Can we speed up the return of Christ? Up until quite recently, I would have given a resounding NO!! However, more recently, I have drifted into the "PROBABLY NOT, BUT MAYBE" response. My reason for the resounding NO in the past was that there were two common arguments that I heard. Argument #1. Matthew 24:14 …
Continue reading Can We Speed Up the Return of Christ (If We Are of a Mind To)?
If one looks it up online, the expression "plain sense of Scripture" refers to the literal sense of Bible interpretation. But this doesn't help at all. Why? Because both "plain sense" and "literal" are somewhat technical terms that sound as if they are anything but technical. Both "Plain Sense" and "Literal" focus on the grammatical-historical …
Continue reading What is the “Plain Sense of Scripture” Anyway?
In my last post I noted the problem of responding badly to criticism. A historical example occurred in the 1600s in Germany. Back in 1651, the faculty of the University of Wittenburg was responding to charges from Roman Catholics that the Lutheran Church was invalid. The person questioning the validity apparently was Erhard, Truchsess of …
Continue reading Responding Poorly to Criticism— Historical Missions Example
I do admit that I rarely criticize a group that I am not part of. As a missionary associated with the Southern Baptists, an Evangelical Protestant Christian Denomination, I feel pretty comfortable critiquing or complaining about missionaries, Southern Baptists, Baptists, Evangelicals, Protestants, and Christians. At least I am more comfortable with critiquing these groups than …