Author: Scriptorium Admin
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Blindness and Sight
John Mark Reynolds, 2004. John 9- Jesus heals a “man born blind.The Greeks wrote that the blind could see better in the spiritual world, because they were not distracted by the physical. They made their great sages and prophets blind (Homer, Tiresias). To see the world where the gods lived, one had to ignore the…
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Thoughts on Satan
John Mark Reynolds, 2004. Satan begins by saying he would rather rule in hell than serve in heaven. Soon he realizes his error, but by then it is too late. He reaches for heaven, falls to hell, and ends up serving the divine purpose in any case. Most of us would not make that choice…
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The “Language of Appearance” in Genesis
John Mark Reynolds, 2004. Biblical scholars sometimes resort to the argument that a “language of appearance” can allow for the cosmology and history of the Bible to be false while still not destroying inerrancy. The Bible can assert in Genesis that the flood came from an ocean above the earth through windows, because the human…
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Thoughts on Milton
John Mark Reynolds, 2004. Today I got to do a concluding class on Milton’s Paradise Lost. While trying to understand the work, we began to discuss Milton’s view of men and women. Milton says that women are inferior to men in intellect and morals. It reminded me of why so many people become feminists. Misogyny…
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The Spoils of Egypt…
John Mark Reynolds, 2004. I have been thinking about Chrystostom’s Sermons on the Gospel of John and on Augustine’s “On Christian Teaching.” With much groaning, I have come to repudiate liberal arts education.Augustine famously described the “liberal arts education” as using the “spoils of Egypt” for God’s use. Secular wisdom would benefit the people of…
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Forward Towards Home
John Mark Reynolds, 2004. I am with a serious group of people, who like all the Church fathers, think there was a large flood in the days of Noah. They are arguing about its size, but the agreement is broad. If they are right, then secularism is wrong. Religion is not “mere belief.” Religious texts…
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Rebuke, Repentance, and Restoration
John Mark Reynolds, 2004. What if one viewed the world through a religious framework? Not because one had to out of fear (you never know when to expect the Spanish Inquisition), but because it is interesting and after much experience of the world seems true? What if one decided that a holy book, like the…
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Seeking For Thyself or Following the Logos
John Mark Reynolds, 2004. I am at a meeting in Dallas, Texas where very thoughtful Christians are dealing with issues related to religion and science. Led by one of California’s brightest citizens, Phillip E. Johnson of UC Berkeley. Too often the stereotype of thoughtful Christians is that they are bound by dogma, unable to engage…