Author: Fred Sanders
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Gospel and Doctrine
Once upon a time, the people most committed to the gospel were the people most inclined to serious theological thought. The deepest doctrines of Christianity, the ones which are not on the surface of the scriptures but lie waiting in its depths, were quarried through disciplined theological meditation and patient discernment. It was not academics…
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Shot Blocked
The marks on the left could be read as railroad tracks converging at a distant vanishing point, but they are in fact the goal net. This young goalie has all the right moves, not even condescending to use his hands in blocking this shot. With such a kick you think to score on me? Ha!…
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Quick ESV Bible Trick
The publishers of the English Standard Version didn’t just produce a highly usable translation of the Bible. They also worked hard to make their work easily available on the internet. They’ve got a whole ESV blog full of nifty techie tricks that their version can do. But here’s one I discovered on my own: When…
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Calling Ishmael: Tony Maalouf at Biola
In these complicated days of geopolitical confusion, here is a straightforward question: What does the Bible say abut the Arab people? It’s a clear enough question, but who do you know who could put together more than a few sentences on the subject? There must be only a handful of such people, and one of…
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Words, Power, and Education
John Mark Reynolds wrote recently about the relationship between education –especially the ability to use words well– and freedom. Verbal fluency is a mighty weapon to enslave or liberate people; it doesn’t take a Marx or a Foucault to spot the way education and miseducation direct the flow of power in a society. I have…
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Why Few Succeed and Many Fail
I love weird old books, and the worse they are, the better I like them. One of my favorite bad books is a modest little volume from 1927 called Why Few Succeed and Many Fail, by Dr. R. A. Richardson. Never heard of Richardson? He was “A Graduate and Licensed Osteopathic Physician and Surgeon, Also…
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Rock and Roll!
On a make-shift stage with a pipe-and-drape backdrop, one man plays a portable keyboard while another brandishes a mean microphone. Put your hands together, people, I can’t hear you! (I can’t prove it, but I believe this is a drawing of worship leader Walt and preacher Erik. At least that’s who was on stage when…
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The Gospell Entyseth Draweth and Sheweth
William Tyndale (1492-1536) changed the world with a revolutionary Bible translation that moved straight from the original languages into English with no Latin middle-man. The very words of Scripture were thus unleashed to conduct their own sovereign interrogation of the sixteenth century church: Are you hearers and doers of the word? Aside from the theological…
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Cordial Salutations of Domestic Felicitation
Mr. Bird returns from a morning of hunting and gathering, descending with a dramatic flourish and imposing wingspread. He has a wild look in his eye, and a few unkempt feathers that could use a good kemping. Though his beak remains tightly closed, he shouts a loud greeting at his dear spouse, who returns both…
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Psalm 56: Reading Along, not Reading Alone
Once a week I get to meet with Old Testament scholar Joe Henderson and a group of students to study one Psalm for one hour. We’re up to Psalm 56. Whenever we gather around one of these psalms, I’m aware that we’re not the first believers to get our grubby hands on it. There’s a…
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Lost Dogs Bark the Nicene Creed in San Bernardino
There’s a band called The Lost Dogs who just finished up a tour in support of their latest album, The Lost Cabin and the Mystery Trees, with a couple of shows in southern California. I caught their San Bernardino show on Saturday night at a Community Church. About 125 people showed up, many of them…
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Agrippa on the Damascus Road
Paul has one shot at defending himself before Agrippa, and he throws everything he’s got at it. One of the things he’s got is the story of his own conversion on the road to Damascus, and in Acts 26 he re-tells the whole episode to Agrippa in detail. In some respects, Paul gives more detail…