Perrydox.com is devoted to the pursuit of truth, whether plain or paradoxical, whether simple or sublime, or simply absurd yet absolute.
PHall | February 19, 2015
1 Peter and Jesus #6 It is easy to take the words of Peter, “As God’s slaves, live as free people, but don’t use your freedom as a way to conceal evil” (2:16) in the same way that Paul used similar words and ideas: “New Testament writers, and Paul particularly, gave much emphasis to the […]
PHall | February 18, 2015
1 Peter and Jesus #5 Jesus’ words can be misconstrued, and were even in the first century. Some misunderstood Jesus to say of John that he would never die (John 21:23). Considering how later Catholics misunderstood Jesus to say that Peter was the foundation or rock upon which the church would be built, it is […]
PHall | February 14, 2015
Was Satan right about Job? Satan’s challenge is this: Would Job be more adversely affected by the ravaging loss of his health (Job 1.22), than the loss of his children (1.11)? Hearing Job talk, it isn’t until the second round of speeches that this godly man even mentions his children: “Surely He has now exhausted […]
PHall | February 6, 2015
My relative was schizophrenic. Those who suffer, endure mentally twisted hallucinations and delusions forming false realities. Making this practical, pain can make us experience what I’ll call “sane schizophrenia,” producing unearthly realities. Pain can produce an irrationality of hope superseding human experience. This pained induced thinking then enables us to expand beyond man’s reality, to […]
PHall | February 4, 2015
Sitting in a court room, the accused is dressed to look respectable; looking respectable looks innocent. The defendant tries to look calm. Each is faking serenity while someone else is deciding their future. Sitting there, they appear to be in total control, while the reality is control is totally out of the grasp. Job feels […]
PHall | February 2, 2015
I am a sinner; I am not a sinner. I am unworthy; I am worthy. My works are unrighteous; my works are righteous. What’s the difference? Notice the Messianic prophecy, “Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are small among the clans of Judah” (Micah 5:2). Now notice the Messianic fulfillment, “And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, […]
PHall | January 28, 2015
Some believe “obedience to the truth” (1 Peter 1:22) refers to baptism. Although the word “baptism” is not mentioned in 1:22, why might such be true? One reason is the connections between this passage and 1 Peter 3. A second reason is it is also believed most of 1 Peter is a baptismal sermon. And […]
PHall | January 27, 2015
In “comparing” the violent passages in the Koran with the “violent” passages in the Bible, some will quote Jesus, “Don’t assume that I came to bring peace on the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Mt.10:34 HCSB). Problem is, Jesus is not the one wielding the sword. Jesus’ disciples are […]
PHall | January 27, 2015
Pain brings rash words. That is the explanation – or rationalization – of Job to Eliphaz (Job 6.3). He does what is so easily and commonly done; He blames God: “Surely the arrows of the Almighty have pierced me; my spirit drinks of their poison. God’s terrors are arrayed against me” (Job 6.4). Job’s physical […]
PHall | January 25, 2015
When something is wrong, you fix it. Negatively, you remove what is bad or corrupting. Positively, to correct what is wrong, you restore what is right. Think about that, no one would disagree; and yet when it comes to the Bible somehow the rules change. So the point of this lesson is simple: To correct […]