The Theologian's Table

The Camp Leader and the Cudgel Introduction If you've read any of these posts, you'll know that I've been inspired by a dream to discuss issues around reading the Bible. So far, each post has addressed some surface-level roadblocks when picking up God's word. This post will not be like the previous ones. It will be more of a theological reflection on how the big C church uses the Bible. So, if theology is not your thing, please feel free to tune out, but if you're interested and are daring to read anyway, hang on to your butt because we're going for a ride! The Nebulous Nature of Dreams The truth is, none of the entries I've written so far have really accomplished what I've tried to set out to communicate. They are, after all, based on a dream. We like to say our dreams could be sharing a more profound message, but in the end, they could just be plain old dreams. After I initially awoke from it, my first sense was that it wasn't directed at new Chris...

As a seminary student, I have been studying a lot about sin and how it effects people. One of the most interesting things for me has been learning how many different words there are for sin in the original languages the Bible was written in, Hebrew and Greek. For example, in the Old Testament there are at least 7 words that describe sin and in the New Testament there are at least 9 words that describe sin. There is another interesting thing about sin that my studies have revealed. The first sin the Bible records is when Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil. They went against the expressed command of God, so sin put a separation between humanity and God, but pay attention to this verse, "The man said, 'The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate' (Genesis 3:12).”  Now, look at the second sin the Bible records, "And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, ...