theology ⁽⁶²⁾

On 01/06/2013, I posted the following question to a Yahoo discussion group for Mormon-Evangelical discussion. This group, by the way, is moderated by Christian apologist, Rob Bowman. Though I've not yet had the opportunity to read any of Rob's books (no book funds), I did take an online class from him at one point, and I've been favorably impressed with most of his answers (those that I've so far read) in this…

I just (Fri Jan 4, 2013, 11:47 pm) posted the message below to a Yahoo! discussion group hosted by apologist Rob Bowman, at this URL: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/evangelicals_and_jws/message/40327. One thing I learned that will not be evident from the message below or the original post, is that a “curly” apostrophe, though it will be accepted if you paste it into the Yahoo! Groups editor and though it will display correctly in the online version of your post,…

In his Moore to the Point blog, Russell D. Moore suggests an analogy between currently popular zombies and spiritually dead humankind in general: http://www.russellmoore.com/2012/10/31/why-zombies-matter/. Though I find this analogy superficially appealing, closer reflection suggests it doesn’t really work. I offered some comments to that effect on Moore’s post, which comments I reproduce below. If you have thoughts on my remarks (and want me to know about them), please comment here rather than…

Do Christians disagree in their interpretations of Scripture because Scripture is unclear, perhaps because spiritual truths transcend human language and so cannot be perfectly captured in words? Though many today would answer, “yes,” Samuel Hopkins, writing at the end of the 1700s, answers with a resounding (and pious) “no.” (By the way....Though the Kindle edition I'm reading has significant defects, such as numerous OCR errors and lack of an Active Table of Contents, an…

No matter how clever, sophisticated, erudite, linguistically astute, or stunningly beautiful in its complexity your interpretive scheme may be, if it requires you to ignore or dismiss patently clear passages of Scripture, or to interpret them to mean what any honest reader will admit they do not mean, your interpretive scheme cannot be correct.

Initial Post In My Friend the Holy Spirit, San Diego area pastor, Mark Peterson, a Charismatic (and a friend of the friend who gave me this book), makes many interesting claims. The following two claims seem typical (quotations are from the Kindle edition, 3% and 22% marks; paragraph breaks removed; contextual information about inebriation added in brackets in the second quotation): And then I felt it. The Holy Spirit revealed to me…

This site’s old “About” was a depressing piece of business, no doubt about it. Though my convictions were strong, I was “not a happy camper.” Truth be told, I remain a melancholy individual. Except for some alleged cheerfulness during infancy, in fact, I’ve always been such. I don’t foresee this changing radically in the future. — D.M.H., 03 May 2024< Though for a time the site’s founder made an effort to cultivate…

Originally written for a course at Luther Rice University & Seminary in August 2011, under the title “Zen & The Art of Gospel-Evasion: An Interview with Commentary.” On Thursday, 4 August 2011, the writer interviewed a priest and assistant instructor at a Zen center in San Diego County, California, where the writer resides. Because the interviewee shared some information the writer deems private, he has not included the interviewee's name or the…

Originally written for a course at Luther Rice University & Seminary in August 2011, under the title “Zen: Accepting Reality As It Isn't.” This post, please note, in not yet “complete”: Some revisions, such as introduction of relevant links, remain pending. This paper will survey central metaphysical and epistemological tenets of Zen philosophy and examine two Zen practices growing out of these tenets. The philosophy, and practices based upon it, will be…

“Humble Presuppositionalism: Newbigin’s Fallibilist Coherentism, with a Dash of Plantinga,” originally written in June 2009 for a course at Bethel Seminary San Diego. Bracketed comments carrying my initials (DMH) mostly date to 2011 (when I first prepared a version of this paper for the Web), though later comments are also possible. I should note, by the way, that my conservative theological and political convictions would generally put me on the side of…

Backstory ˅ I prepared this paper for an independent study at Bethel Seminary San Diego, where I earned an MA in Theological Studies, in March 2009. A branch campus of Bethel Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Bethel Seminary San Diego closed in 2019. The Saint Paul campus now maintains all records for San Diego alumni. Most San Diego professors who have not retired or moved away are now teaching at Pacific Theological…

Some suggest that pious Christian faith includes belief that the logically contradictory is true, such as in a divine realm beyond the laws of logic and all distinctions. In By Scripture Alone (2002 Trinity Foundation edition), W. Gary Crampton rejects this as impious nonsense: As I’ve noted in brackets, what is to be rejected is belief in contradictions that are true. It is in the sense of insoluble contradictions that, I believe,…