Perrydox.com is devoted to the pursuit of truth, whether plain or paradoxical, whether simple or sublime, or simply absurd yet absolute.
PHall | September 8, 2021
Heart beat laws against abortion answer the most fundamental question – Is that a human heart beating in a human body in a human being? If a human heart, then its an additional heart to the woman. If the additional heart is in a human body, then it’s not only about a woman having the […]
PHall | September 8, 2021
Is Heaven Materialistic? Is the heaven for Christians described for those motivated by materialism? That sounds wrong, but…gold streets, gates of pearl, and overflowing with jewels seem to appeal to the lesser nature of man (Revelation 21). The bad translation wherein we receive a “mansion” (John 14) fortifies physical covetousness in the spiritual heaven. I’ve […]
PHall | September 8, 2021
Could it be God chose immersion as to when we begin our Christian life because it involves submission to both God and to someone else, which is how we spend the rest of our Christian life?
PHall | September 8, 2021
How to Write a Sermon There is no one right way to write a sermon. But taking Mark as a sermon, here is an inspired idea: I. Memorable Opening: 1. Provocative or Informative Title or Opening Line – 1:1 2. Scripture – 1:2-3 3. Explanation or Interpretation – 1:4-11 II. In the middle, the beginning […]
PHall | September 2, 2021
Jesus told James and John, “You don’t know what you’re asking. Are you able to drink the cup I drink or to be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”” (CSB’17 Mark 10:38) Jesus’s baptism here is his suffering, so baptism is not literal but metaphorical. He is talking about his suffering overwhelming him. […]
PHall | September 2, 2021
Don’t Follow the Crowd? The gospel of Mark is one of contrast, not of imagery like light and dark in John, but of reactions of groups versus individuals. The latter fair better. One of the most glaring contrasts might be the individual Herod versus the group called disciples. Surely, wicked, adulterous, murderous, Herod fairs worse […]
PHall | September 2, 2021
There is bipartisan and almost universal acknowledgement that the withdrawal from Afghanistan is a disaster. But this is not a political post. So what spiritual lessons can we learn since the physical often imitates the spiritual? 1. Priorities in Life Matter. Everything in the withdrawal is backwards. Do we have our priorities right? 2. Changing […]
PHall | September 2, 2021
Failure to Build (a little longer than usual) “You can destroy as much by failing to build as by actively wrecking” (Rod Dreher, Live Not By Lies). While this quote is describing the rise of totalitarianism within nations, I found it intriguingly applicable to churches. As for wrecking within, historically churches die from: 1. Being […]
PHall | September 2, 2021
I listened to a lecture on Proverbs and heard a view I will call “educated beyond my education”. That is, “Proverbs is not filled with sayings that are unique. Other Ancient Near East Wisdom literature sounds similar if not the same thoughts”. While undoubtedly such is an over generalization because Proverbs speaks of one God, […]
PHall | September 2, 2021
A Serious Game On the surface this is a fun game. Going deeper this is a hermeneutics lesson. But first, find 3 differences in these two pictures. Now, these games actually make a good illustration of studying the Bible. 1. If our interpretation doesn’t match Jesus, it is not a perfect match. 2. If our […]