Category Archives: Bible

basic questions on acts 15

Posted on December 3, 2013 by christopher fisher

When watching movies with my wife, she tends to intuitively identify bad plot writing. She will turn to me and say: “Why did xyz character do xyz action?” I will respond often with “because the movie has a terrible plot … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Dispensationalism, Textual Criticism, Theology | 2 Comments

walter brueggemann on a literal reading of the Bible

Posted on December 3, 2013 by christopher fisher

From Walter Brueggemann’s Theology of the Old Testament: Israel’s testimony, however, is not to be understood as a claim subject to historical explication or to philosophical understanding. It is rather an utterance that proposes that this particular past be construed … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Calvinism, God, Open Theism, Textual Criticism, Theology | Leave a comment

the natural man

Posted on December 1, 2013 by christopher fisher

A Facebook post from Michael Faber (reprinted with his permission): The biggest problem I have with Calvinism is that it does not rest on a solid exegetical foundation of Scripture. Too many of the texts that Calvinists use just don’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Calvinism, Human Nature, Theology | 1 Comment

calvinist underpants gnomes

Posted on November 28, 2013 by christopher fisher

There is a particular episode of South Park which mocks the leftist understanding of how profits work. The entire episode revolves around two stories. One story is of Starbucks moving into town to compete against the local coffee shop. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Calvinism, God, Humor, Omnipresence, Open Theism, Theology | Leave a comment

beware calvinism

Posted on November 24, 2013 by christopher fisher

Calvinism is simply defined as a theology that borrows divine attributes from Platonism. Platonism originated the idea of the Summum Bonum, the perfect good. To Plotinus, the “perfect good” was a timeless, unchanging, omnipresent, and omniscient being (all the negative … Continue reading →

Posted in Augustine, Bible, Calvinism, God, Open Theism, Textual Criticism, Theology | 5 Comments

God does not condescend to man

Posted on November 24, 2013 by christopher fisher

As a last resort, when Calvinists have exhausted all other ways to misinterpret and ignore various verses of the Bible, they fall back to the claim “God was condescending to human understanding when He wrote the Bible.” The problem with … Continue reading →

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understanding genesis 18

Posted on November 23, 2013 by christopher fisher

Genesis 18 depicts a very interesting narrative. In the first part of the chapter, the Lord (“Yahweh”) appears to Abraham. God appears with two angels (the term “men” is used interchangeably with “angels” throughout the text). Abraham recognizes God (God … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Calvinism, God, Omnipresence, Omniscience, Open Theism, Theology | 5 Comments

apocalypticism in james

Posted on November 21, 2013 by christopher fisher

One key point that Jesus stressed during his time on earth was that the Kingdom of God was imminent. He told his disciples that they would not enter all the cities of Israel before the end: Mat 10:23 When they … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Dispensationalism, Theology | 1 Comment

paul tells judaizers to castrate themselves

Posted on November 19, 2013 by christopher fisher

There is a very interesting point made in Reading Through Galatians by C.R. Hume. It brings up the interpretation of Paul’s statement in Galatians 5:12: Gal 5:12 I could wish that those who trouble you would even cut themselves off! … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Dispensationalism, Theology | 3 Comments

eusebius on the canon of the Bible

Posted on November 17, 2013 by christopher fisher

Eusebius (260-340AD) is one of the oldest sources listing out books considered as accepted as the New Testament. There is a mysterious fragment (Muratorian fragment), which also lists out books (notably not listing James, 1 Peter, and 2 Peter). But … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Church Fathers, Church History, History, Textual Criticism | 1 Comment