Perrydox.com is devoted to the pursuit of truth, whether plain or paradoxical, whether simple or sublime, or simply absurd yet absolute.
PHall | September 6, 2015
John 11:1-12:3 – When seeing the chiastic structure of the resurrection of Lazarus we learn something surprising: the center is not the dramatic action scene of the resurrection of Lazarus; nor is it the emotionally dramatic scene of Jesus weeping. The center is not on what Jesus does; but on who Jesus is. The center is […]
PHall | September 4, 2015
In declaring the omnipotence of God, and the impotence of humans, Christian apologists often point out that God created everything out of nothing – ex nihilo. This is something humans cannot do. We always need a starting substance. God did, man cannot. Not to take away from the glory of ex nihilo, but God did […]
PHall | September 4, 2015
When speaking of sins of the flesh, Jude speaks quite picturesque of the false teachers who turned grace into licentiousness: “What they know by instinct like unreasonable animals – they destroy themselves with these things” (Jude 1:10). They destroyed themselves by their flesh. How many lives today are ruined or hampered by sex out of […]
PHall | September 4, 2015
There is an irony in studying that is so uncomfortable it often controls our conclusions: We have to want to be wrong. Most often we couch it positively: we have to want to be right. But before we can be right we must first be willing to be proven wrong. It is the same with […]
PHall | September 4, 2015
It is tempting to emphasize one trait of God above another such as mercy over justice, or justice over mercy. What we fail to see is by emphasizing one characteristic we neglect another or all others. When we neglect emphasizing one of God’s traits we have “denominationalized” God. Have you noticed how some denominations emphasize […]
PHall | September 4, 2015
I am reading Proverbs. It is commonly thought Solomon wrote his Song in his youth, Ecclesiastes in his old age, and Proverbs as a middle aged man. If so, knowing Solomon had around 700 wives and 300 concubines when writing Proverbs, it makes the reading at time very sorrowful. For example, “Better a dry crust […]
PHall | September 4, 2015
In Luke 4 Jesus mentions how miracles were done for a widow in Sidon and a general in Syria – both Gentiles – and not for Jews. This infuriates His Jews contemporaries. No doubt Jesus’ use showed these incidents had purpose. Such an incident having surprising meaning made we wonder if another seemingly inconsequential incident […]
PHall | September 4, 2015
Simple things impress me especially when unexpectedly filled with treasures. Let’s take the phrase “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” It is filled both with science and theology: Science – “In the beginning (time) God (force) created (action) the heavens (space) and the earth (matter). These five are the manifestations of […]
PHall | September 4, 2015
The first creation was physical and spiritual. The first re-creation by flood was physical. The next new creation by blood was spiritual in God’s image. The final new creation will be bodily in the “new heavens and new earth.” And yet scoffers say, “All has continued as it was since the beginning” (2 Pet.3:4). And […]
PHall | September 4, 2015
If there is anything more boring than the etymology of names, it has to be genealogies; right? Not so fast. In the Bible, the meaning, and even the sound, of names is theologically important. Often there are various meanings, and sometimes the Bible gives a meaning. In Genesis 5:29, Lamech names his son Noah saying, […]