Lev Tolstoy is regarded as one of the best novelists ever. He was born in 1828, raised in the Russian Orthodox Church, and excommunicated in 1901. Surely there have been others who abandoned Orthodox thinking to a degree much worse than Tolstoy, but usually such people disappear into ambiguity without their thoughts being recorded. Tolstoy, on the other hand, left behind some of the world’s most epic works along with diaries and even posthumous publications that tell us where things went wrong.
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apologetics
The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force
“Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm? Hmm. And well you should not. For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the Force around you; here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere, yes. Even between the land and the ship.”
-Yoda
In the Star Wars franchise, “The Force” is a metaphysical energy source that flows in all and through all. There is a dark side and a light side and characters can manipulate the force to do the bidding of whichever side they align with. The Force is impersonal, that is, it does not have a will, intellect, or emotions.
It’s no secret that The Force was not George Lucas’ creation, but spurred from the New Age Movement of the 1960s-70s, which was actually rooted in ancient philosophies and religions that were around before the Bible was completed. The early Church had to deal with proto-New Age heresies that developed when people combined Paganism with Christianity. The early councils gave us some great creeds (and a cool story about the infamous Santa punch), but unfortunately, some modern forms of these ancient heresies are still attacking the doctrine of the Holy Spirit today.
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The Days of Peleg: Babel or Continental Drift?
And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan. (Gen 10:25 KJV)
I think that when Moses wrote, “in his days was the earth divided,” he was referring to the division of languages and nations at the Tower of Babel, but others believe he was talking about the Continental Drift. Here is a humble presentation of why I’m right and they’re wrong.
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At the Leopolitan Book Forum
They hold an annual book festival here in Lviv, so I went out there with a camera to see what I could see. It was a lot of fun, but I couldn’t help but be grieved by something. I believe that everyone struggles with questions like, “Who am I?” “Where did I come from?” “Where am I going?” “What should I be doing in the meantime?” These questions are just too big to ignore. At the book forum, I met some people who are looking for the answers to these questions in all the wrong places. It really puts into perspective how important it is that we are here doing what we do: translation, teaching, and outreach. Here are some pictures:[Read More]
Did Allah tell Muhammad about embryos?
One common argument in favor of the Quran being legitimate revelation goes like this:
In the Holy Quran, God speaks about the stages of man’s embryonic development, 1,400 years before modern day scientists ‘discovered’ important information on creation of man and his development:
We created man from an extract of clay. Then We made him as a drop in a place of settlement, firmly fixed. Then We made the drop into an alaqah (leech, suspended thing, and blood clot), then We made the alaqah into a mudghah (chewed-like substance)… [Noble Quran 23:12-14]
[…] How could Muhammad (peace be upon him) have possibly known all this 1,400 years ago when scientists have only recently discovered this using advanced equipment and powerful microscopes which did not exist at that time? (source)
There are two assumptions here: 1) that men did not know about the development of embryos and 2) that they could only know from revelation from the creator. But, here’s why this argument is rather weak.[Read More]
Joktan: The First Creole Speaker
I enjoy nondogmatic speculation on issues where the Bible isn’t entirely clear. Did Jews build the Trojan horse? Did Elijah use Ba’al’s myths against him? We probably won’t know for sure on this side of eschatology, but they are fun things to think about. They can also be edifying topics for discussion because they force us to analyze what is written in the Word and give it precedence over what isn’t written in the Word.
I have developed a hypothesis that Joktan was the first creole speaker in recorded history. This hypothesis begs a few questions: 1) What is creole? 2) Who was Joktan? 3) Why did Joktan speak creole? and 4) Are you sure?
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