Our Savior was a master of enigma, a device by which he made his hearers think. In Matthew 6:22–23 we find a teaching whose initially enigmatic character resolves, under patient study, into delightful clarity. The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if...
The book of Genesis does what preachers and Sunday school teachers would do well to avoid. Indeed, it violates the first rule they teach you at Bible-teaching school: Don’t comment on the physical appearance of particular women. It’s okay for...
Learning New Testament Greek is a fantastic idea—and perhaps an intimidating one. I don’t want to add to the difficulty. And I also kind of do. I have a suggestion that will help you in the long run: try learning about language more generally before...
I love writing for sharp readers; they keep me on my toes. Once, in my post “The Easy Way to Do a Responsible Bible Word Study,” after studying the word hilasterion, one of them presented me with a challenge: Can we do a high-quality Bible word...
Word studies are a treasure trove … and a minefield. Somehow you have to weave through the dangers to get the treasures. Think for a moment: if you were about to enter such a field, what would you want to know about first? The gold or the...
This is a guest post about faith by Andrew B. Perrin. assistant professor of religious studies and co-director of the Dead Sea Scrolls Institute at Trinity Western University. A few years ago I googled “faith” and discovered that the top two hits...
One fine South Carolina day my little family was driving down the road listening to the radio, and on came “Rudy Mancke’s Nature Notes,” a delightful little minute-long feature by a local naturalist who talks about flora and fauna in the Palmetto...