Review: The One-Stop Bible Atlas

Nick Page. The One-Stop Bible Atlas.  Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, February 1st 2011. 128 pp.

4 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon

I was searching for a Bible Atlas that was compact, portable yet helpful in covering the geography of events that took place in the Bible.  Having a Bible Atlas handy is a great tool if you are serious about studying the Bible: It not only makes historical narratives in the Old and New Testament become alive but sometimes it answers questions and provide deeper insights into a passage of what’s going on. I thought this book was helpful for both preachers and the layperson and it is worth purchasing.

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Sunday Morning Motivations for Preachers and Teachers: You were appointed a preacher or teacher

It is Sunday!  I know teaching, preaching and ministering is not always easy.  As I was meditating on 2 Timothy 1 note the difficulties in Paul’s ministry.  Perhaps they parallel your own ministry in teaching and/or preaching:

• There was persecution, even up to the point that Paul was made a prisoner (v.8)
• There was suffering, even up to the point that some could be ashamed (v.10)
• There was abandonment, even at a point when the company is most needed (v.15)

Yet Paul said

How can we as preachers and teachers (be it small group, Sunday school or other ministry) be encouraged and properly motivated to endure despite the trials?

We find one key powerful motivation that propelled Paul in 2 Timothy 1:11:

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When GI Jane has her monthly pain

Someone asked me about my thought about women in their period while on a mission with military “elite” units.  Obviously I’m not a woman so my comment is going to be more on the military side of things.  I imagine that many within such units have reservation about combat units being no longer exclusively all-male.  Here’s my thoughts.

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Weekend Leisure Reading Book Review: The First Family Detail

A weekend reading review because even Pastors need a break from heavy reading.

Ronald Kessler. The First Family Detail.  Danvers, MA: Crown Forum, August 5th 2014. 272 pp.

4 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon

This book was insightful into the men and women who protect the president of the United States in a Federal government agency known as the Secret Service.  You usually see members of the Secret Service wearing suits and sunglasses standing next to the President.  This book was insightful of some of the things members of the Secret Service have observed about various US presidents.  It is written by a capable author name Ronald Kessler who has written books on the New York Times Best Seller list on the topic of the Secret Service and the FBI.  Kessler was also the journalist who first broke the news story of Secret Service scandal with hiring prostitutes in Cartagena, Colombia.  Kessler is not someone out to attack the Secret Service but is someone that respect the agency and its men and women putting their lives on the line but he is also a helpful critical of the agency’s mismanagement.

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God created roles for Men from Genesis 2: Truth 3

This is point 3 of our series on “God created roles for Men from Genesis 2.”

This series is exploring four truths about manhood from Genesis 2:15-18a so that men would live up to God’s design of your identity today.

So what’s point number 3?

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Prayer Requests for My Studies for Summer 2017 Missions

Pray for my studies as I will be leaving before the Summer is over to teach theology at several undisclosed countries overseas.  I need to finish my preparation and I’m feel unusually tired this Summer with ministry in my local church.  It has been a very busy time for me the last few months.

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Review: The Role Relationship of Men and Women

George W. Knight III. The Role Relationship of Men and Women.  Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing, June 1, 1989. 88 pp.

Purchase: Westminster | Amazon

5 out of 5

There’s a lot of debate today concerning gender.  For the Christian we must go back to the Bible as the foundation that formulate our views on the matter.  Of course there are resources that examine the subject and God has given us teachers to aid the church.  The author George Knight III is a theologian and professor of the New Testament has written this work that is relevant even though it was written nearly thirty years ago.

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Misrepresentation: Do Presuppositionalists conflate the moral depravity in the Bible with human reasoning?

The last two weeks seems to have more internet controversies against Presuppositional apologetics from various quarters.  I think it is always unfortunate when Christians misrepresent other Christians and in this post I want to deal with an objection against Presuppositional apologetics.

I have wrote a previous post titled “A Schizophrenic Attack Against Presuppositional Apologetics” which dealt with this particular critic.  The critic have also wrote the following:

Further, I think that the presuppositionalist has just misunderstood the doctrine of total depravity. Depravity is a moral concept, not a qualitative concept. The whole of humanity is fallen, but not depraved. Human eyesight, for instance, is fallen. People need to wear glasses. It is not depraved. When a Christian is born again, they are not given new eyesight. Likewise, human reason is not qualitatively changed when they become a Christian. If that were the case, then non-Christians would be utterly unreasonable. The natural man would have no capacity to interact with the world on an intellectual level. But Paul said that the natural man does not understand the things of the Spirit of God (1st Corinthians 2:14). If we are going to engage with and against presuppositional apologetics, we need to understand that it is a foolish mistake to conflate the moral depravity in the Bible with human reasoning.

Here’s my thoughts:

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Presuppositional Apologetics Lectures: Patrick Hines on Youtube

Patrick Hines is the pastor of Bridwell Heights Presbyterian Church in Kingsport, Tennessee and often teach on Presuppositional apologetics.  Here in this series Patrick Hines teaches on Presuppositional apologetics’ on Youtube.  This is a fairly recent series.

I am sharing this also because I have seen some recent misrepresentation of this methodology or it being trivialized and misrepresented.  While there’s a place to refute misrepresentations it might be more fruitful to understand what is Presuppositionalism is in the first place.   Enjoy these videos!

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God created roles for Men from Genesis 2: Truth 2

This is point 2 of our series on “God created roles for Men from Genesis 2.”

This series is exploring four truths about manhood from Genesis 2:15-18a so that men would live up to God’s design of your identity today.

So what’s point number 2?

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Sunday Morning Motivations for Preachers and Teachers: You are given spirit of Self-Discipline

It is Sunday!  I know teaching, preaching and ministering is not always easy.  Among those things that can be difficult is getting everything done that’s on your plate.  Of course that requires self-discipline.  How can we preachers and teachers be encouraged and properly motivated to be disciplined?

We are finishing off the third and final part of 2 Timothy 1:7:

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Review: The Victorian Internet

A weekend nonfiction book review.  Because Pastors need a break from heavy theological reading too.

Tom Standage.  The Victorian Internet: The Remarkable Story of the Telegraph and the Nineteenth Century’s On-line Pioneers.  New York, NY: Bloomsbury USA, February 25th 2014. 256 pp.

4 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon

Earlier this year I read the author’s newer book on the history of social media.  Stumbling upon this book I thought this was worth reading too.  I found both books fascinating.  In this particular title the author looks at the invention, development and impact of the telegraph and we see how it parallels to the internet today.  What is amazing to me is the fact that this book was first written in 1998 and much of the materials is the same in the second edition.  In fact what was true in 1998 is even more so the case today.

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Presuppositional Apologetics’ Links: Third Week of July 2017

Here are the links related to Presuppositonal Apologetics gathered from July 15th-21st, 2017.

1.) It’s Easy to Believe in God: Atheism is Impossible

2.) Introduction to Covenantal Apologetics

3.) A Lovely Argument for The Existence of God

4.) The Euthyphro dilemma ricochets

5.) On Fairies and Gardeners

6.) What’s Wrong With Mind-Reading Arguments

7.) Refuting Buddhism and Sharing the Truth

8.) James White take on William Lane Craig on Presuppositionalism

9.) The Relativist Fallacy

 

Missed the last round up?  Check out the re-blogged post from a friend OR that of Another REBLOG HERE

 

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Bible Contradiction? Is God warlike or peaceful?

For today’s post will tackle the question the Skeptic Annotated Bible asked: Is God warlike or peaceful?

Here are the two answers which the skeptic believes shows a Bible contradiction:

God is warlike

““The Lord is a warrior; The Lord is His name” (Exodus 15:3)

“He trains my hands for battle, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.” (Psalm 18:34)

“Blessed be the Lord, my rock, Who trains my hands for war, And my fingers for battle” (Psalm 144:1)

God is peaceful

“Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.” (Romans 15:33)

“Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord,” (Hebrews 13:20)

“for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.” (1 Corinthians 14:33)

“Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.” (2 Corinthians 13:11)

“Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all!” (2 Thessalonians 3:16)

(All Scriptural quotation comes from the New American Standard Bible)

Here’s a closer look at whether or not there is a contradiction:

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Quick Thoughts on “The Old Testament is just a collection and rehash from older sources”

Someone asked me the following:

How can one respond to the statement:

“The OT is just a collection and rehash from older sources” (for example: Sumerian)

Usually non-believers use this approach to undermine the Genesis narratives, stating that there are civilizations much older than the Hebrew people, thus, the books from the Hebrews have been inspired by previous texts from those folks.

Here’s my reply:

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