Connect Apologetics

@JJ_Richards2 Seems he might. Although a scroll of his timeline makes me wonder if he enjoys much of anything.

@ConnectApx He seems to sow doubt from whar I've noticed. I'm not sure if he enjoys it.

Randal Rauser used to have some interesting things to say, but I don't find much of his recent work very convincing. Mining ancient biblical texts for graphic content and then interpreting it in the light of modern ethical understanding is not good scholarship.

The hole in this thinking is that if it was mere rhetoric, then there is no reason for the Israelites not to apply it to all Canaanites in all places. Yet only a few specific cities are placed under cherem. A good explanation has to make sense of specific data such as this.

Probably stopped being interested when he wasn't able to give a very convincing response to Heiser's observation that the cherem commands in Joshua were reserved for places where Rephaim were present. He presents this as mere rhetoric, a way of dehumanising Canaanites.

@RyanPeterWrites Sorry, I can see how my tweet might be misunderstood. Intellectual assent - not a work Relational trust - not a work Embodied allegiance - works, but not meritorious of salvation

@ConnectApx Is relational trust a 'work' though? I don't think it can really be classified as such.

The Greek word pistis, often translated as "faith" in English undoubtedly has a works element given its common usage in ancient sources, including the NT. Pistis entails elements of intellectual assent, relational trust and active embodied allegiance - works!

Michael Heiser and Timothy Keller. It's been a sad couple of months. Definitely people I'd want a conversation with in the new kingdom.

Hello folks, I have not tweeted much lately. I hope you are all well. My apologetics ministry mostly happens in a high-school classroom setting at the moment, where I am teaching a worldviews course to Year 10 students. It's amazing and difficult.

@johnpauldickson I'm using a (the?) previous version with my Year 10 class later this year. Sounds like I may need to work towards a new class set at some stage. Thanks for this great resource 🙏

8. The purpose of an open mind, said GK Chesterton, is the same as an open mouth: to feed on something nourishing. That is what I hope readers will discover in my new Doubter’s Guide to World Religions—a feast of ideas and nourishment for the mind. It's out next week everywhere.

3. Indeed, my Christian convictions demand that I present each religion fairly. Anything less would be a sure sign I was not confident that Christianity shines on its own without the need to ‘dim the lights’ on the competitors.

@JohnCarpenter64 @davidlogannash @mbird12 Thanks for the references regarding kephalē. I'm aware of what Gruden and others have written and also the problems with their arguments. The concept of kephalē "head" meaning authority is not established in literature contemporary with the NT. Using it as such is an anachronism.

@JohnCarpenter64 @davidlogannash @mbird12 I'm an egalitarian, yes. I twist scripture? No. I submit to it, and look at all it has to say about women, including their radical equality with men in creation: Eve is Adam's flesh! Husbands are to nourish wives as their own body. You may need to remove a log.

To my many complementarian friends, Kristin is not your enemy, you can still be a complementarian, but she's showing you that some of the stuff you were told and sold was more cultural than biblical, more patriarchal than prophetic, more Hollywood than holiness.

@JohnCarpenter64 @davidlogannash @mbird12 Seeing as Greek texts contemporary with the NT never use it this way, and also never on texts regarding men and women, that's an uphill battle. This is a classic case of eisegesis and reading one's presuppositions into the text. We need to start with what [kephalē] meant.

@JohnCarpenter64 @davidlogannash @mbird12 I didn't ignore Gen 2, I interpreted it in its proper context alongside Gen 1. As for your argument from 1 Cor 11 (I agree the NT is inspired commentary) the major issue you have is demonstrating that [kephalē] carries the connotation of authority, as you have assumed.

@JohnCarpenter64 @davidlogannash @mbird12 Jesus did have female disciples! Luke 8 documents Jesus moving town to town by the 12 and a group of women who are literally following Jesus around, supporting his cause and listening to his teaching. Like disciples do.

@JohnCarpenter64 @davidlogannash @mbird12 "Try reading the Bible" - Genesis 1:27-28 was what I was alluding to. Man and woman together are given dominion over every living thing and are told to be fruitful, multiply and subdue creation. Enough silly cheap shots please, they weaken your argument. Just stick to the text.

@JohnCarpenter64 @davidlogannash @mbird12 That humans entwined in the consequences outlined in Genesis 3 haven't perceived equality until recently should be of no surprise. Jesus reformed his culture by having female disciples, the NT reformed culture by giving women full participation in communal life. It continues.

@JohnCarpenter64 @davidlogannash @mbird12 Genesis is brimming with egalitarian imagery and notions. Adam is shown that Eve is his flesh, literally his other half, and therefore his equal. They are given a mandate to rule creation together. Male dominance is presented as consequence of sin.

@davidlogannash @mbird12 I'm interested in that last bit David. How does that link function? I see scripture as presenting an egalitarian picture overall, while also convinced about the consistent sexual ethic of Jesus, Paul and the OT. It's not obvious to me how egal leads to progressive sexual views.

@mbird12 I get that, but hesitancy to call homosexual practice a sin is problematic. I know you won't agree, but I've seen it too many times, the egal perspective on authenteo sets up a progressive perspective on arsenokoitai.

@JK_Riki @ProvisionistP I forget that this point requires clarification for some folks 😅

@ProvisionistP @ConnectApx Each and every, yep.

Humans are infinitely valuable to God - as proved by the fact that Jesus died for us. Humans are inherently sinful and broken - as proved by the fact that Jesus died for us. I try not to fall off either end of the see-saw on this issue.