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Over-reacting to ‘creeping sharia’

From First Thoughts

Matthew Schmitz is dead on in alerting us to the negative impact of Fears of ‘Creeping Sharia’. Several US states, including Kansas, are taking legislative action to stop what they persist in believing to be a domestic threat from muslim sharia law. Such efforts are of dubious . . . . Continue Reading »

June notes

From First Thoughts

I really wanted to be at the Christians in Political Science conference at Gordon College last week, but was unable to make it. Fortunately one of the highlights, Miroslav Volf’s lecture, was recorded and has been posted on youtube. One of the respondents, Dr. Paul Brink, is a former student . . . . Continue Reading »

William G. Witt on biblical authority

From First Thoughts

As a followup to my earlier post, Warning: this bible is loaded, I would like to draw attention to a marvellous paragraph from a piece by William G. Wittwith obvious relevance to the issue of biblical authority:There is a danger that discussions about the authority of Scripture may turn into . . . . Continue Reading »

Warning: this Bible is loaded

From First Thoughts

There can be no doubt that many people read the Bible incorrectly and unwisely, missing such literary elements as figures of speech, including metaphors, similes, &c. Reading a metaphorical passage too literally is certainly one way of misreading scripture. Nevertheless, assuming the following . . . . Continue Reading »

Colson eulogies

From First Thoughts

Michael Gerson is thankful for Chuck Colson’s life and example: In Memoriam: Charles W. Colson, A Life Well-Lived (1931-2012). Writes Gerson:I saw Chuck’s character close up.  Chuck gave me my first job, as a research assistant working at Prison Fellowship.  He also gave me a . . . . Continue Reading »

Psalm 81 and singing in God’s voice

From First Thoughts

I am crossposting this from my Genevan Psalter blog, because it addresses an issue that I’ve seen on the pages of the print issues of First Things in the past:I have now posted my versification of Psalm 81, along with my arrangement of the Genevan tune. Verses 4 and 5 of this psalm, with their . . . . Continue Reading »

A Judahite rewrite of Samaritan history?

From First Thoughts

The German weekly Der Spiegel carries a fascinating article: Israel’s Other Temple: Research Reveals Ancient Struggle over Holy Land Supremacy, by Matthias Schulz. The charge that Jews revised the biblical narrative at the expense of the Samaritans is not new, but this article claims that . . . . Continue Reading »