Christian Doctrine

         Doctrine must be based on the Bible only, and not on traditions, the declarations of self-appointed "prophets" or mystics, and not on the decisions of scholars or councils. Doctrine must not be declared based on individual verses taken out of the context in which they appear. Doctrine should be interpreted by its consistency with the totality of scripture. Knowledge of biblical languages, history, culture, science, religious traditions, and other religions are all extremely useful but must never, by themselves, determine doctrine.

        We must reject any doctrine derived from eisegesis (doctrine read into the scriptures) and accept any doctrines only if they are derived from exegesis (from or out of the scriptural texts). Any doctrines which we derive from the scriptural texts must be consistent with the full body of scripture to be sure that we are not misreading the intent of the texts.

        We have allowed the progressives ("Progressive" is their current self identification. They have also been known as liberals and relativists) to define themselves as "mainstream" or "moderate." They insult historical Christianity by labelling it as backward, racist, reactionary, homophobic, sexist, intolerant,  irrelevant to the modern world, judgmental, imperialistic, sexist, anti-intellectual, etc., etc., etc. Yada, yada, yada. Blah, blah, blah. You get the picture.

        Historical Christianity is none of these things. Part of the reason that this insulting situation has arisen is that many churches have not adequately fulfilled their function to hand on the faith to the following generations. A helpful start would be a renewed emphasis on Christian education in history, doctrine, interpretation,  apologetics, and application of the Christian message in day to day life. We need to be equipping modern day Christian warriors. (Ephesians 6:13-18)

        (... but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks         you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; 1 Peter 3:15)

        Historical Christianity is the "mainstream."  Absolute agreement on all points of discussion among Christians is not required. There is a small remnant of true Christians in every truly Christian body. The Lord knows those who are his. Those who wish to redefine the faith are the ones who are creating another doctrine. Many have already crossed the threshold and have effectively left the mainstream historical faith.

Book Comment: Yes Lord, I have Sinned, but I Have Several Excellent Excuses

 

In his book, Yes Lord, I have Sinned, but I Have Several Excellent Excuses, James W. Moore, discusses the one real sin from which all other sins flow; idolatry of the self, and the numerous excuses we offer to God in our feeble attempts to explain why we are really OK and not to blame for our failures. We can convince ourselves, but not God, that we have good reasons for what we have done or what we are planning to do. Luke 14:15-24. The title of this book is a quotation of a line of dialogue from Tolstoy’s War and Peace.

ἁμαρτία (amartia: sin, missing the mark). Strong’s Greek Concordance says that this word derives from a (not) and meros (a part or a share of). The word is associated with archery and carries the idea of loss because of a failure to hit the mark, the target of the standard set by God.

Some of the sins discussed in this book include: talking a good game, half-heartedness, spiritual arrogance, deception, overreaction, hostility, and presumptuousness, all of which reduce down to the one sin, worship of self.

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As with most books such as this, what you get from the book depends on what you bring with you. You may not agree with everything the author says. Luke (see below) advises you to think for yourself. Read your Bible and to listen to what it says. Do not believe anything just because someone else told to believe it; let the Holy Spirit guide you to the truth.

A general caution: books may give you wonderful new insights and explanations of subjects, but you should never base your Christian beliefs on any one book or the teachings of one person, no matter who they are. All teachings must be consistent with scripture. Read as the Bereans did, with discernment. “… for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” Acts 17:11 NASB

Any doctrines must be consistent with the historical full body of Christian thought. Doctrines or teachings inconsistent with scripture in any way must be rejected. You would not eat cheese which had a fuzzy fungus growing on it.

Information you will need to search for this book: Moore, James W., Yes Lord, I have Sinned, but I Have Several Excellent Excuses (Nashville, Tn., Abingdon Press, 1991)

Science in Antiquity: Part 5

 Many modern people have a very limited view of history. They can only see or think about five or ten years into the past. They see history as boring and they think of the ancients as ignorant and backward. This was actually not true. What the ancients lacked was the modern accumulation of facts. An ancient Israelite would have been very puzzled and culture-shocked to have been dumped into the modern world, but he or she could have eventually learned to drive a car or to cook on a stove or to use a cellphone.

The ancients were just as intelligent as we are but the accumulation of scientific facts had not yet reached a critical point. Human knowledge took centuries to double, fact by fact. As knowledge accumulated, the rate of accumulation began to speed up. Every answer exposes a new question. Buckminster Fuller spoke of the Knowledge Doubling Curve which was relatively flat for centuries, then began a slow climb, and then went into an explosive upward thrust.

By the end of the 19^th Century, knowledge was doubling once per century. By about 1945, the rate of doubling was about every 25 years. By 1982, the rate was about every 12-13 months. By 2020, the doubling was occurring about every 12 hours. With at least 50,000,000,000 devices now operating and with the rise of artificial intelligence, the rate may now be in minutes.

 

Ca 240 BC: Chinese astronomers record an appearance of Halley’s Comet in Records of the Grand Historian.

262-190 BC/BCE: Apollonius, A Greek mathematician, develops the theory of conic sections.

Ca 280 BC/BCE: Aristachus of Samos calculates the first known estimate of the distance from the sun to the Earth and says that the Earth orbits the sun.

Fl 285-222 BC/BCE: Ctesibus, an Egyptian barber and scientist, studied pneumatics, siphons, air pumps, and the expansion and contraction of air pressure.

Ca 287 BC/BCE, WBD: Birth of Archimedes (Ca 287-212) in Syracuse (modern Siragusa, Italy), Greek mathematician and inventor. He studied levers, plane and solid geometry, mechanics, pulleys, hydraulics, and heat concentration using mirrors and is the first recorded person to have calculated the value of pi.

Make haste, but slowly

 

        The historical production motto of Kikkoman Soy Sauce is “Make haste, but slowly.” This makes great sense. Making haste means you don’t stand around and dawdle. You ignore distractions and focus intently on doing your task. But slowly means to pay attention and not be sloppy or cut corners. Intentional attentive action. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if more people approached their jobs and activities in that way?

Book Comment: Lives of the Saints

 

In his book, Lives of the Saints, Richard McBrien discusses the various understandings of the meaning of the word “saint,” the various Christian and non-Christian spiritualities, canonization of the saints from a Roman Catholic perspective, biographical pictures of the lives of the saints are given, arranged by the yearly Roman Catholic calendar and the calendars of the Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran churches, as well as other “historically significant holy persons.”

A final section of tables includes a list of feast days of the saints, and the patron saints of places, causes, occupations, etc.

The book will be interesting to general readers interested in Christian history. The book does not have to be read sequentially; you can start on any page and skip around as you wish. There is a glossary and indices of subjects and names.

As with most books such as this, what you get from the book depends on what you bring with you. You may not agree with everything the author says. Luke (see below) advises you to think for yourself.

Information you will need to search for this book: McBrien, Richard P., Lives of the Saints from Mary and St. Francis of Assisi to John XXIII and Mother Teresa San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2001)

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A general caution: books may give you wonderful new insights and explanations of subjects, but you should never base your Christian beliefs on any one book or the teachings of one person, no matter who they are. All teachings must be consistent with scripture. Read as the Bereans did, with discernment. “… for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” Acts 17:11 NASB

Any doctrines must be consistent with the historical full body of Christian thought. Doctrines or teachings inconsistent with scripture in any way must be rejected. You would not eat cheese which had a fuzzy fungus growing on it.

Science in Antiquity: Part 4

Many modern people have a very limited view of history. They can only see or think about five or ten years into the past. They see history as boring and they think of the ancients as ignorant and backward. This was actually not true. What the ancients lacked was the modern accumulation of facts. An ancient Israelite would have been very puzzled and culture-shocked to have been dumped into the modern world, but he or she could have eventually learned to drive a car or to cook on a stove or to use a cellphone.

The ancients were just as intelligent as we are but the accumulation of scientific facts had not yet reached a critical point. Human knowledge took centuries to double, fact by fact. As knowledge accumulated, the rate of accumulation began to speed up. Every answer exposes a new question. Buckminster Fuller spoke of the Knowledge Doubling Curve which was relatively flat for centuries, then began a slow climb, and then went into an explosive upward thrust.

By the end of the 19^th Century, knowledge was doubling once per century. By about 1945, the rate of doubling was about every 25 years. By 1982, the rate was about every 12-13 months. By 2020, the doubling was occurring about every 12 hours. With at least 50,000,000,000 devices now operating and with the rise of artificial intelligence, the rate may now be in minutes.

 

Ca 205 BC/BCE: In 1900 the Antikythera Mechanism is discovered off the island of Antikythera. It is a mechanical model of the solar system (with the then-known five planets) and an astronomical calculator. It can predict solar and lunar eclipses.

212 BC/BCE, WBD: Death of Archimedes, Greek mathematician, in the losing defense of Syracuse (modern Siracusa/Saragusa, Italy) against a Roman assault during the Spring of 213 until the Autumn of 212. The defense of the city included the use of weapons developed by Archimedes. His work included hydrostatics, mechanics, and the invention of a screw device for raising water.

230 BC/BCE: 1. Death of Aristarchus, who declared that the Earth revolves around the sun. He suspected that the stars were suns like ours.

Ca 240 BC: In Cyrene (modern Shahhat, Libya), Eratosthenes calculates the circumference of the Earth.

There Can Be No Racism or Bigotry in the Church. We Must Live healthy Lives.

             The Holy Spirit, who is fully God, indwells every believer. It is the responsibility of every believer to carefully maintain their personal health to the best of their ability because their body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. The totality of all those led by the Holy Spirit constitute the Church, the Bride of Christ. The members of the Church come from all nations, races, genders, ethnicities, ages, and Christian religious denominations. Absolute agreement on all points of discussion among Christians is not required. There is a small remnant of true Christians in every group. The Lord knows those who are his. Racism and bigotry are absolutely incompatible with a declaration of faith in the risen lord, Jesus Christ.

Zohran Mamdani Elected as the Mayor of New York City

 

First, this is not, never has been, and never will be, a political blog. The post which you are now reading is not a political post.

            On today, 4 November, 2025, Zohran Mamdani, a self-identified socialist, won the mayorship of New York City on the Democratic Party ticket. Some critics say that Mamdani is closer in his beliefs to Communism than to Socialism. Some may even see an apocalyptic meaning in his election, seeing Communism as 666, the number of a man. Revelation 13:18.

            No! I am not saying that Zohran Mamdani is the Antichrist! I am saying that some may see the resurgence of Socialist/Marxist/Communist ideas as evidence of the nearness of the coming of the Antichrist. This resurgence seems to fit many of the biblical descriptions of the Antichrist, the man of lawlessness. The following list is not everything said about the Antichrist in the Bible.

1.                          It elevates a political idea, which comes from man, to a position over God. The most extreme versions of the idea are overtly anti-religious. Anti can be understood not just as against, but also as instead of.

2.                          The Antichrist will be very popular with the majority of the populace and will perform miracles, perhaps economic miracles, rather than seemingly magical ones. He will claim that his system can eventually solve all the world’s problems. He will basically be a political Messiah-figure.

3.                          The divinity of man and man's self-transformation, which are New Age ideas, will be stressed.

4.                          Persecution of Christians will become more openly evident. Not all persecution is physical. It can also be denigration as uneducated bigots and may manifest as harsh social disapproval.  

5.                          The Antichrist will become powerful politically, militarily, and financially and will be a globalist in policy. He will create a one-world religion and a one-world government. Revelation 13:16-18.

6.                          After he is killed with a head wound, the Antichrist will be resurrected. Revelation 13:3. Some see this as having happened in the fall of Communism with the Soviet Union and the seeming modern resurrection of quasi-Marxist thought.

7.                      The government of the Antichrist will use economics, social pressure, and outright physical force to suppress any dissent.

 

Again, I am not saying that Zohran Mamdani is the Antichrist! It is a truly stupid exercise to attempt to name the Antichrist. Over the centuries, many have attempted to do so. Here are some of the names which have been put forward.

The Roman Emperor Nero, Oliver Cromwell, Peter the Great, Martin Luther, Adolf Hitler, Greta Thunberg, an as-yet unidentified Jewish person, the Ottoman Empire, Napoleon Bonaparte, Hillary Clinton, Saddam Hussein, Ronald Reagan, Pope Gregory VII, Pope John Paul II, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, King Charles III, Bill Gates, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Joe Biden, Mikhail Gorbachev, Prince Harry, Emmanuel Macron, Henry Kissinger, Barack Obama, Osama bin Laden, Donald Trump, a 6^th century French peasant mentioned by Gregory of Tours, Benito Mussolini, the European Union, John F. Kennedy, Aleister Crowley, and almost unbelievably, Jesus himself.

Do you see the idiocy of this? Not only is it idiotic, we are specifically told by Jesus not to do it. Matthew 24:36. To do it is disobedience to the Lord, an act of sin.

So, is the Antichrist to be a person representing the political systems of either Socialism or Communism? I do not know, and neither do you. 2 Thessalonian 2:1-8.

Keep your eyes open and do not be deceived, but also do not delude yourself into thinking that you do know. It is disobedience to Jesus to set dates and to plan out elaborate timelines of future historical events and to prematurely say names. When the Antichrist emerges it will be obvious to anyone who knows how to look. You will not have to guess.

Instead, enthusiastically live each day as if it is the last day of your life. As Pastor Frances Chan has said, think of what Jesus wants you to do in the next five minutes. Remember that the thing holding back the emergence of the Antichrist is us, the Body of Christ, the Church, the ekklesia, indwelled by the Holy Spirit.

About Vaccines

             I have my opinions on vaccines and you have yours. It is not the intent of this blog to ever tell you what to think. This blog hopes to present you with raw verifiable facts which are consistent with objective reality. The intent is to help you to think for yourself, rationally and critically, and, hopefully, in the context of this blog, that you allow yourself to be led by the Holy Spirit.

Do not base your opinions solely on what I say. Do not base your opinions solely on what anyone else says. Do not base your opinions solely on what any religious tradition says. Listen to all of them, but use your own mind, and read your Bible. Be like the Bereans (Acts 17:11), even on totally secular matters. Like they used to say about the Marvel Cinematic Universe: “It’s all connected.”

The discussion about vaccines in the United States has devolved into people taking sides based on their political leanings and has come to involve multiple issues: progressivism, conservatism, autism, Christian nationalism, distrust of government, distrust of the giant pharmaceutical companies, distrust of science in general, rejection of organized religion, some elements of bigotry, possible adverse side effects of vaccines, issues of vaccine effectiveness, the ethics of mandates, libertarianism, epidemiological community health concerns, availability of health resources, possible vaccine effects on autoimmune diseases, religious and/or ethical objections, exactly who will benefit most from a vaccine and whom they might harm, preventing pandemics, possible medically adverse ingredients in vaccines, ethical concerns over some methods of vaccine preparation, the concern of some that over-exposure to vaccines early in life might overwhelm the immune system, natural immunity vs vaccine immunity, live vs dead viral components in vaccines, issues of informed consent, racial differences in disease susceptibility. Did I leave any out?

Vaccines are biological preparations designed to stimulate the recipient’s immune system causing it to produce proteins called antibodies against a particular microorganism. The antibodies are, in effect, weapons produced by the body to protect itself against invaders.

Some vaccines are built from proteins or other parts of the organism being targeted. Other vaccines use the entire organism in either a dead or greatly weakened form. All are intended to cause the body to violently say “This is not me!” and to learn how to attack this particular “Not Me.”

The idea is that, if an exposure to this particular “Not Me” later occurs, the body will remember the prior attack and will jump into action to produce massive quantities of the weapons it needs.

This blog post is about the Coronavirus vaccine for COVID-19. New vaccines are needed each year because coronaviruses are RNA (ribonucleic acid) viruses and mutate more quickly than DNA (deoxy-ribonucleic acid) viruses. Most of the mutations carry no consequences for the human host but a few give the virus significant advantages in ease of transmission or in severity of the disease. This occurs as errors in copying the virus’ genetic information cause changes in the organism’s surface proteins. These changes result in the surface proteins being different enough from prior versions that the body’s immune system thinks that they are a “Not Me” that it has not seen before.

Because of this, the immune system essentially has to start over and, so, cannot make a quick kill. This means that there is no pre-existing immunity to the new variant even though it is still the same virus.

Vaccines have to be developed each year because of that year’s new variants, which usually arise in Asia or India and then spread worldwide. The vaccines which are developed are actually guesses or assumptions that the virus variants which arrive in the West will still be the same ones for which the vaccine was developed. This can account for why some of the vaccines are more effective than others. 

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            An aside: This process of the body's immune system attacking "Not Me" is what is involved in tissue rejection after organ transplants and also comes into play during pregnancy because the mother is "Me" and the child is "Not Me."

Who was Rufus?

 

 Rufus and Alexander are mentioned in Mark 15:21 as sons of Simon of Cyrene (near modern Shahhat Libya), who helped Jesus during his crucifixion ordeal by carrying his cross. Paul mentions this Rufus in Romans 16:13.

Acts 11:20 mentions that men of Cyrene preached the Gospel to the Greeks. Many now believe that this is a reference to Rufus, and possibly his brother Alexander, since The Seventy (or Seventy-two) Disciples sent out as preparatory teams before Jesus’ travels included Rufus, the Bishop of Thebes in Greece, and several other men from Cyrene. This is described in Luke 10:1, “After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. “

Bishop Solomon of Basra in the 13^th century Book of the Bee lists and groups together, among the Seventy, Rufus, Alexander, Simon the Cyrenian, their father, and Lucius the Cyrenian.

Book Comment: Conquer. Your Battle Plan for Spiritual Victory

 

In his book, Conquer. Your Battle Plan for Spiritual Victory, Michael Youssef says of the Devil, “… as Christians we find ourselves constantly at war with him. If that is not your experience of the Christian life, then something is wrong.”

Youssef asserts that the Devil exists but that obedience to the Lord pushes him away. You have many doors to your soul and you need to close those doors to prevent illegal entry. You must lock as many doors as you can. You do this by prayer and Bible study.

The Devil is a liar and deceitful, but he does not (cannot) break and enter. Like the famed fictional vampire Count Dracula, he can only enter if you invite him in. If you resist him in God’s name, he will run away. The battle is already won.

As with most books such as this, what you get from the book depends on what you bring with you. You may not agree with everything the author says. Luke (see below) advises you to think for yourself.

Information you will need to search for this book: Youssef, Michael, Conquer. Your Battle Plan to Spiritual Victory (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2015)

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A general caution: books may give you wonderful new insights and explanations of subjects, but you should never base your Christian beliefs on any one book or the teachings of one person, no matter who they are. All teachings must be consistent with scripture. Read as the Bereans did, with discernment. “… for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” Acts 17:11 NASB

Any doctrines must be consistent with the historical full body of Christian thought. Doctrines or teachings inconsistent with scripture in any way must be rejected. You would not eat cheese which had a fuzzy fungus growing on it.

If It Ain’t Gnats, It’s Flies!

If It Ain’t Gnats, It’s Flies! This is an idiomatic phrase commonly used in the Southern United States. Since idioms do not translate well, here it is: this reflects the frustration expressed at seeing one problem or irritation followed by another and then another. It is the feeling of being surrounded by nothing but problems, aggravations, and irritations.

Anger and irritation are actually normal and are not inherently evil. Unchecked anger is.

Often, anger is really about a problem within yourself. If you are a normal person, you have many unmet expectations and desires.

Anger can be righteous when it aligns with the Lord’s hatred of sin and injustice. It is a holy act to ask the Lord to help you to properly handle anger.

John 16:33; James 1:2-4, 19-20; Matthew 11:28-29; Ephesians 4:31-32; Isaiah 41:10; Psalms 34:18, 37:8; Proverbs 14:17-29, 15:18, 19:11; Ecclesiastes 7:9; Philippians 4:6-7; 1 Thessalonians 15:18; 1 Corinthians 13:5; 2 Corinthians 10:15. 

Dangers to Your Christian Life (Edited, updated, and re-posted on 1 October 2025)

      Almost every time I am on one of my country's interstate highways I see someone texting on their cell phone while driving at 70 miles per hour (112.654 kilometers per hour). At that speed, the vehicle will travel the length of a football field in a few seconds WHILE THE DRIVER IS LOOKING AWAY FROM THE ROAD!

    This makes as much sense as turning on a chainsaw while entering a room where a baby is sleeping and throwing the chainsaw into the air. It may end well. I may not.

    Many Christians carelessly involve themselves in activities which are just as dangerous as a chainsaw. You may not agree with this list or may be able to add to it. Every item on this list has the potential to cause serious damage to your Christian life. 

    1. Practicing Cafeteria Christianity is when you take a little bit from here and little bit from there and reject things which make you uncomfortable, just like in an old-style cafeteria line. Everyone knows that there are some things about Christianity which are difficult. Paul had some strong things to say about accepting any changes to the Gospel.

    2. Religious discrimination and actual persecution are real and severe for Christians in many countries. Do not be foolish or naïve enough to believe that this does not occur in the “culturally advanced” Western nations.

    3. Complacency in your “goodness.” This is what Jesus meant about being like lukewarm water: “I will spew you out of my mouth.”

    4. Idolatry, like celebrity worship, stepping over other people for success, pursuing worldly pleasures to the point of obsession, being obsessed by where you live, or the fine clothing and jewelry you can wear to church, or by the important people you know, and extending even to things rarely recognized as sinful, such as food snobbishness.

    5. Getting involved in petty church squabbles. Really is self, pride and often reduces to factions led by two individuals. 

    6. Being too busy: becoming neglectful of church activities because of sports or busy business schedules.

    7. Accepting secularist ideas such as “all roads lead to God” (this minimizes Christianity and makes it just one religion among many), and believing non-marital sexuality is acceptable if “love” is involved.

    8. Fear of what other people think, fear of being cancelled. Who do you love more, Jesus or your social standing?

     9. Dabbling in astrology, Tarot, Ouija boards, automatic writing, divination, the occult, and other practices: these are not harmless children's games.

    10. Attempting an exorcism. Real demon possession is probably quite rare but Jesus acknowledged that it is real.

    11. Ghost hunting. The Bible never teaches the existence of ghosts though some people in the Bible obviously did believe in them. The appearances of dead Old Testament saints may have been the saints  actually being physically present. Ghost phenomena (hauntings, poltergeists, etc.) may be evidence of the other supernatural beings mentioned in the Bible. Do you really want to find out?

   12. Practicing Hatha Yoga. The Sanskrit word "hatha" (हठ) in English translates as "force" or "will" and is a system of physical exercises. From a physical standpoint, this is probably excellent for your health, relaxation, stress reduction, and bodily flexibility. When you practice yoga, from a spiritual standpoint, you are dabbling with Hinduism, a totally different religion from Christianity.

      The word "Yoga" (योग) is derived from yug, a Sanskrit word meaning "yoking" or "union." There are numerous types of yoga, all of which are focused on yoking or quieting the mind and achieving an inner stillness which contributes to a oneness with the universe, which is sometimes described as "cosmic consciousness."    

   13. Aligning oneself with extreme political views, whether conservative or progressive. Politics is not the answer; the Gospel is the answer. "Render unto Caesar" assumes that we should have civic and political involvement but our ultimate allegiance must be to Jesus. Secular political parties are ultimately not motivated by Christian principles but by a desire for political power. A real danger is equating national patriotism with Christianity. Real change can only come by reformed hearts, not by legislation.

    14. Allowing hatred or resentment to exist in your heart toward anyone. Hatred is corrosive and is a cancer. This is not about what the other person may have done but is about who you are.

    15. Reducing your Christianity to niceness, acceptance, social work, and a fight for social justice. These are important legitimate functions of the Church but they are absolutely not the essence of Christianity. The absolute, irreducible, core of the Christian message is returning each individual to a proper relationship with Jesus, one at a time, as if they were the only one. Each person on the Earth is of absolute worth because they are bought with the blood of Jesus.

    15. These first 14 are merely a few of the dangers Christians face. 

Science in Antiquity: Part 3

 Many modern people have a very limited view of history. They can only see or think about five or ten years into the past. They see history as boring and they think of the ancients as ignorant and backward. This was actually not true. What the ancients lacked was the modern accumulation of facts. An ancient Israelite would have been very puzzled and culture-shocked to have been dumped into the modern world, but he or she could have eventually learned to drive a car or to cook on a stove or to use a cellphone.

The ancients were just as intelligent as we are but the accumulation of scientific facts had not yet reached a critical point. Human knowledge took centuries to double, fact by fact. As knowledge accumulated, the rate of accumulation began to speed up. Every answer exposes a new question. Buckminster Fuller spoke of the Knowledge Doubling Curve which was relatively flat for centuries, then began a slow climb, and then went into an explosive upward thrust.

By the end of the 19^th Century, knowledge was doubling once per century. By about 1945, the rate of doubling was about every 25 years. By 1982, the rate was about every 12-13 months. By 2020, the doubling was occurring about every 12 hours. With at least 50,000,000,000 devices now operating and with the rise of artificial intelligence, the rate may now be in minutes.

 

b.80-70 – d. after 15 BC/BCE:  Life of Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, a Roman military, civil, material, mechanical, and chemical engineer, architect, artilleryman, construction expert, and acoustical engineer who designed theaters in which whispers could be heard. In Roman times he was best known for standardizing the sizes of pipes. He designed pulleys, cranes, hoists, water clocks, stucco, a type of odometer, a steam engine, catapults, and a type of central heating.

ca 99-ca 55 BC/BCE: The life of Lucretius, a Roman philosopher who was the first to describe Brownian Movement, the random movements of particles which are suspended in a gas or liquid. He speculated on what we would understand to be extraterrestrial life: “Nothing in the universe is unique and alone and therefore, in other regions there must be other earths inhabited by different tribes of men and breeds of beasts.”

120 BC/BCE: Death of the Greek scientist, Hipparchus. He was a mathematician and astronomer who compiled trigonometry tables and calculated the length of the year to within 6.5 minutes of the modern measurement. He also discovered the procession of the equinoxes. He also catalogued over 850 stars and prepared an accurate star map.

Ca 190 BC/BCE: 1. Birth of the Greek scientist, Hipparchus, in Nicaea, Bithynia (modern Iznik, Turkiye) He is a mathematician and astronomer who compiles trigonometry tables and calculates the length of the year to within 6.5 minutes of the modern measurement. He studied optics and geography, prepared star charts, and described a nova in 134 BC/BCE.

Ca 200 BC:  The Hopewell Native American Culture flourishes. (USA). They had knowledge of geometry and astronomy.

Choosing a Charity to Support

             Charity in the Bible is presented as “love in action,” not as a means of earning salvation but as a result of having been given the gift of salvation.  There are thousands of charities and, as we are financially able, we may donate to one or to many as we see fit. One caveat: for a Christian, our main purpose should be to advance the kingdom. Any other purposes, even those which are obviously positive, are secondary. 

            ἕκαστος καθὼς προῄρηται τῇ καρδίᾳ, μὴ ἐκ λύπης ἢ ἐξ ἀνάγκης· ἱλαρὸν γὰρ δότην ἀγαπᾷ ὁ Θεός 2 Corinthians 9:7, in a literal translation into English would read something like this: Every/each as he has decided in heart, not out of grudging or out of forced need/necessity, cheerful indeed giver loves God. Read this verse in your own preferred Bible translation.

            Not all charities are ethical and some border on actual fraud. Some give very limited funds to the causes they espouse, instead using most of their money for “administrative expenses.” Others resort to questionable practices to raise funds. They may send you a set of address labels or some small gift to make you feel a sense of obligation to them.

The website shown below discusses donor’s hesitance to contribute to charities which violate the donor’s privacy by selling their names and contact information to third parties. There are actually companies which sell targeted mailing lists of persons known to have donated to similar charities. For example, a person could be targeted for their history of donating to charities dedicated to a particular political orientation, or to a specific religious group, or to animal rescue activities, or to anti- or pro-abortion groups, or to foster involvement in the arts, or to literacy programs, or to homeless or injured veteran’s activities, or to  advance children’s sports involvement, or to disaster relief organizations, or to charities which are medically oriented. There is an established charity for almost any imaginable purpose and you can safely assume that most of them are willing to sell the contact information of their donors and to buy targeted lists of prospective new donors. They, and hundreds of others, will flood you with sometimes very insistent requests for donations.  On https://smartasset.com you can also read this article, “The 50 Worst Charities in America.”

https://www.workplaceprivacyreport.com/2022/03/articles/online-privacy/not-for-profits-charities-might-attract-more-donors-with-improved-website-content-attention-to-privacy/

This is unethical and is presumptuous, as if you owe your money to their particular charity. It exhibits an extreme disrespect for their donors but is not illegal and at least some of the donated funds go to their stated causes.

Favor Christian charities as your first choices. Give to secular charities if you have even more to give. Research your chosen charity’s mission statement carefully to make sure that they actually provide the majority of their funds to their stated purpose.  Some charities explicitly state that they respect their donors and that they do not sell your personal information to others. God loves a cheerful giver but he also expects us to use our gift of discernment. Use your money wisely to advance the Kingdom.

A few Bible verses about charity: Deuteronomy 15:11; Proverbs 14:21, 19:17; Malachi 3:10; Matthew 5:42, 6:1-2, 19:21; Luke 6:38, 11:41, 12:33; John 3:17; Acts 9:36, 20:35; Hebrews 13:16; Romans 12:13; Colossians 3:14; 1 Timothy 1:5; 1 John 3:17; James 2:15-16. 

Hello, Grenada! 17 September 2025.

Hello, Grenada!  Welcome to the world-wide group of readers from many countries who also visit this blog.  I hope you find some of the posts useful or meaningful. Tell your friends about this blog. Everyone is welcome.

Bonjour, Grenade ! Bienvenue parmi nos lecteurs du monde entier, venus de nombreux pays, qui visitent également ce blog. J'espère que vous trouverez certains articles utiles et pertinents. Parlez-en à vos amis. Bienvenue à tous.

As of 17 September, there have been 868,196 page views of this blog since May 2010. The current number of posts is 1814. These posts can be searched using the Search This Blog function. An alphabetical list of subjects discussed on this blog is at the extreme bottom of the blog page under Labels and indicates the number of posts about the subject in question. The Translate This Page tool can present the blog in numerous languages.

 The Labels section at the bottom of this page is useful in searching for all Saints on the Loose blog posts which mention a particular subject. Numerous subjects are mentioned on this blog. All, in one way or another, are pertinent to the purposes of this blog. Search for any word of interest to you. There are hundreds of labels on various subjects including grace, film commentary, food, Star Trek, sanctification, Pee-Wee Herman, Spain, blasphemy, Star of Bethlehem, distracted driving, ekklesia, and Arianism.

             This blog has been viewed from at least one hundred and forty-nine countries: Albania, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia/Kampuchea, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo - Kinshasa), Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gabon, Georgia, Germany,  Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guam, Guyana, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast/Core d'Ivoire, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg,  Macau, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of the Congo (Congo - Brazzaville), Reunion, Romania, Russia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Togo, Tunisia, Turkiye, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam,  Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

        Some references say that there are 197 countries on Earth, but many people will say the number is 195, the number of members of the United Nations, plus Vatican City and Palestine, who are not UN members.

Book Comment: A Survey of Old Testament Introduction

 

In his book, A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, Dr. Gleason L. Archer presents a conservative discussion pf Old Testament canonicity, historicity, information about the Semitic languages, known textual problems, the “specific difficulties” presented by each book, archaeological evidences, how the Hebrew/Aramaic manuscripts were prepared and transmitted to new generations, and the challenges which can be presented by higher criticism.

Gleason sees the Old Testament as the preparation and the New Testament as the completion of the Christian message. He points out that “It made a great deal of difference that Greek was precise in expressing time values, and that Hebrew laid chief emphasis upon mode of action rather than upon tense.”

The survey takes each book verse by verse and discusses historical, textual, and modern questions. The text assumes some level of knowledge about archaeology, the Hebrew language, the history of the Middle East, various approaches to biblical criticism, and tends to become a little technical on some points. It is obviously intended for beginning college or seminary level students but is not above the understanding of the interested layman. Pastors and academics will definitely find it useful.

As with most books such as this, what you get from the book depends on what you bring with you. You may not agree with everything the author says. Luke (see below) advises you to think for yourself.

Information you will need to search for this book:

___________________________________________________________________

A general caution: books may give you wonderful new insights and explanations of subjects, but you should never base your Christian beliefs on any one book or the teachings of one person, no matter who they are. All teachings must be consistent with scripture. Read as the Bereans did, with discernment. “… for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” Acts 17:11 NASB

Any doctrines must be consistent with the historical full body of Christian thought. Doctrines or teachings inconsistent with scripture in any way must be rejected. You would not eat cheese which had a fuzzy fungus growing on it.

Hello, Nauru! 16 September 2025.

 Hello, Nauru!  Welcome to the world-wide group of readers from many countries who also visit this blog.  I hope you find some of the posts useful or meaningful. Tell your friends about this blog. Everyone is welcome.

 As of 16 September, there have been 866,831 page views of this blog since May 2010. The current number of posts is 1812. These posts can be searched using the Search This Blog function. An alphabetical list of subjects discussed on this blog is at the extreme bottom of the blog page under Labels and indicates the number of posts about the subject in question. The Translate This Page tool can present the blog in numerous languages.

 The Labels section at the bottom of this page is useful in searching for all Saints on the Loose blog posts which mention a particular subject. Numerous subjects are mentioned on this blog. All, in one way or another, are pertinent to the purposes of this blog. Search for any word of interest to you. There are hundreds of labels on various subjects including grace, film commentary, food, Star Trek, sanctification, Pee-Wee Herman, Spain, blasphemy, Star of Bethlehem, distracted driving, ekklesia, and Arianism.

             This blog has been viewed from at least one hundred and forty-eight countries: Albania, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia/Kampuchea, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo - Kinshasa), Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gabon, Georgia, Germany,  Ghana, Greece, Guam, Guyana, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast/Core d'Ivoire, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg,  Macau, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of the Congo (Congo - Brazzaville), Reunion, Romania, Russia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Togo, Tunisia, Turkiye, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam,  Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

        Some references say that there are 197 countries on Earth, but many people will say the number is 195, the number of members of the United Nations, plus Vatican City and Palestine, who are not UN members

Film Comment: Sinners (2025)

 

Sinners is a movie which is intended to be about racism, cultural oppression, colonialism, black culture, anti-religion, and anti-Christianity. As usual, I can make Christian observations about the film which are probably unintended by the director.

“Son, you keep dancin’ with the Devil, one day, he’s gonna follow you home,” from a pastor father to Sammie, nicknamed Preacherboy, who is aching to become famous for his outstanding blues guitar and singing talent. Sammie hooks up with two morally fluid brothers who are opening a juke joint. This sets up a conflict when two white men and a woman show up that night wanting to join in the fun. The problem is that they are vampires.

One man about to be killed/turned into a vampire begins to loudly quote the Lord’s Prayer. All the vampires join in and help complete the quotation. This seems to be intended to show that Christianity has no power against evil.

A Christian response: the frightened man’s words were just that, words, and they did have no power. There is a difference between knowing and believing. The power is not in the words. They are not a Magick spell. God is not our genie in a bottle. The words have power only as they are used by the Holy Spirit.

The theologian, Martin Luther, noted that "The Devil can quote scripture to his own ends." Satan quoted Psalms 91:11-12 while tempting Jesus to misuse his authority (Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 4:1-13). Satan is the father of lies (John 8:44). Jesus responded to Satan's attack by quoting scripture back to him, Matthew 4:7, which quotes Deuteronomy 6:16..

Book Comment: The God You Thought You Knew

 

In his book, The God You Thought You Knew, Alex McFarland responds to ten common secular objections to Christianity.

Some of the objections discussed in this book include:

1.     Christianity is judgemental and intolerant.

2.     Evil and suffering exist and a real God would not allow that.

3.     Christianity is totally made up and not based on any facts.

4.     Modern science disproves Christianity.

5.     Religion is not for the educated.

6.     The whole thing is boring and a waste of my time.

7.     Since I do not like it, it cannot be true.

8.     The Bible is full of errors.

9.     Dead people cannot come back to life.

10.  A loving God would not send anyone to Hell.

As with most books such as this, what you get from the book depends on what you bring with you. You may not agree with everything the author says. Luke (see below) advises to think for yourself.

Information you will need to search for this book: McFarland, Alex, The God You Thought You Knew. Exposing the 10 Biggest Myths About Christianity (Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers, 2015)

___________________________________________________________________

A general caution: books may give you wonderful new insights and explanations of subjects, but you should never base your Christian beliefs on any one book or the teachings of one person, no matter who they are. All teachings must be consistent with scripture. Read as the Bereans did, with discernment. “… for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” Acts 17:11 NASB

Any doctrines must be consistent with the historical full body of Christian thought. Doctrines or teachings inconsistent with scripture in any way must be rejected. You would not eat cheese which had a fuzzy fungus growing on it.

Bonjour, Congo-Brazzaville !

 Bonjour, Congo-Brazzaville ! Bienvenue parmi nos lecteurs du monde entier, venus de nombreux pays, qui visitent également ce blog. J'espère que vous trouverez certains articles utiles et pertinents. Parlez-en à vos amis. Bienvenue à tous.

Ce blog a enregistré 860 216 pages vues depuis mai 2010. Il contient actuellement 1 808 articles. Vous pouvez rechercher ces articles grâce à la fonction « Rechercher dans ce blog ». Une liste alphabétique des sujets abordés sur ce blog se trouve tout en bas de la page, sous « Étiquettes », et indique le nombre d'articles sur le sujet en question. L'outil « Traduire cette page » permet de présenter le blog en plusieurs langues.

La section « Étiquettes » en bas de cette page est utile pour rechercher tous les articles de Saints on the Loose qui abordent un sujet particulier. De nombreux sujets sont abordés sur ce blog. Tous, d'une manière ou d'une autre, sont pertinents pour les objectifs de ce blog. Recherchez le mot qui vous intéresse. Il existe des centaines d'annonces, notamment sur la grâce, la nourriture, Star Trek, la sanctification, PeeWee Herman, l'Espagne, l'étoile de Bethléem, la distraction au volant, l'ekklesia et l'arianisme.

            The Translate tool above can convert this text into Kituba and Lingala.

            This blog has been viewed from at least one hundred and forty-seven countries: Albania, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia/Kampuchea, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo - Kinshasa), Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gabon, Georgia, Germany,  Ghana, Greece, Guam, Guyana, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast/Core d'Ivoire, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg,  Macau, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of the Congo (Congo - Brazzaville), Reunion, Romania, Russia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Togo, Tunisia, Turkiye, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam,  Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

        Some references say that there are 197 countries on Earth, but many people will say the number is 195, the number of members of the United Nations, plus Vatican City and Palestine, who are not UN members.