Lee Harmon's Blog, page 75

Exodus 4:19, The Virgin Birth, part V of V

Now the Lord has said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who wanted to kill you are dead.”

//For five days, we’ve been discussing why most Liberal Christians assume the virgin birth stories in the Bible are not meant to be read as history. For the final argument, we want to introduce Matthew’s penchant for midrash—in other words, the way in which Matthew compared Jesus to other men of God through story, an exegetical technique quite common in Jewish circles.

A close look at...

Matthew 2:6, The Virgin Birth, part IV of V

When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.

//Having pared the believable birth stories down from two to one—Matthew’s rendition instead of Luke’s—let’s now take a hard look at Matthew, and see if he really meant us to interpret his version literally.

Let’s begin with how Matthew crafts his story as a fu...

Luke 2:1-3, The Virgin Birth, part III of V

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)And everyone went to his own town to register.

//We’re still on the topic of why most Liberal Christians do not believe literally in the virgin birth, and in the last two days, we’ve discussed the internal viewpoint and the honorific viewpoint. Let’s now look at the historical evidence.

A close look at the two bir...

Matthew 1:18, The Virgin Birth, part II of V

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.

//As mentioned yesterday, I’m presenting a short series on the virgin birth to explain why many Christians do not feel it’s necessary to believe literally in this particular miracle. They find it more likely that Jesus’ birth was as normal as any other. Yesterday, I discussed the Virgin Birth from the persp...

Romans 1:3-4, The Virgin Birth, Part I of V

Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;And declared to be the Son of God with power….

//Liberal Christians like myself often don’t feel it’s necessary to read the Bible in an entirely literal manner. Some of the stories, we insist, not only contradict common sense but were never meant to be read literally in the first place!

Consider the virgin birth of Christ. The Christmas story is a staple of Christian belief, it seems, yet was it...

The Dubious Disciple ranks in the top 100!

The Dubious Disciple won an interesting distinction this week. We are being featured on a list of “100 Exceptional Websites for Christian Theologians,” as selected by TheologyDegreesOnline.com. Featured websites fall into various categories, including Leadership, Art/Music/Literature, and Bible Study. We’re ranked in the category of General Christianity, where we place 9thout of 39 nominees described as such:

“These sites have a lot to offer for someone looking to learn something new about Chr...

Book review: Miracles

by C. S. Lewis

★★★★

How I’ve missed C. S. Lewis! I picked this book up to read for a book club, and settled into it like conversing with an old friend.

The topic is miracles. Do they exist or not? Do they contradict Nature or not? This is not a nuts and bolts proof book; it is a call to see miracles in a different light. There is, for instance, nothing miraculous about turning water into wine … nature itself can do this. God has created a vegetable organism that can turn water, soil and sunlig...

Matthew 6:12, Forgiving Our Debtors

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

//This verse is part of the Lord’s Prayer (the “Our Father”), and it reads straightforwardly. But what does it mean? How can God forgive our debts?

It’s possible to read too straightforwardly, but it’s equally possible to notreadstraightforwardly enough. We must remember the climate of first-century peasantry, where debt was a serious foe, ranking up there with food and shelter. If a person fell into debt, he would most likely lose his land o...

Luke 24:50-51, When Did Jesus Ascend?

When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven.

//Everybody knows the answer to today’s question. Jesus ascended to heaven forty days after the resurrection, as indicated in the book of Acts. Why, then, does Luke give a different story? Let’s trace the events through the final chapter of Luke:

Verse 1 tells us that “the women” went to the tomb early on the first day of the week,...

Book review: Revelation: The Way It Happened

by Lee Harmon

★★★★

This review comes from Pastor Jeff’s website: http://pastorjeffcma.wordpress.com/2012/06/13/revelation-the-way-it-happened-a-review-or-the-future-isnt-what-it-used-to-be/

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There is certainly no book of the Bible that attracts attention like the book of Revelation. People seem either fascinated, frightened, or confused by it–or maybe all of the above. It is commonly said that if you read 25 books on Revelation you would get 26 different opinions and there is probably...