19Jul 2022 by Post

The Pendulum Problem: A Warning of Extreme Beliefs

Are Christians Extreme?, atheist, beliefs, Bible Thumper, Christian Pendulum, Hermeneutic, Melissa Dougherty, Pendulum, Theology and Christian Apologetics
By Melissa Dougherty I have a dog and a cat. Max is my dog whose personality is likened to a lovable, furry, hyperactive toddler. As an anxious dog, nobody is safe from his “watchful” eye. When the doorbell rings, my ferocious dog barks an explosive cry so loud that it vibrates throughout the entire house. His hair stands up, and he aggressively pushes his nose to the door to somehow intimidate his arch nemesis: the poor Amazon delivery dude. “Don’t you hoomans see the problem!? I’m protecting you from the bomb just delivered to our door!” Is a mom walking her baby down the street? A kid riding their bike? Oh, he must inform us about this potential threat by alerting us with all the gusto he can muster because…
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11Jul 2022 by Post

Is the Law of First Mention a Proper Biblical Hermeneutic?

Apologetics, Bellator Christi, Bible interpretation, Brian Chilton, Christianity, Gospel, Hermeneutic, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics
By Brian Chilton Recently, Curtis Evelo (Bellator Christi Podcast co-host) told me about a conversation he had with an individual about biblical interpretation. Apparently, the individual held that the wine that Jesus miraculously brought forth out of water in John 4 was merely unfermented grape juice. When asked why he held this view, he contended that to hold that the wine held fermented content was to argue that Jesus was a sinner because wine is said to be a mocker in Proverbs 20:1. Curtis asked him what this had to do with Jesus’s miraculous transformation of water into wine. The unnamed individual then said that he used the law of first mention. According to the law of first mention, the interpreter first examines the initial place where the term or…
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