The Church Didn’t Execute Heretics
Some people claim that Calvin “executed heretics.” That statement oversimplifies the historical reality in at least two important ways: To understand this, a brief historical overview is necessary. The Early Church (Pre-Constantine) Before the Council of Nicaea (325), the early Church Fathers said essentially nothing about how the state should handle heretics. Writers such as […]
Post-Slave Progress
Here’s a fun thought experiment/question: You’re a slave in the early 1800s, and your African enemy warlord is selling you to European slave traders. The warlord is going to let you pick which slave ship you would get on. Which slave ship would you want to choose: One headed for Argentina, Brazil, Caribbean, Mexico, or […]
The Bible, Immigration, and You
Some of what I will lay out here will sound strange and unchristian. But it comes from the Bible, and is part of a much larger discussion on mercy and justice. I’ll try to be brief. It goes without saying that all persons everywhere (including Christians) have a duty to look out for widows, orphans […]
The Arrest of Jesus vs the Arrest of Paul
The story of Paul’s final arrest begins in Acts 21. There are some very interesting parallels between his arrest and Jesus’ arrest. Enjoy: Jesus -> His ministry was to suffer and die for the glory of God (Phil 2:6-11)Paul -> “I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake” (Acts 9:16) […]
Aristotelian Causation in the Bible?
There are many who are quick to say that Greek philosophy shouldn’t interfere with Christian thought. That’s hasty, because all truth is God’s truth. If Plato, Aristotle, or Socrates were true about anything they taught, they were simply (accidentally?) speaking God’s truth. Aristotilean Causation (AC) is one form of this truth, and yes, it can […]
Open Theism VS 1 Samuel 23
Open Theists will regularly champion 1 Sam 23 as a defense for God not knowing the future. The problem is that 1 Sam 23 only defends Open Theism if you 1) limit your analysis to 1st stage thinking, and then 2) add an argument from silence. But should you follow through with the consequences of […]
Slave Destinations
Most people are not aware that of the 12.5 million slaves dragged off the shores of Africa, only 4% arrived in the US/colonies. The majority of the slaves went to south and central America (and the Caribbean Islands). Folks interested in these kinds of numbers would appreciate taking a look at the TransAtlantic Slave Database. […]
On Racism and Systemic Racism
I had a couple of interesting conversations about race with a couple of guys from church over the past week. One is black, the other is white. Both went to seminary, and neither are on the ‘woke’ end of the spectrum. During the conversation, I asked them to define “systemic racism”. One guy paused to […]
Legitimate Biblical Slavery?
Some Christian folks in the West like to act as if slavery was the biggest sin in the history of mankind, and that the USA, which, according to them, was “built on slavery”, stands as Criminal #1. Or maybe Criminal #2, since Adolph takes up place #1. It’s interesting to watch them squirm when atheists […]
Online Resources
There is a vast repository of quality teaching available on YouTube. Unfortunately, there is a lot more dirt than gold. Here is a list of YouTube channels and lecture series that I have found beneficial. Each of the teachers are highly qualified, are published authors, and have taught courses at various universities. Each of these […]