Jan
5
Top 12+ Posts, 2023-2024
As I did for my first post in 2023, I have considered the AVftR posts of the previous two years and picked the top ones. Specifically, by either the importance of the subject and/or my having written (rather than cited) the bulk of the content, I thought these posts were the best ones I put out during this period. Also as before, I couldn’t quite bring myself to narrow it down to a “Top 10”, and in fact four of the entries are for multi-part series. (I might note that only the 4-part “The Case for Life” series touched on Politics. All the remaining posts this time around fall under Religion or a combination of Science and Religion.)
Ready? In the usual chronological order…
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“The RUFO Phenomenon” series (3 parts)
“[A] small percentage of UFO sightings have proven resistant to prosaic, purely natural explanations. Even the experts disagree on some of them, but conservative estimates classify roughly 1-10% as “residual UFOs”, or RUFOs…. So, what are these RUFOs? Alien spacecraft? Aliens themselves? If so, what kind? …
The interdimensional hypothesis (IDH) agrees that ‘some UFOs are real phenomena that may exhibit physical and empirical effects. But in this view the origin and nature of such phenomena belong not to extraterrestrial spacecraft but to another realm of reality beyond the time-space continuum. The IDH is thus sometimes described as the paranormal or occult view of UFOs.'”
“One Day While Scrolling Along…”
“This next part is where it gets more interesting, and I would like to insert my thoughts here in response to various statements made by the next commenter [CP]….
Where does CP read about this “perfect” world/universe, I wonder. It isn’t in the Bible. For one thing, when the English word “perfect(ed)” is used in Scripture, it usually means either “complete(d)”, as in perfecting one’s faith, or in some sense “blameless”, as in Noah being “perfect in his generations” (KJV). The typical YEC use of “perfect” here, though, implies some sort of physical ideal in which all is peaceful and absent of anything that might concern or potentially hurt anyone. Note that God’s assessments about his Creation in Genesis 1 — even in the KJV, favored translation of many YECs — are “good” (vv. 4,10,12,18,21,25) and “very good” (v. 31).”
“Issues with ‘All Men’ in 1 Timothy 2”
“[I]s there a legitimate way of reading the Romans 8 passage such that God did not predestine anything at all to happen, and that He leaves the decision for salvation totally up to the individual? I don’t think so (and neither does Koukl). We definitely need to take a closer look at the 1 Timothy passage.
It seems like there are two conflicting desires here. God sovereignly desires to save some, and He does that via predestination (see Rom. 8, for example). But, He also desires to save “all” (see 1 Tim. 2, for example). It sounds like a contradiction. The Law of Non-contradiction states: “‘A’ cannot be ‘not A’ at the same time and in the same way.” Question: Is it possible to desire something in more than one way at the same time? Sure.”
“Child Sacrifice and Jephthah’s Vow to God”
“Jephthah may have been a “rough” man who fell in with some no-good types (Judg. 11:3). But, he seems to know the Law of Moses, at least in regards to the seriousness of vows and the importance of keeping them (Numbers 30). He also taught his daughter well, as she responds (my paraphrase): “I understand, Dad. You gave your word to God. He did His part, so you have to follow through on your promise.” It’s a safe bet that Jephthah knew the injunctions against child sacrifice, too (Lev. 18:21, 20:3; Deut. 12:31, 18:10). Would he really ignore the fact that he could be punished by stoning (Lev. 20:3) if he committed this sin? Would he disobey a clear command of God so he could obey another command of God? (More on this below.)”
“No Such Thing As a ‘Christian Witch’ (or a ‘Pagan Christian’)”
“From what I gather, the “Christian Witch” thing is a movement of some sort, which (no pun intended) seeks to entice Christians (primarily women) — or, at least, those claiming to be “Christian” — into a syncretistic religion that combines aspects of “Christianity” while asserting that certain pagan practices are acceptable. Since many Christians, especially newer converts, are largely biblically illiterate, they can often be easily duped into believing this. (Btw, I have also seen the terms “Trinitarian Wiccans” and “Christo-Pagans”.)
But, while not going into great detail, the Bible does make it clear that not only is syncretism unacceptable but any type of witchcraft or other pagan practice is forbidden by God.”
“Top 5 Non-Fiction Authors Who Impacted My Life & Thinking”
“A few years back, I participated in a Facebook challenge in which you were to identify the ten books that most strongly influenced you and then post the title and cover of one of them each day for the next ten days. Each day, you were also supposed to challenge a different FB friend to do the same with their ten picks. Being recently reminded of this challenge (thank you, Facebook Memories) gave me the idea of presenting my ten books in a blogpost. But, despite what I decided on for the FB challenge, it was really hard to narrow it down to ten. Plus, a couple more contenders had been published in the meantime.
I noticed that certain authors had written more than one book apiece among my favorites. So, I opted to do a list of authors instead of books….”
“Three Embarrassing Religious-Biblical Goofs I Made Online”
“[S]omething recently jogged my memory about [] a time when I really embarrassed myself on Facebook. That in turn got me thinking about other online exchanges I’ve had over the years, and I remembered a couple more times that I metaphorically faceplanted on a religious matter. (Fortunately, none of them were in face-to-face conversations, ‘cuz I would have been even more embarrassed.) Nevertheless, I said to myself, “Hey! Why not share your idiocy with any family, friends, foes, or strangers who come across your blog? (Not that previous readers will be all that surprised.) That’ll be fun!””
“What to Make of This Weird Bible Passage” series (6 parts)
“I have been digging into three Old Testament passages that leave most people scratching their heads. I don’t have access to a bunch of commentaries or academic papers, but I do have access to several study Bibles. So, I thought it might be both fun and informative to take a look at what a few of the best have to say about these passages and share those study notes here.
I’ll address the other two passages in the weeks to come, but this week (and next) we’ll look at Bible-readers’ introduction to the sons of God, daughters of men, and the Nephilim. Shall we?”
Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6
“Rescuing Inerrancy” series (5 parts)
“Some late twentieth- and twenty-first-century Christian scholars claim that belief in dual revelation and biblical inerrancy represent merely recent doctrinal developments. Their point is that interest in such subjects rarely shows up in writings from the first fifteen to eighteen centuries of church history. In The Authority and Interpretation of the Bible, theologians Jack Rogers and Donald McKim argue that the early church fathers, the medieval scholars, and the Reformation leaders cannot be cited as a source of the twentieth-century belief in biblical inerrancy. Ironically, the absence of historical references to such terms as “dual revelation,” “biblical inerrancy,” and “concordance” may have a more reasonable and nearly opposite explanation.”
Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5
“The Case for Life” series (4 parts)
“In its essence, the pro-life argument can be summarized with the following syllogism (2 premises and a conclusion):
1) It is morally wrong to intentionally kill an innocent human being.
2) Abortion intentionally kills an innocent human being.
3) Therefore, abortion is morally wrong.If someone wants to argue against this position, s/he must either a) show that the terms are unclear; b) show that the argument is unsound (i.e., the premises are not true); or c) demonstrate the argument to be invalid (i.e., the conclusion does not logically follow from the premises). Unfortunately, the “discussion” often gets sidetracked with various counterclaims, accusations, and just plain bad arguments that serve to distract from the facts and the real issue.”
“Top 7 Recommended Creation/Evolution/ID Books NOT by RTB/Hugh Ross”
“[G]iven how many books I read by the scholars at Reasons to Believe — in particular, Dr. Hugh Ross — and how often I quote them in this blog, some people might think RTB is basically my only source on matters of science apologetics. Do I ever recommend books on this topic by anyone else? The answer is, of course, “No, RTB/Ross isn’t the only one and, yes, I do recommend other authors’ books.”
As indicated by this post’s title, I’m gonna give you seven such titles right now…”
“A Blueprint for Getting More from Your Bible Reading”
“Regular reading in God’s Word is an important part of Christian life and practice (Psalm 119; John 8:31-32; 2 Tim. 3:16-17). But, to be honest, it isn’t always easy. Sometimes it’s the particular book or passage(s) in question that are difficult to get through (e.g., Leviticus), while other times it may be just sticking to a regular schedule that’s hard. I get it, believe me. I didn’t read the Bible on a regular basis for many, many years, and it was just a few years ago that I finally determined to develop the habit.
Now, I’m not a Bible teacher or elder, but I think I have a few valuable suggestions based on my own experience, as well as gleaned from those more biblically-informed than I am…. [So,] here is my 9-point blueprint for getting more from your Bible reading…”
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As always, I hope you found something that tickled your fancy among these posts, whether or not it was the first time you read it. Share with your friends and family. Maybe they’ll find something of interest, too. 🙂
May 2025 be a time of learning and growth!
