Category Archives: Figures of Speech

gnostic morphing of the sheep

Posted on January 19, 2014 by christopher fisher

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells a parable about a lost sheep: Luk 15:4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after … Continue reading →

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God does not demand human sacrifices

Posted on January 14, 2014 by christopher fisher

In Judges 11, there is a particular incident pointed to by Bible critics about God accepting a human sacrifice. Although the text may describe that, the best understanding is a conversion to perpetual virginity (not a human sacrifice): Jdg 11:30 … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Figures of Speech, Jewish History, Morality, Theology | Leave a comment

justification and salvation in james

Posted on December 16, 2013 by christopher fisher

Those who claim that Paul and James taught the exact same gospel have an understandably hard time understanding the book of James. James outright contradicts Paul on several occasions. The most pronounced example is that of Justification: Jas 2:24 You … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Dispensationalism, Figures of Speech, God, Morality, Theology | 2 Comments

interpretation of languages

Posted on December 6, 2013 by christopher fisher

I’ve linked to this in the past but it is worthy of its own post. In this video Joel Hoffman explains a few points about interpreting foreign languages. Although I dont totally agree with him on everything, he makes very … Continue reading →

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obfuscation and illustrations

Posted on December 5, 2013 by christopher fisher

When in debates, especially concerning theology, there is a tendency for each side to accuse the other of trying to switch topics. In a field as wide as theology, where different people have a wide number of interconnected beliefs which … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, critical thinking, Figures of Speech, Human Nature, Textual Criticism, Theology | Leave a comment

augustine denied that God could speak

Posted on November 6, 2013 by christopher fisher

The Calvinist is always fixated on their Platonic ideas about God. As such, any time the Bible makes simple pronouncements, those have to be reinterpreted in light of the Platonic understanding of God. When the Bible says that God speaks, … Continue reading →

Posted in Augustine, Bible, Calvinism, Figures of Speech, God, Open Theism, Theology | 2 Comments

john cassian on literalism

Posted on October 30, 2013 by christopher fisher

John Cassian actually provides an interesting example of a “literal” reading of the Bible that is taken to absurd extent. Apparently there were some monks who misinterpreted Jesus’ command to “take up your cross”: whosoever takes not up his cross … Continue reading →

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john cassian on anthropomorphism

Posted on October 30, 2013 by christopher fisher

The Calvinist modus operandi is to start with a priory (preconceived ideas) on the attributes of God and then interpret the text of the Bible in light of those concepts. Augustine actually admits to this in his Confessions (chapter 12). … Continue reading →

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and God said

Posted on October 3, 2013 by christopher fisher

The Bible is filled with instances that present themselves as direct quotes from God. For example: Gen 6:7 “and the Lord said”. There are four possibilities of what this phrase could mean: 1. This is a direct quote from God. … Continue reading →

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God sometimes wrongly expects us to change

Posted on September 30, 2013 by christopher fisher

The Bible is a love story. The two main characters are God and the nation of Israel. Reading the Bible is like reading a romance novel. God is the groom. Israel is described as the bride. God even makes the … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Calvinism, Figures of Speech, God, Omniscience, Open Theism, Theology | 2 Comments