Category Archives: Hermeneutics

How to Argue Like a Christian: Slander, gossip, and swimming pools

This story is told by a campus minister friend of mine. In anticipation of fall semester, the minister wrote congregations around the state inviting students coming to attend the University of Alabama to participate in his student ministry. He pointed … Continue reading

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How to Argue Like a Christian: Camels noses and compromises

At a Sunday morning assembly, the elder making the closing announcements asks the members and visitors to pass in their attendance sheets. At no one’s request, a seven-year old girl named Katie gets up to help pick up the sheets. … Continue reading

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The Blue Parakeet: The Story and Its Plot (Expanded)

McKnight explains that the Story of the Bible is held together by 5 themes – * Creating Eikons (Genesis 1 – 2): Theme is Oneness * Cracked Eikons (Genesis 3 – 11): Theme is Otherness * Covenant Community (Genesis 12 … Continue reading

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How to Argue Like a Christian: False Dichotomies

Your wife walks in the door fresh from the local dress shop. “Just look at this beautiful dress I bought!” she says. You notice that the dress is indeed very beautiful — too beautiful! “Ahem. It looks really nice,” you … Continue reading

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How to Argue Like a Christian: Over-generalizing and Not Listening

It’s awfully easy to find in any group of people a few outliers — people identified with the group who aren’t really representative of the group. I mean, no group of human beings is free of sin or foolishness, and … Continue reading

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The Blue Parakeet: Reading the Bible as Story

Then and now McKnight notes that most blue parakeets — passages in the Bible that we disagree over — can be dealt with by: That was then; this is now. The trick is knowing when to apply it and when … Continue reading

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The Blue Parakeet: The Right Use of Tradition

McKnight continues explaining the right way to read the scriptures. The way of returning to retrieve it all is not the biblical way. The biblical way is the ongoing adoption of the past and adaptation to new conditions and to … Continue reading

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How to Argue Like a Christian: Elision (Skipping Steps) (and Part 1 of the Dialogue with Robert Prater)

To “elide” is to omit something. We Southerners tend to elide our trailing g’s — that is, our trailin’ g’s. And some of our thought leaders have a habit of eliding critical steps in their argumentation. An example is Kerry … Continue reading

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How to Argue Like a Christian: Judging Motives, Continued

Robert Baty has recently begun posting here. He is a retired IRS auditor. I’m a tax attorney. We are natural enemies — rather like Sam and Ralph, as shown in the picture (if you’re not familiar with the cartoon, sorry. … Continue reading

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How to Argue Like a Christian: On Laughing at Ourselves

I spent this last weekend in Nashville attending the wedding of my sort-of son Kyle. Kyle grew up in my house, and he had my wife and me sit on the front row as co-father or associate father or Godfather … Continue reading

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