Articles by BibleThinker

I’m hoping to some more content on violence in the Old Testament as well as a much more detailed and thoughtful response to Greg Boyd’s “Cruciform Hermeneutic” in the future. Until then, here is a video getting started on those topics and hopefully offering some help on topics like “How could God kill people?”, “What about the Amalekites?”, “How literal are the ‘destroy them all’ passages?”, “Is it reasonable to just say that those passages don’t really reflect God’s commands?”
Here’s a link to Paul Copan’s book “Is God a Moral Monster?” https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004EPYPY4/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

Here’s a link to the YouTube channel for The Remnant Radio https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC31RZ-b3D1w452JLuzLVl4Q

Here are my three videos on whether the Bible has been changed or not and it includes my full explanation of what’s going on with the passage in John about the woman caught in adultery. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ3iRMLYFlHuzJhPtmrgqpVoXhjvqiIjW

If you want to help me continue making free content then you can do so through my website at this link https://biblethinker.org/index.php/donate

My goal here is to give you a set of tools, some of which you may find truly helpful. While I have very little to say about medication I think that scripture does offer us some guidance to really help us with the sadness of our souls and looking at several biblical passages that give examples of dealing with and processing depression can help us to better deal with our own. I don’t want you to think I’m fully answering the problem of depression or sadness here, just that I’m trying to help us all have more help with it and to let the Bible speak more fully to this issue. May God give you an increase of His joy even in the midst of sorrow and may the patience and hope of Christ be yours.

My work in this ministry is fully supported by donations and I intend to keep it that way so that everything I produce can be offered for free. If you want to help make this possible here’s the link. https://biblethinker.org/index.php/donate

Here’s the link to the 1st Peter series, I think it will bless you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoZf07Tj5T0&list=PLZ3iRMLYFlHs4JVWfSPM5ygzyLMTASL0h

A study on the tragic end of John the Baptist. This is the only passage in Mark that isn’t directly about Jesus and it records the sad reality of how pride, corruption and lust lead to the murder of John the Baptist. In addition to the discussion on what lead to John’s murder under the orders of Herod we will also get into some apologetics issues surrounding the death of John that skeptics bring up, which actually give us more reason to trust what Mark says.

Here’s the video I mentioned from Inspiring Philosophy on the topic of supposed contradictions in the death of John the Baptist. https://youtu.be/FZpEnHtO7b4

Here’s a link to the full Mark playlist. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ3iRMLYFlHuGenHwUdeiQ5M-uj5XW4sF

If you love this ministry and want to support my continued work please click here. https://biblethinker.org/index.php/donate

This is the Old Testament Passage that most clearly shows that Jesus died in our place as a substitutionary sacrifice for us because of our sins. It shows that Christ was our sin bearer and our sin offering and that His sacrifice justifies us. It’s also the passage most often ignored by those who deny Penal Substitutionary Atonement. In other words, it’s important.
We will look at how this passage, with the relevant background understanding of the Levitical sacrifices undeniably teaches that Jesus justifies us with a substitutionary sacrifice according to the will of God. I will cover the debate on this passage as well and even get into why the Septuagint (LXX) translation of Isaiah 53 doesn’t give us good reason to reject what we read in the Hebrew text.

This is part 3 in a series on Penal Substitutionary Atonement. Check out the whole series here. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ3iRMLYFlHttVR0rkvhBfA-IKrg5SGcp

If you want to help support the continued work of my ministry then please click here. https://biblethinker.org/index.php/donate

In an attempt to help you learn how to better analyze and apply commands to the 12 apostles we look at when Jesus sent the Twelve out two by two, telling them to take no money and no extra supplies. We’ll see that this command does not apply directly to us but we’ll also see that there is still a simply and biblical way to apply it into our lives, a way that I think the Holy Spirit intended for us to find. In this study we’ll also look at the use of oil in healing.
I hope this helps equip you to better evaluate and apply passages of Scripture which may not directly be about you but are indirectly teaching you truths about following Jesus.

The whole Mark Series is right here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7c7jWg60N_0&list=PLZ3iRMLYFlHuGenHwUdeiQ5M-uj5XW4sF

If you love this ministry and would like to help support my work please click here. https://biblethinker.org/index.php/donate

Sola Scriptura is the idea that the Bible is the final authority on what Christians believe and how we live. In this video I’ll explain it simply, give some biblical reasons to support Sola Scriptura and deal with some Catholic rebuttals to it. I’m hoping this is a charitable and gracious experience for everyone even though I know it will be hard stuff for some people to hear. I am convinced this is a huge issue because so many of the teachings of Roman Catholicism are not found in Scripture but in selected traditions.
Some points from the video are.
1- Sola Scriptura is a natural understanding of what it means to have inspired Scripture.
2- In Old Testament times they were to test future teachers and teachings by the Scripture they had received.
3- in the New Testament the gospel, once communicated, was to be held to no matter who came to teach otherwise. This absolutely requires individual understanding of the gospel (which is in the New Testament) and the ability to tell any potential “authority” to take a hike.
4- challenges about denominations or the origin of the canon are not defectors for Sola Scriptura.
5- Striking Parallels between Catholicism and Pharisaism seem to demonstrate precedence for how to deal with supposed church authority when it ads tradition to the commands of God.

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Was Nazareth fake? Was Mary a perpetual virgin? And what can we learn from Jesus being rejected in His hometown of Nazareth? I admit that today’s study may seem a bit random but I think you will find it interesting and have some insights that will bless you.
Rene Salm wrote a book suggesting that Nazareth was a myth and even though it has been debunked it still shows up on popular atheist web sties today. We’ll also deal with the Roman Catholic claim that Mary remained a virgin her whole life and never had children after Jesus. This claim is made even stronger when we realize that the Roman Catholic Church says anyone who says Mary did have other children has committed a mortal sin and will be condemned. Scripture, on the other hand, says that Jesus had brothers and sisters.
All of this is in context of our continued series through the gospel of Mark. We will continue this study weekly until I’ve taught through the whole book verse by verse, tackling issues of theology and apologetics.

Here’s the whole Mark series playlist. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ3iRMLYFlHuGenHwUdeiQ5M-uj5XW4sF

If you want to support this ministry you can click here. https://biblethinker.org/index.php/donate

The idea that Jesus died in our place, suffering the penalty for our sins, is under serious attack. We need to understand where we can find Penal Substitutionary Atonement ideas in the Bible, starting with the Old Testament. This is part of a series explaining and defending Penal Substitutionary Atonement. I’ll cover biblical data, historical data, moral objections and more so that you will understand the doctrine, how to defend it and what’s really wrong with this modern move against the biblical teaching on Jesus’ sacrificial death. Today we are looking at the idea of sacrifice and atonement in the OT, the Day of Atonement, the Passover sacrifice, and (if we have time) Isaiah 53 and penal substitution.

Here’s the whole playlist on PSA https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ3iRMLYFlHttVR0rkvhBfA-IKrg5SGcp

More amazing connections between Jesus and Passover https://youtu.be/A-_6rpQ4zLg

How the 5 main sacrifices in Leviticus point to Jesus https://youtu.be/_GOvVSZJxCU

This ministry content is all presented free to you and that’s the way I want to keep it. This is made possible by those few who have the ability and desire to partner with me through donations. I deeply appreciate those who have made this possible through their support and love the fact that it’s free to everyone as a result. If you want to partner with me here’s the link. https://biblethinker.org/index.php/donate

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In the best example of a “Markan sandwich” we see two remarkable healings which are meant to teach us some remarkable and needful lessons. Jesus meets our deepest fear with a call to faith that calms our hearts and changes the way we see death forever. I hope and pray that the beautiful truths of this passage of Scripture will get stuck in your head and heart.

Here’s a link to the whole series through the Gospel of Mark https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ3iRMLYFlHuGenHwUdeiQ5M-uj5XW4sF

I’m dedicated to making FREE content helping people learn to think biblically about everything. If you love this ministry and want to support it please click here but please feel NO obligation or compulsion to give. https://biblethinker.org/index.php/donate

A lot of leaders who reject Penal Substitution will say that it was invented by Calvin or Anselm and that the early church held to Christus Victor or Ransom theories of the atonement. This turns out to be a painful distortion of history. I mean, this is pure historical revisionism in the name of teaching bad theology! I was shocked to find out how badly church history has been twisted by progressive leaders who, whether they realize it or not, are teaching unbiblical views of how we are saved.
In this video you’ll hear quotes from many church fathers on the topic of whether the cross included a penal and substitutionary aspect. You’ll get needed clarity to help you see through the historical revisionism of guys like Greg Boyd, Steve Chalke and others. And you’ll be equipped to head into the next video in this series on Penal Substitutionary Atonement. Which will probably be on the topic of “Does the Bible Teach Penal Substitution?”

As I add more videos to this PSA playlist I will put them HERE https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ3iRMLYFlHttVR0rkvhBfA-IKrg5SGcp

Here’s an article on this topic from The Masters Seminary Journal https://www.tms.edu/m/tmsj20i.pdf

Here is Gary Williams’ defense of his own work on PSA in the early church fathers https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/eq/2011-3_195.pdf

Here’s Joseph Mitros’ content on how people misrepresent the church fathers on this https://www.pdcnet.org/thought/content/thought_1967_0042_0003_0415_0447

If you love this ministry and want to support my ongoing work producing free content to help people learn to think biblically about everything then please click here.
https://biblethinker.org/~biblethinker/index.php/donate