I am sensitive to politicians who misuse Scripture. (Please note that a lot of politicians do this, regardless of political affiliation. I fault any who do this, regardless of what letter they have after their name.) Today I read a news article where a presidential candidate used a verse inappropriately. I’m going to call this particular error “Smoke and Mirrors Exposition” which I define as taking a verse out of context to support an issue in which the verse has no bearing on the issue at hand. With this particular error, oftentimes the same issue supported by the politician is clearly condemned by other passages of Scripture. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Israel
Usury: Does the Bible Explicitly Prohibit It?
One of my pet peeves is politicians misusing Scripture. I don’t care what letter they have after their name or what their political persuasion is. Here the topic is usury in the Bible as it relates to U.S. interest rates. (Relating these two things is a stretch anyway, since the biblical text’s statements about usury were between individuals, but here we go.)
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-religious-right_n_5cde4ba3e4b00e035b8d3c38
usury
God Sings
I was teaching a Sunday School class for teenagers recently and mentioned in passing that God sings and when we sing we reflect part of his character. I received a number of confused looks from the teens present. Now my lesson wasn’t specifically on that point and my mention of it was by way of illustration, so I moved on. However, I think I’m going to revisit that briefly with them soon to help them see this important truth better. In addition, my other thought was that other Christians may have never heard this either, so here is a verse which demonstrates God as singing. Continue reading
Is Immigration a Biblical Issue?
First of all, this is not an endorsement or condemnation of Donald Trump or the U.S. government’s immigration policies in general. This article is simply addressing biblical interpretation errors and other fallacies in a Washington Post article written by a Yale Divinity School professor which takes issue with Franklin Graham’s insistence that immigration is not a Bible issue. Here is the article:
This is not the first article I have read this week on this subject. All of them have a common theme: Christians should let anyone immigrate to the United States because of how “strangers” are treated in the Bible. Here’s my take:
God Is Not Done with Israel
Deuteronomy 4:31 (For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.
These words were spoken by Moses to the children of Israel. They communicate one general fact and three facts which are specific to the nation of Israel.
The general fact is that God is merciful. This is true for the Jews and the Gentiles. Regardless of who you are, God is merciful. Continue reading