Some biblical verses say God cannot be seen, but other verses seem to say he can be seen. How can we reconcile them?
Do I Really Know God? He Is Invisible
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Monthly Archives: April 2019
Do I Really Know God? He Is Spirit
This means he is immaterial or nonphysical.
Do I Really Know God? He Is Omnipotent
This means he is all powerful and sovereign. He is able to do everything according to his holy will and whatever is not a moral or essential contradiction.
Do I Really Know God? He Is Everywhere
This is known as his omnipresence. There is no place in the universe where he is not there—he is in every corner.
Do I Really Know God? He Is Omniscient
It means he is “all-knowing.” He absolutely and totally and exhaustively knows himself, his creation, and you.
Do I Really Know God? He Is Infinite and Personal
God is greater than the universe. He is limitless and boundless. But he chooses to relate to us anyway. He is personal.
Christianity Is Fastest Growing Religion in World
In this post, growth is defined by reaching people and converting them and an increase in church attendance, not birthrate or immigration. Measured in that way, Christianity is the fastest growing religion in the world, without a close second. Periodically updated.
Do I Really Know God? He Is Eternal
This attribute is important to us because it puts things in the right perspective. For God it’s the long game.
Do I Really Know God? He Is Simple
This means he is uncompounded and noncomposite and without moving parts. He does not gain or lose an attribute, nor is an attribute attached to him from the outside. It means God’s perfect unity.
Do I Really Know God? He Is Unchanging and Consistent
We can build our lives on this great attribute of God—his stability and constancy. But wait. Does God change who he is when we pray?
Statements of Faith: Apostles Creed and NAE
The Apostles Creed and National Association of Evangelicals are the main statements of faith for this website. Continue reading
Supplemental Statements of Faith: Two Historic Creeds
The statement of faith at the website is the Apostles Creed and the Statement of Faith of the National Association of Evangelicals. The other two historic statements commented on in this post also make up the other portions of this website’s Statement of Faith.
Do I Really Know God? He Is Self-Existent
On a personal level, it means he does not need us, but we need him—desperately, even when we don’t realize it.
What a Divine Attribute Is
An attribute is also called a perfection. in some contexts. It is amazing. God can never improve or get worse. He is who he is, period.
A Brief Autobiography of the Administrator
My story is told briefly and selectively. (A post office box is at the end of this post, if you wish to contribute to this teaching ministry.) Continue reading
1. The Kingdom of God: Was Jesus a Pacifist?
To answer that question, we must separate the Kingdom of God from the Kingdom of Caesar. Part One in a four-part series.
2. The Gospels: Was Jesus a Pacifist?
To answer that question, we look at four episodes in the Gospels: John the Baptist and some soldiers; Jesus and a centurion; an apparent command to use a sword against a disciple’s family; and two swords during Jesus’ arrest.
3. Were the Early Christians Pacifists?
Did they pick up swords to stop the persecution and control nonconformists?
4. Can Christians Join the Military or Police Force?
The question is really asking whether they can kill in the name of the law or the Constitution.
A Defense of Martin Luther
Or at least an explanation. He is included at this website because he renewed Christian doctrine.
Timeline of the Age of Prosperity
Some call it the Postmodern Age. Others: The Age of Affluence or the Age of Leisure. Whatever the labels, this post covers history from 1945 to early 1989, at the end of the Reagan administration. The American church and Christianity is included here. Lots of information here.
Outline of Age of Prosperity
Some call it the Postmodern Age, others: Age of Affluence. This post goes from 1945 to the 1990s and puts people in their historical and cultural contexts with little comment. The church is also included in the outline. At the end, however, is a conclusion section that asks what the Western world is about. Let’s preserve it.
Outline of the Age of Populism
Some call it the Age of Anxiety or Zenith of Modernism. Others call it the Beginnings of the People’s Century, when regular people got more political power. This post covers history, philosophy and religion, literature, art and architecture and goes from WWI to WWII. Genealogical tables are included here, to help sort out the national rivalries.
Timeline of the Age of Populism
Some call it the Age of Anxiety or Zenith of Modernism. Or it could be called the Beginning of the People’s Century. This post covers history, philosophy and religion, literature, art and architecture and goes from WWI through WWII. Genealogical tables are included here to help sort out national rivalries.
Outline of the Gilded Age
Some call it Early Modernism. The British call it the Late Victorian and Edwardian Ages. Whatever the labels, this post covers history, philosophy and religion, literature, and art and architecture and goes from 1871 to 1914. Genealogical tables are included, to help sort out national rivalries.
Timeline of the Gilded Age
Some call it Early Modernism. The British call in the late Victorian and Edwardian Ages. Whatever the labels, this post covers history, philosophy and religion, literature, and art and architecture and goes from 1871 to 1914. Genealogical tables included here, to help sort out the national rivalries.
Outline of Triumph of Bourgeoisie
This post reviews history, philosophy and religion, literature, art and architecture and goes from 1830 to 1871. The “bourgeoisie” means the middle or business class standing between the old aristocracy and the working class.
Timeline of Triumph of Bourgeoisie
This post reviews history, philosophy and religion, literature, art and architecture and goes from 183 0 to 1871. Royal genealogical tables are included to sort out national rivalries.
Timeline of Age of Revolutions and Reactions
Some call this time from 1789-1830 the Napoleonic Era (d. 1821). This post covers history, philosophy and religion, literature, and art and architecture. How did these cultural areas react to the French Revolution and Napoleon?
Outline of Age of Revolutions and Reactions
Some call this time from 1789-1830 the Napoleonic Era (d. 1821). This post covers history, philosophy and religion, literature, and art and architecture. How did these cultural areas react to the French Revolution and Napoleon?
Timeline of Age of Reason or Enlightenment
Some call it the Age of Enlightenment. Whatever the label, it covers history, science, philosophy, literature, and arts and architecture and the 1700s, including the American Revolution, but stops short of the French Revolution (the next post).
Outline of Age of Reason or Enlightenment
Some call it the Age of Enlightenment. This post covers the 1700s, except the French Revolution (see next post) and reviews history, philosophy and Christianity, literature, and art and architecture.
Timeline of Early Modern World
Some call it the Baroque Age. This post focuses on history, philosophy, literature, and art and architecture and covers the 1600s and up to 1715, the death of King Louis XIV of France. Genealogical tables are included here, to sort out the royal dynasties of England and France.
Outline of Early Modern World
Some call it the Baroque Age. This post covers history, philosophy and religion, literature, and art and the 1600s reaching to 1715, when King Louis XIV of France died.
Timeline of Renaissance and Reformation
This post goes from 1492 to 1610, the High Renaissance, and covers history, philosophy, literature, science, and art and architecture..
Outline of Renaissance and Reformation
This post goes from 1400 to 1610 and covers history, philosophy, religion, literature, and art and architecture.
Outline of Medieval Age
This post goes from 476 to 1500 and outlines history, especially church history, philosophy, and literature. Even during those 1,024 years, one can find church reform movements and shining lights.
Outline of Ancient Roman Civilization
This outline of basic facts and events goes from early Roman settlements and the expulsion of the king in 509 BC to the fall(s) of Rome in the fifth century AD. This post looks as history, philosophy, literature, and the early church. A study on poet Ovid is included at bottom of post.
Outline of the Hellenistic World
This post outlines history, philosophy, literature, and art and architecture and goes from Alexander the Great (356-323) to Caesar Augustus (31 BCE to 14 AD).
Outline of Classical Athens
This post outlines history, philosophy, literature, art and architecture and covers mainly the fifth and fourth centuries BCE, with some events a little before that century. This is the birth of democracy and philosophy, literature, and the arts.
Outline of Archaic Greece
This post goes from 1900 to 478 BCE and covers history, politics, and literature, particularly Homer.
Outline of Minoan Civilization
This post is in a series of outlines about Western civilization, as Minoan culture contributed to ancient Greece. The post covers the historical and economic aspects only and goes from 3000 to 1380 BCE.
Outline of Ancient Mesopotamian Civilizations
This post is part of a series of outlines of civilizations that influenced the Western world. The post goes from 2900 to 1750 BCE.
Outline of Ancient Egypt
This post is part of a series of outlines on civilizations that have influenced the Western world. This post looks at history, religion, art and architecture, and literature of ancient Egypt and goes from 3100 to 525 BCE (conquest by Persia).
1. Genesis 1-11 in Its Ancient Religious Environment
It is unrealistic to expect that the ancient author of those chapters lived in a sound-proof bubble and was not influenced by his religious culture. He rejected some of it, but accepted elements. But which elements? And which criteria to accept or reject them were decisive? Part 1 of 5 in a series on Gen. 1-11.
2. Reading Genesis 1 as Originally Intended
Why did the author of Genesis 1 choose six + one (seven) days of creation and not three or ten or twelve–or no days at all? He plainly tells us why. Part 2 of 5 in the series on Gen. 1-11.
3. Adam and Evolution: Five Options
We need to face a brute fact. Evolution is here to stay. It started out as a rising tide, but now it is a tsunami. Are we going to flail and punch it–or surf it? How do we interpret the biblical passages about Adam and Eve? Five options are offered here. Part 3 of 5 in a series on Gen. 1-11.
4. Save Our Ship! Rescuing Noah’s Ark from Flood of Science
It’s time to read the ancient story in its own cultural context, not ours. This post is part 4 of 5 in a series on Gen. 1-11.
5. The Real Significance of Genealogies in Genesis 5-11
If you were to write up a genealogy of your family, you would follow certain rules or conventions. You are of your own times. When the author of Genesis wrote genealogies in those seven chapters, he followed certain conventions. He was of his own times. Part 5 of 5 in a series on Gen. 1-11.
1. New Testament Manuscripts: Preliminary Questions and Answers
This article is the first in a four-part series on New Testament textual criticism. It provides the basics on this science and art. It also answers the question, How do I grow closer to God?
2. Basic Facts On Producing New Testament Manuscripts
This article comes second in a four-part series on New Testament textual criticism. It answers questions about the material and process of making the pages of a document, along with the scribal art of writing. It also answers the question: How does this post help me grow closer to God?
3. Discovering And Classifying New Testament Manuscripts
This article provides basic facts on how some of the New Testament manuscripts were discovered and how they are classified. The post answers this important question: How does this post help me grow closer to God?
4. The Manuscripts Tell The Story: The New Testament Is Reliable
This article, the last one in the four-part series, has a focused goal. It provides evidence from the best New Testament textual critics that it is possible to reach back to the original (autograph) books and letters of the New Testament, though the originals no longer physically exist. This post also answers the question: How do I grow closer to God?
Interpreting the Bible and Accommodation
God accommodated humanity when he inspired ancient authors to write infallible Scripture to ancient people. Now we follow him by accommodating ancient Scripture when it seems to make scientific claims about the world of nature.
Augustine Says No to Silly Interpretations of Genesis
Augustine lived from 354 to 430. He was easily one of the most profound thinkers who ever lived. His words are relevant today.
Billy Graham and Evolution
Startling statement from the world’s most famous evangelist.
Christian Scientists Comment on Young Earth Creationism
This post is designed to encourage believers who have walked away from church and seekers who will not consider Christ because of ultraliteral interpretations of Gen. 1-11. Many of us Christians do not share this view, but accept science. 98% of scientists do not accept that view, either.
Evolution = Intelligent Design = God’s Design
God’s method of creation is through evolution. Call it slow-motion creation beginning 13.7 billion years ago (give or take), and it is still going on today! People can know their creator personally.
Nicene Creed
Who was Jesus? Did he have a beginning and was created, the first of all creation? Or did he exist from all eternity without a beginning and uncreated?
Definition or Creed of Chalcedon
From the Council of Chalcedon (AD 451); English, Greek, and Latin are included. It supplements the main statement of faith at this website: the Apostles Creed.
Works Cited
Here is a list of the principal works referenced or used at this site. More will be added as time goes on, so please check back.
Dr. Jim's Essential Bible Teaching 