Perrydox.com is devoted to the pursuit of truth, whether plain or paradoxical, whether simple or sublime, or simply absurd yet absolute.
PHall | August 15, 2012
is the idea or purpose behind “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand?” Is it a plea? “Please repent, so you can enter the kingdom of heaven.” Is it a warning, “You better repent because the kingdom of heaven is coming!” The answer is, both. After studying the coming kingdom from an O.T. […]
PHall | August 15, 2012
Do we feel guilty when you read the Sermon on the Mount? Do we look at ourselves and think, “I just don’t measure up?” If we do, you are not alone. But maybe, and this is an important life-changing point, we are reading it totally wrong. May I suggest an alternative approach? There’s an old […]
PHall | August 13, 2012
PHall | August 12, 2012
To judge what God has judged is not supplanting self for God, but submitting self to God. When we fail to teach the specific truths God has revealed, we are supplanting self for God by declaring God’s revelation is too obscure to be understood. When we take the general statements God has revealed and make […]
PHall | August 10, 2012
There is a recurring theme among liberal OT scholars. The Biblical books and authors are not authentic in time or authorship, but written in more “modern” times to help that later generation deal with their situations by re-inventing a past narrative. Daniel didn’t prophesy apocalyptic visions in chapters 7-12, but they were written in his […]
PHall | August 10, 2012
Daniel is easily divided into two sections: 1) Narrative – Present (1-6); 2) Prophetic – Future (7-12). The applicable lesson for us is that the same God who is today will be tomorrow. The same God that saves now can save in the later. The same God in charge of history today is in charge […]
PHall | August 10, 2012
Two types of Narratives in Daniel (Brueggemann, An Introduction to the Old Testament, p.352): Interpretation Story: The king has a vision or dream. The wise men of his court cannot interpret its meaning. The hero emerges and gives the interpretation. The hero is awarded. The king learns that ht hero’s God is all-powerful. Deliverance Story […]
PHall | August 9, 2012
The meaning of the gospel marks one of the greatest divides within modern Christian Theology, marked by both a Right and a Left. The truth, like in much of life, is found in the middle. The Religious Left looks at the righteousness of the Sermon on the Mount as a call to Social Justice. Earth, […]
PHall | August 9, 2012
The gospel, what does that mean? Does it mean the same as the “gospel of the Kingdom” (Matthew 4:23)? Both John the Baptist and Jesus Christ preached the good news of the kingdom of God, but we don’t see either teaching – in the beginning – about His death burial and resurrection (1 Cor.15:1-3). Those […]
PHall | August 8, 2012
Think about it, if Jesus is the master, and the master teacher, isn’t the master greater than the student? Not saying that Paul’s inspired words are inferior, they are equally the word of God. But sometimes it seems theologians rely more on Paul than on Jesus.