Category Archives: Index

From the Comments: The Connection of the Church with Israel, Part 1 (Romans 11)

Posted on February 8, 2014 by Jay F Guin

Reader Ted Bigelow, aka Simple Elder, asked me a series of questions in the comments regarding the relationship of the current church with Israel. The same issue has come up in earlier comments from other readers, from several different directions. … Continue reading →

Posted in Connection of Church with Israel, Uncategorized | 17 Comments

Thom Rainer: Warning Signs of Ministerial Affairs

Posted on February 7, 2014 by Jay F Guin

The experts say that something like 30% of Christian pastors and ministers will, at some point in their careers, succumb to sexual temptation. It’s a shocking figure, but I think it’s about right. I have many friends in the ministry … Continue reading →

Posted in Sexual Ethics, Uncategorized | 23 Comments

Mark Love on Cynicism and Ministry Training

Posted on February 6, 2014 by Jay F Guin

Marvelous post by Mark Love: “Learning Without Cynicism” — We also try to take an appreciative stance in relation to the congregation. We do this in two or three deliberate ways. Part of it is built into our notion of … Continue reading →

Posted in Ministers, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Paul and the Faithfulness of God: Two Videos

Posted on February 1, 2014 by Jay F Guin

We’ve been considering N. T. Wright’s newly released Paul and the Faithfulness of God (Christian Origins and the Question of God) — a massive and masterful consideration of Paul’s theology. Well, we were and then I had surgery and then I … Continue reading →

Posted in Paul and the Faithfulness of God, Uncategorized | Comments Off

What Is “Sin”? Even More Conclusions

Posted on January 29, 2014 by Jay F Guin

As reader Charles likes to point out, we have a tendency to abstract our God so that we love his love, love his faithfulness, love his salvation, but don’t love God himself because we don’t know God as a person … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized, What Is Sin? | 6 Comments

What Is “Sin”? Some More Conclusions

Posted on January 28, 2014 by Jay F Guin

I dunno. I’m not that happy with my last post. I mean, it’s right enough, I think, but not as pointed as I meant to be. I blame the drugs and slow recovery from mostly deadness. (I’m better, but it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized, What Is Sin? | 45 Comments

What Is “Sin”? Some Conclusions

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Jay F Guin

So how do we respond when the question is how to conduct the Lord’s Supper? We’ve wrapped this common meal with 2,000 years of tradition — much of it quite bad — and have nearly lost sight entirely of what … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized, What Is Sin? | 17 Comments

What Is “Sin”? The Image of God

Posted on January 26, 2014 by Jay F Guin

The word sin means literally “missing the mark.” It means the failure to be what one should be and to do what one should do. According to Orthodox Handbook Series Vol 1 by Thomas Hopko, posted at the Orthodox Church of America website, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized, What Is Sin? | 5 Comments

What Is Sin? Paganism

Posted on January 25, 2014 by Jay F Guin

The Romans saw the gods as beings to be manipulated into providing blessings. The gods themselves cared little, if at all, about the people. Indeed, the stories about the gods suggested that that gods might rape and commit murder at … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized, What Is Sin? | 13 Comments

What Is “Sin”? The Nicene Creed

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Jay F Guin

This brings us to the Nicene Creed — believe it or not. The fact that Jesus is the Messiah is the core of Paul’s gospel. And yet the modern Churches of Christ don’t teach this, not really. We ask our … Continue reading →