 by martin

Mark Baddeley has been posting about the impassibility of God over on the SolaPanel. I’ve always had reservations about the doctrine, so here’s a copy of the comment I posted over there:

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