Perrydox.com is devoted to the pursuit of truth, whether plain or paradoxical, whether simple or sublime, or simply absurd yet absolute.
PHall | October 26, 2018
Marriage Lessons from an Unlikely Source Thanks to one of our teachers (John Meadows) for doing the unexpected, by using a passage about an impending divorce, to teach about having a successful marriage (Matthew 1:19-24). First the background: Joseph is betrothed or engaged to Mary. She is miraculously pregnant; but all he knows is what […]
PHall | October 24, 2018
Why? Why is “love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind” the most important command (Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37-38; Mark 12:30-31; Luke 10:27)? Jesus didn’t teach anything revolutionary when stating this. The expert in the law gave this same answer (Luke 10:27). So why? [ ] The fact it follows (and is […]
PHall | September 15, 2018
“You’re the preacher from down the street, right?” “Yes I am.” “Well I just wanted to explain to you why earlier I ran away from you.” That is a conversation I had in my neighborhood Monday while walking the dogs. Quite the strange way to begin a conversation with someone you don’t know, don’t you […]
PHall | September 15, 2018
There is not a total one to one correlation, but the similarities are there between the baptism of Jesus and creation. 1. The Spirit hovered over the water (Gen1:2). Hovering is a word associated with birds. In the baptism of Jesus the Holy Spirit descended as a dove (Mt.3:16). 2. “Then God said” (Gen.1:3ff). In […]
PHall | August 28, 2018
Hills and mountains do not have only one side. While that is obvious, good-hearted believers tend to forget the obvious when warning about “slippery slopes.” In the arena of spiritual matters, a slippery slope argument is the fear an action will lead to a chain reaction resulting in an undesirable and unscriptural end or ends. […]
PHall | August 22, 2018
Jesus’ ancestry was defiled by sinners guilty of incest, prostitution, adultery (or possibly rape), and even the “sin” of being a different race (Matthew 1). To make matters worse, his birth was witnessed by ceremonially unclean shepherds (Luke 2). Jesus’ life was spent being surrounded by outcasts such as tax collectors, prostitutes (Luke 15), and […]
PHall | August 16, 2018
I am a Gentile by nature (birth). I am gentle by nature (behavior). To my surprise Gentile and gentle are etymologicallly related via “gens” meaning birth (also where we get “genes”). “Gentle” became associated with high class birth because of the well-born expectancy to be well-behaved. Where is this thought going? Christians, born again from […]
PHall | August 8, 2018
Truth versus Tradition. This is continually the battle in practicing religion. Tradition is not necessarily wrong, and is impossible to escape. If, to escape traditionalism, you vow to never do the order of services the same, that becomes your tradition! When is tradition wrong? How can we tell if it is contrary to truth? Let’s […]
PHall | August 8, 2018
Luke’s gospel account is known for his attention to society’s downtrodden, specifically women. And yet here is a surprise – Luke’s genealogy of Jesus does not list any woman including Mary; while Matthew’s list has four (Mt.1:3,5-6). Looking at Luke he does give more attention to Mary in the narratives of Jesus’ conception and childhood. […]
PHall | August 3, 2018
A new YouTube “genre” is “Reaction Videos.” People listen to music they haven’t heard before and react; while viewers react in the comments to their reactions. Strange, (but should I admit) curiously entertaining! This got me thinking…What would a reaction video look like: * to us during a sermon? * to our family arguing? * […]