Why Do Bad Things Happen?
You recall how the story goes – God and Satan are having a discussion about a man named Job. He was a man of great character whom God had given much wealth and blessing. God commends Job, and Satan accuses Job, betting that Job would deny God if God would simply allow...
Breaking the Hinge in the Free-Will vs. Sovereignty Debate
One simple premise undergirds the ideas that either humanity has free volition or that God is sovereign, and that ultimately the two concepts are mutually exclusive. That premise is the hinge upon which the argument turns, favoring either human freedom or Divine...
The Beautiful Paradox: God’s Unfathomability and Knowability
In response to the question of whether or not science makes belief in God obsolete, Christopher Hitchens (who ultimately answers the question in the negative), suggested that, “It will not do to say, in reply to this, that the lord moves in mysterious ways. Those who...
“The most effective leadership, management, and efficiency models share traits common with each other, and traits that are ultimately traceable to the pages of the Bible. While these models are often not intentionally rooted in Biblical concepts by those that promote the models, the models illustrate how applying Biblical principles can set a trajectory of success in enterprise and in life. Led By a Lion is designed to introduce some of these leadership, management, and efficiency models, but goes a step further in identifying the Biblical genesis of many of the core traits that fuel the success of these models.”
Beware Objective Standards Where Only Subjective Ones Are Provided
Paul’s instructions to Timothy regarding the qualifications for leadership in the church (specifically for elders in 3:1-7) are vitally important. They are also not as simple as we might sometimes prefer. We generally prefer things to be neat and clean – objective and...
A Worker’s Manifesto: Why Do Excellent Work?
I once heard a story – I don’t recall where – of a builder who was commissioned by his employer to build a house. The builder’s employer gave specific instructions regarding the quality of the house. He wanted it to be excellent, but the builder tried to save money...
How Can I Know God’s Will For My Life?
In a study addressing why millennials stay in church, the Barna group discovered that 65% of active church goers or those who believed their faith is very important to their life believed that the Bible contains everything a person needs to live a meaningful life,...
“This approach has the advantage of seeking to view all knowledge through the lens of Scripture, and to subject all knowledge to the authority of Scripture. It encourages science and research within the field of psychology. It offers a Biblical balance of description and prescription. Of course, if the Bible is unreliable, then the refractive power of Scripture is distortive rather than corrective, but the epistemological premise of this approach is that God’s word is authoritative and sufficient for our understanding, for our equipping, and for our practice. There are many extra-biblical resources that we can employ, but in seeking out how and when to do that, we mustn’t lose sight of the one reliable constant that God has provided for us – the Bible.” –Chapter 9
2016 SCS Commencement Address by Dr. Christopher Cone
GO FROM THIS MOMENT AND DO SMALL THINGS Commencement Address, Southern California Seminary, May 14, 2016 Christopher Cone, Th.D, Ph.D, Ph.D It is one of the great honors of my life to have been invited to share these precious moments with you today. I express my...
Time to Put the Gun Away? A Comment on the Auction of George Zimmerman’s Gun
Recently George Zimmerman has put up for auction the gun that he describes as a “piece of American history,” and which is notable for its role in the loss of Trayvon Martin’s life. The auction is currently being handled by the United Gun Group, owned by Todd Underwood...
Why Go to Church?
A recent survey showed that the percentage of those in the U.S. who identify as Christians declined sharply by 8% from 2007 to 2014, with millennials leading the exodus. Roughly 36% of millennials now consider themselves to have no religious affiliation (“nones”)....
“The Green Tree is an exceptional work…provides a vital tool for every Bible interpreter…Just as the root system is the foundation of a tree and directly impacts the health of a tree, hermeneutic method is at the root of one’s worldview. This illustration demonstrates that the hermeneutic method that an interpreter of the Bible employs will significantly affect the outcome. The tree will either be healthy, or it will not be healthy…The authors provide a unique examination of Revelation, Genesis, and Job that demonstrates that the LGH hermeneutic is derived from within Scripture, something that other hermeneutical methods fail to demonstrate. This is perhaps the most crucial principle demonstrated in The Green Tree, and it effectively demonstrates that the LGH hermeneutic is also the Biblical hermeneutic.” – Andrew Friend (Amazon Review)
How to Choose an English Bible Translation, Part 1
What a blessing it is to have many English Bible translations from which to choose. Not too long ago there were none, and attempts to translate the Bible into English were met with severe persecution (read about William Tyndale, for example). So when we are faced with...
Seeking Excellence? Don’t Start With “Why, Start With “Who”
In seeking to identify the seeds of excellence, there is a popular device (the Golden Circle) that traces the beginnings of excellence back to the question Why? In this model, we could critique a more common alternative of beginning with the outcome (the What) and...
The Parables of Jesus as Metaphor: Considering the Mustard Seed of Matthew 13:31-32
In considering the parables of Jesus, there are a few contextual concepts we need to understand about Jesus’ presentations in Matthew’s Gospel. First, after Jesus was rejected in Matthew 12 He spoke in public often using parables. His purpose in doing so was...
Does the Biblical God Exist?
A brief examination of Scripture will unveil, in particular, the central assumption of the existence of God (Gen. 1:1, Ps. 14:1, etc.). Never does Scripture seek to prove His existence; rather it presents His reality as the foundational starting point of Biblical...
The Central Question of Christianity: Is Jesus Still Dead?
Whether or not Jesus rose from the dead is perhaps the most important question in determining the truth of Biblical Christianity. As Paul put it, “if Christ has not been raised from the dead…then your faith also is vain” (1 Cor 15:14). He adds that if Jesus hasn’t...
SWOT Analysis, the Bible, and Personal Growth
SWOT is an acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The analytical tool has been in use for around fifty years, and while some attribute the origin of the SWOT analysis to Stanford Research Institute’s Albert Humphrey, because he doesn’t take...
The Biblical Difference Between Preaching and Teaching
The Greek New Testament uses many different words to describe distinct methods of communicating. There are thirteen hundred and twenty-nine references in the Greek New Testament using forms of the word lego, which is to say or speak. Two hundred and ninety-six times...
Epistemology’s First Task: Identifying the Source of Authority
In any worldview there is a necessary first step of establishing the source of authority. Simply put, our first step is a step of faith in determining who or what we will trust in order to answer the questions of life. This is the first task of epistemology. For Hume...
The Bible on Clark Pinnock’s Open Theism, Part 2
Other Passages Answer Clark Pinnock’s Open Theism Genesis 6:6 – God is sorry, and grieves. The LXX uses the word enthumeomai, which is simply to consider or think about, not to “be sorry” (See Mt 1:20). The Hebrew nachem is to have sorrow or to console oneself....
The Bible on Clark Pinnock’s Open Theism, Part 1
Exodus Answers Clark Pinnock’s Open Theism The problem of evil presents a challenge for philosophers and theologians who hold to the existence of God. Simply stated, the problem includes three conditional premises and a concluding question: If God is all powerful, all...