Jan
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Top 10 (OK, 12) Posts, 2021-2022
Ladies and gentlemen, it is time for a bi-annual “Top 10” list, in which I briefly preview and link to my favorite posts from this blog — this time, from 2021 and 2022. (Last such post was here.) In particular, they are typically ones in which I did more than just quote a big block of text (of course, those have great info, too). I couldn’t bring myself to narrow it down to ten, though. So, I present you with 12 (or so) posts that you might want to check out, whether for the first time or a repeat read-through.
In chronological order, then…
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“I would like to present three arguments that the idea of unlimited obedience to the civil government is not taught in Romans 13 or in the Bible as a whole. That may surprise you, since Romans 13:1-5 is probably the most popular passage used by many well-meaning Christians who teach that the Bible does command this. Bear with me, though, and you may be surprised…”
“Theologians and philosophers will sometimes speak of the ‘logical’ order of certain things, which can be different from the chronological or sequential order. A sequential order is indeed logical when discussing things that occur within time. But, there are also cases when a number of things may occur simultaneously yet still require a logical order to help make sense of them. Calvinism (or any system that recognizes that God issues decrees, I suppose) concerns itself with the logical order of God’s decrees, which occurred in God’s mind prior to Creation. (See Ephesians 1, for example.) In particular, the focus is the logical order of the decree to order or permit the Fall in relation to the logical order of the decree to elect some and condemn others.”
“Effects of the Fall on Creation and ‘Justifying’ Billions of Years”
“[A reader commented on a previous blogpost of mine.] He wrote:
‘Just wondering what your thoughts were on the effects of the fall on creation as a whole, not just on the human race. What in the world is Paul referring to in Romans 8 when he refers to “creation groaning waiting for the revealing of the sons of God.” What of the significant life span change from prior to the flood vs. after the flood? I’m also curious as to why it is important to you to have death prior to the fall? Are you using it to justify millions or billions of years as the age of the earth? If so, why? If so, is it your opinion that just reading a Bible, without scientific commentary, you could come to the conclusion that animals were living and dying for millions or billions of years prior to the creation of and fall of Adam?’
Here was my response…”
“If I Had Been Born in India, Would I Be Hindu?”
“A common challenge one hears (or reads) from non-Christians — usually atheists — is something along the lines of:
‘You’re just a Christian because you were raised in America. If you were raised in [insert country], you’d be [insert country’s dominant religion].’
It is meant to make one’s Christian faith sound like it’s merely due to random, cultural circumstance. It is meant to shake the Christian’s faith and, unfortunately, it does have this effect on some. But, it shouldn’t. In fact, the proper response is ‘So what?'”
“Three O.T. Figures of Speech”
“[T]here are various types of figures of speech — idioms, euphemisms, anthropomorphisms, merisms, hyperbole, simple metaphors, etc. During my recent read-through of the Bible in the NET translation, I noticed (thanks to the footnotes) that the following particular types were showing up relatively often in Psalms and the Wisdom books (Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes), though they do occur elsewhere. So, I figured a brief post might be of interest to some readers.”
“Biden’s Border Crisis Burnout?”
“You asked for solutions. I don’t know about cleaning up the mess you’ve already created, but to stop it from getting worse, you need to re-implement the policies of Biden’s predecessor. You will never admit it, but they worked. The people living on or near the border know it. The traffickers of drugs, weapons, and humans who take advantage of your policies know it. Honest Democrats (e.g., former U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and Texas State Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa) know it and urge you to return to those policies.”
“What’s at Stake in the Dobbs v. Jackson Abortion Case”
“It has been over a month since oral arguments were heard by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which focuses on a 2018 Mississippi law that prohibits abortion after 15 weeks gestation. It is a very important case for a number of reasons, so I thought it worth reviewing…. So, as demonstrated by Dobbs’ counsel, the goal for this case is to remove bad law and put legislative authority back in the appropriate hands. According to Klusendorf, the key question being debated is, ‘Can states limit abortion before fetal viability?’ That’s it.”
“Radical progressives want to turn America into a socialist ‘paradise’. They do this by teaching the ‘evils’ of capitalism and the promises of socialism (i.e., gateway to communist totalitarianism). I say ‘promises’ rather than ‘good’ or ‘benefits’, because the latter don’t exist…. Socialism never puts power in the hands of the people.”
“Is Interracial Marriage Really At Risk?”
“Generally speaking, interracial marriage is not an issue for Republicans. I mean, if politically- and judicially-conservative leaders were truly in favor of anti-miscegenation (i.e., wanted to ban interracial relationships and marriages), then people like Justice Clarence Thomas and Senator Mitch McConnell wouldn’t be in interracial marriages, would they? Or, how about conservative commentator/host Candace Owens or newscaster/host Harris Faulkner?
Lawmakers vote against bills all the time, despite them having content that they approve of. The point is that the bills also contain provisions and/or wording that they don’t like or can foresee being a problem later on….”
“Biden’s Student Loan Bailout: Irresponsible, Unfair, and UnChristian”
“Everyone is talking about President Biden’s plan to ‘cancel’ student loan debt for millions of people, a move even a few noted Democrats are saying is a mistake. I’ve been trying to wrap my head around how many different ways and reasons why this plan is at best misguided — more cynically, but probably closer to the truth, a blatant attempt to win votes/support from certain segments of the population for Biden and others who go on record as approving the plan. So, I’m going to try to present those reasons here without getting lost in too much detail.”
“What Is a Hyper-Calvinist, Really?”
“Once again, I find myself — a non-Calvinist, or perhaps a not-quite-Calvinist — defending Calvinists and Calvinism on social media. (Not that I do this a lot, mind you.) Or, at least, trying to correct misinformation. Why? ‘Cuz it really bugs me to see Calvinists/Calvinism, imperfect as they may be, being maligned and misrepresented by those who don’t like them.”
“Did the Mount St. Helens Eruption Prove Flood Geology?”
“The Mount St. Helens volcano in Washington State rumbled to life in March 1980, and in May it finally erupted, first horizontally (which was a surprise) and then vertically. The top and northern face of the mountain was blown off, leaving a mile-wide, horseshoe-shaped crater…. The eruption and its aftermath, along with supposed implications for modern geology, have been written about by many Young Earth Creationists over the years, but Dr. Tas Walker provides a relatively brief summary of such discussions (and speculations) in an article published in Creation, the July 2017 issue…. In this post, I’ll be taking my queue from Walker to briefly respond to some of his and his compatriots’ claims.”
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Since I don’t suffer from triskaidekaphobia, I decided to link to a thirteenth, “bonus” post that didn’t quite fit my usual topics but was what you might call politics-adjacent: “When Pepsi Had a Navy”.
OK, I hope you find something interesting among these posts, or maybe you’ll find something else to read as you browse through them. Maybe share this “Top 10” with a friend or three. In any case, have a…
Happy New Year!
