I've blogged here for ten years. There are over 4,800 essays to peruse. (Which no one will actually do). So, I put before you several of the series I have written that new followers and recent readers might not know about.
A Day in the Life
I got curious about how the tradesmen and women actually lived. We know there were fishermen, potters, tanners, etc but what did they do, actually? What was their job like? How was their profession seen by others? Some of these trades are gone but others still labor in these professions (fishermen). I wondered how or if the profession has changed. So I looked into it and after writing an Introduction, I wrote several essays exploring a Day in the Life of a:
Fisherman
Seller of Purple
Tanner
Shepherd
Potter
Scribe
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The State of the Church
I had become concerned with the State of the Church. Global negative influences such as charismaticism, apathy, prosperity gospel, and other false doctrines seemed to me to be watering down the American church's witness. America never really was a true Christian nation, but for a long time we enjoyed the veneer of being one. That veneer was being eaten away at home by apostasy, homosexuality, feminism, and other worldly conditions. I wrote a series called expressing my views of this situation: Introduced here in part 1, and then continued with 5 more parts.
Part 2: Are you tending your anchor?
Part 3: The numbers aren't good
Part 4: Carnal Carnival, & the greatest sin pastors commit
Part 5a: When carnality leads to spiritual abuse
Part 5b: Is your church spiritually abusive?
Conclusion: Spiritual Leaders and Humble Relationships
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Moore Reactions and Troubled
In 2011 I was brought to a Beth Moore Living Proof Live event. It meant a 6 hour bus ride and an overnight stay in a hotel. Ladies from our SBC church excitedly signed up to go and our bus was filled. When we arrived I saw that the arena was packed and that meant 20,000 ladies had taken huge steps to get there and paid out good money too. I was amazed by the turnout. I mean, people came in buses from far away, in droves, to attend a Bible event? I was thrilled. I was pretty new to church life, and new to the south. I had not heard of this lady before but I'd seen almost every woman I knew toting a Beth Moore book or talking about her studies. I settled in.
By the end of the weekend I was walking the outer perimeter of the arena, weeping and praying. As a discernment person, it felt like I was in a Babylonian Temple, and that the pillars were shaking with evil power and maniacal laughter from the demons that had gathered 19,999 deluded women to pay homage to a false god of a false Bible. I certainly didn't mean to upset or offend the ladies who I was with nor offend the church leaders who urged me to go and even had paid my way. But I couldn't, simply couldn't remain in that place and listen to what was being said one moment longer. I paced in spiritual agitation.
I had been a journalist before coming to Georgia and I was glad. Moore speaks rapidly, throwing out terms and mantras without explanation, cobbling together many different verses to make her points. After a while of having this fire hose of words thrown at you, you just give up thinking and absorb without understanding. I was glad I wrote everything down so I could look at it later.
So I took copious notes the first session, and at night back in the hotel I looked them over. I praise the Lord that He graciously gave me a mind to dig onto things, and I had questions a lot of what was being taught, and the manner it was being taught. In looking them over now, 8 years later, I am pleased with what I'd written. In addition noting the wildly flung scripture verses, Moore's incorrect allegorizing, and improper hermeneutics, I'd written
"to many mantras with mood inducing music- Eastern mysticism?"
"a temple of money lenders and false doctrines"
"cult of personality"
"She's making our relationship with God a partnership- worrisome"
"Says things but doesn't explain them...'Law of Love'? where's that in the Bible?"
"lots if 'if-then' legalism"
"talks too much about abundant life and things we get from God"
I came home confused and upset and as I usually do, processed my thoughts by writing. I wrote a 6 part series of my reactions to Beth Moore's teaching that weekend, and another series exploring her teachings after more research at home. From that day I've been on guard about her teachings and doing my best to warn in love and with scripture.
Beth Moore: reactions to Living Proof teaching in Charlotte. Part 4: A final word
Beth Moore: reactions to Living Proof teaching in Charlotte. Part 3b: The Teaching
Beth Moore: reactions to Living Proof teaching in Charlotte. Part 3a: The Teaching
Beth Moore: reactions to Living Proof teaching in Charlotte. Part 2, The Music
Beth Moore: reactions to Living Proof teaching in Charlotte. Part 1, The Women
Troubled by Beth Moore's teaching: Part 7, Conclusion
Troubled by Beth Moore's Teaching, Part 6: Eisegesis, Pop Psychology, & Bad Bible Interpretations
Troubled by Beth Moore's teaching, Part 5: Personal Revelation
Troubled by Beth Moore's teaching: Part 4: Legalism
Troubled by Beth Moore's teaching, Part 3: Contemplative Prayer
Troubled by Beth Moore's teaching, Part 2: "Obnoxious"
Troubled by Beth Moore's teaching: Part 1, Introduction and Casualness
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sideways Necklace
In 2013 suddenly it seemed like everyone was wearing a sideways cross necklace. I was vaguely offended by this new fad and the designer's positioning of the cross on its side, but I couldn't figure out why. So I looked into it and wrote an essay asking the question - Is wearing a sideways (horizontal) cross good, or bad?
Little did I know that of all the theological essays diligently researched here, of all the encouragement essays cried over here, of all the salvation pleas and 'left behind' letters placed here, this essay would vault to number 1 and stay there. Six years later it's still the most read essay.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ghost Horse of Tahrir Square is also an essay that got a lot of views. During the unrest in the Arab world in 2011, called Arab Spring, riots occurred in advance of the Egyptian President's fall. MSNBC was there in a hotel, filming from a high vantage point, And for all the world to see, a ghostly apparition looking exactly like a horse and rider appeared on the video. I wrote about it. It's one of those supernatural things that can't really be explained...unless you're a Christian.
My opinion is that it was something supernatural, a glimpse of the unseen world.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Onions
I enjoy learning natural history of the things in the Bible. These are some of my personal favorites I'd enjoyed researching and writing.
All About Onions
All About Linen
The unique bird migration over Israel
Almond Tree: The Promise and the Beauty
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Math
I'm a math-a-phobe but sometimes I come across something really neat and understandable. Vi Hart is a mathematician who explains thing sin videos very well. You might enjoy this video about how to create a unique shape called a flexahexagon.
This Flexahexagon will blow your mind
The orderliness of growth and beauty in the natural world is a perfectly balanced design from a God of Wisdom. Hidden within the design, mathematicians in the middle ages discovered a progression that they still can't understand, while they acknowledge its beauty. This progression of orderly growth and design is called the Fibonacci Sequence, named after the Italian scientist who discovered it. Here is more information-
Glory Window in the Thanks-Giving Square Chapel
Fibonacci spiral
Golden Spiral
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sunday Martyr Moment
For a while I wrote essays about one martyr in the early days of the persecution, just as a way of honoring them, and reminding us of the cost in these easy believism times.
Here is one Sunday Martyr Moment, "Matthew"
And a search result with a list of some more
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thank you for visiting and please feel free to search around at the material here. It goes back 10 1/2 years. I hope it edifies you. As always, email me if you have questions, or concerns about anything written here, or just want to share. Thanks!
