I received some questions about how divine institutions are coming under attack by Russian and Western political theories, so I thought I would adapt the answer for our blog here:[Read More]
the more you know
Putin’s Shared Nazi Roots With The Left Part II: Reactions to Heidegger
Heidegger’s influence penetrated every aspect of society. As a rector, his revolutionary thought dominated the university,[1] but he was also a popular author whose books were found in countless rucksacks of fallen German soldiers across Russia and Africa.[2] Heidegger continues to rule philosophy from the grave, but here will be a discussion of two schools of thought that are in superficial conflict with each other even though they are ideological cousins that trace their roots to Heidegger.
Putin’s Shared Nazi Roots With The Left Part I: The Emerging of Martin Heidegger
Martin Heidegger was a Nazi who is loved by the Western Left as well as Russian ideologues. He was not born in a vacuum but had several influences. Heidegger’s philosophy cannot be understood holistically without understanding him on the backdrop of Nietzsche’s existentialism[1] among other issues, but to understand where Heidegger’s ideas are being repurposed in the most dangerous ways today—specifically in the Russian genocide against Ukrainians in the Russian struggle against the West—it is helpful to understand Heidegger’s role as a fascist philosopher among the 20th century Marxist discussion.
Ezra 10:6 in light of Nehemiah, Josephus, Elephantine, and 1 Esdras
The Book of Ezra records Israel’s return to the land after the Babylonian exile. The first half deals with Zerubbabel’s return and its ramifications (Ezra 1–6) and the second half deals with Ezra’s return and its ramifications (Ezra 7–10). Chapter 7 has a decree by Artaxerxes that gives Ezra permission to return, chapter 8 records the return. Then in chapter 9, Ezra learns that Israel had been intermarrying with pagans and prays and chapter 10 shows how Ezra dealt with this sin. The Book of Nehemiah would have originally been part of the same volume, so chapter 10 would actually be part of a 23-chapter book, though the versification was not added until much later.[Read More]
I bought a mystery liquid in Poland.
I bought a bottle of mystery liquid in Poland. It was a confusing experience that reminded me of the need to understand cultural context when we read the Bible. So, I talked about it in church.
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Works-Universalism: Contradiction or Middle Ground?
We have developed a quadrant model for describing soteriological compromises. The biblical message of salvation is summarized as Faith Alone in Christ Alone (FACA). Two ways to reject this are by rejecting the sufficiency of FACA or the necessity of FACA. Each of these two sides has differing extremes: On the side that rejects sufficiency, a near alternative is Works-Assisted Condition while a distant alternative is Works-Assisted Merit; on the side that rejects necessity, a near alternative is Christian Pluralism while a distant alternative is Christian Universalism.[Read More]