The following is my fourth installment on this topic. The first can be found here, the second here, and the third here. You can tell this is something I think about a lot. I often find engagement with others who are passionate about their understanding. Some people, of course, favor harmony over discord and hope…
Read moreNext Generation Christians
Sure it’s hard, but we can have confidence that God’s church will endure
Read morePocket Guide to James
One of my greatest joys is participating in my weekly men’s Bible study. We take turns reading a few verses then compare translations, draw upon commentaries, add in our experience from life and remembered sermons, and most importantly invite inspiration from the Holy Spirit so as to grow in our understanding of the Holy Scriptures….
Read moreGod is not (just) Love
It’s not your connection. The image above is never going to finish loading. It is there to represent how incomplete is my (and likely your) understanding of God. Getting to know a mere human being you love is a lifelong exercise. Our ability to truly know them seems governed by the time we spend observing…
Read moreEvangelizing ChatGPT
I often turn to ChatGPT to help with my topical research. My Bible study group is currently reading and studying The Gospel of Luke. We’re at chapter two reading what many call the Christmas Story. It got me thinking how momentous this event was to the world. The Jewish people had not had major prophesy…
Read moreHaving faith is not up to You
Given that one is saved by faith, not good behavior, sacrifices, karma, works, reincarnation, et al, how does one get this faith? The Bible’s answer is ‘not on your own ‘cause you’re not even trying’ Psalm 14:2 says “The LORD looks down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if any understand, if…
Read moreEven infants are sinners
Nothing seems more innocent than a cooing newborn baby. All the promise of life with none of the baggage. Yet the foundation of “original sin” infects even these precious ones. Genesis 8:21 says: “every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood.” Likewise Romans 5:12 says “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered…
Read moreEveryone will be Resurrected
If you are like me, you may have conflated the terms and concepts “resurrection” and “salvation.” As children we are taught good people who die go to heaven. Bad people either remain dead, exist in a state of nothingness (eternally separated from God?), or go to “h-e-double-toothpicks.” (Like I said, when we were kids…) The…
Read moreThere are only two destinations, Heaven, and Hell
Despite some religions which espouse reincarnation or a ‘state of nothingness’ as the end game, the Lord Jesus himself clarified there is no middle ground, and he spoke a lot about hell. He told us more about hell than any other prophet. It seems like we needed to hear this from someone we could not…
Read moreTrying to teach ChatGPT to write a Joke
ChatGPT’s responses remind me so much of Data, the android character on Star Trek The Next Generation.
Here was my prompt: I am giving a sermon on love thy neighbor. I wonder if you can help me create a few jokes about how hard it would be for Jesus to love his neighbor if he lived today.
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