Perrydox.com is devoted to the pursuit of truth, whether plain or paradoxical, whether simple or sublime, or simply absurd yet absolute.
PHall | September 18, 2014
“Further, there is an interesting observation here which stresses the point made in the introductory remarks about writing to real people in real life situations. To note this, compare 1:1 with 1 Corinthians 1:2. Do you see any difference? Here Paul wrote, “to the church of the Thessalonians in God,” but in 1 Corinthians he […]
PHall | September 18, 2014
Prayer and reading have replaced the prophet and priest. When we pray we speak to God. When we read God speaks to us. The prophet was speech from God coming downward. The priest was speech through sacrifice going upward. The prophet says God wishes to be heard. The priest says the people wish to be […]
PHall | September 18, 2014
There is not one verse that contains all the truth on any topic. That rule might be overly simplistic, maybe not. But are we too quick to take only one narrow view on a topic because we contrast verses instead of seeing them complement one another? For example, salvation is free. We cannot earn it. […]
PHall | September 17, 2014
God created man to have a body. Various people have said something to the effect, “You do not have a soul, you are soul;” or “You are not a body with a spirit, you are a spirit with a body.” Both contain truth, but may the most accurate is that we are a body, a […]
PHall | September 12, 2014
“Faith, love, and hope.” That order doesn’t sound right, does it? Because of the beautiful passage on love in 1 Cor.13, we are used to “faith, hope, and love.” Paul uses that trilogy of virtues 4 times (unless you think he wrote Hebrews): 1 Cor.13:13; Col.1:4-5; 1 Thess.1:3; 5:8. Only once does he use the […]
PHall | September 10, 2014
Our speech patterns say so much about us, whether it is what we say, or how we don’t say things. In Wal-Mart yesterday, a grown woman in her late 20’s or early 30’s, said to her male companion, “Where the bread at?” Not only is that bad English, she didn’t even accomplish an economy of […]
PHall | September 9, 2014
Paul wrote, “we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us” (2 Cor.1:9-10). […]
PHall | September 8, 2014
We are comfortably ready for the familiar non-contextual application of John 7:24 – judge according to righteous judgment – because we like to counterbalance it with Matthew 7:1 – do not judge or you will be judged. But are we ready for the immediate application due to the contextual interpretation? Frankly, it is frightening because […]
PHall | September 8, 2014
A group of co-equal persons, even partners, working together as one, in a common love, to serve one another and others, is not only a description of the church, but of the Trinity! What an unexpected reality, that we are granted the privilege to reenact the inner and outer workings of the Triune God. Now […]
PHall | September 6, 2014
“You’re lacking in faith.” How would we respond to such a statement? Be honest. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, a great church, a group he loved, one he praised as highly as any, a church who’s work of faith, labor or love, and endurance of hoped was renowned, “as we pray very earnestly night and […]