Dr Paul Allen

Charles Dickens ’ classic novel, Great Expectations , chronicles a tale of a young, poor boy, named Pip. The little guy is an apprentice blacksmith and has no hope of ever being rich on his own merit. He is fascinated by the genteel society and opulence of the upper crust. His fantasy is to one day be a gentleman himself. Then one fine day he is visited by an attorney who informs him that he has come into some serendipitous fortune of property and unimagined wealth. Pip’s dream of being a gentleman is suddenly within reach. But he soon discovers that his great expectations of fitting into the haut monde of 19th century London will require more than just the position his money affords him. His practice belies his origins. So, with the help of a friend, he is discipled in the arcane ways of etiquette and sophistication. He painstakingly observes and mimics the nuances of the behavior, fashion, and mannerisms of those he now considers his peers. He masters the accentuation of their sp...

Tongues spew forth!!  (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.” ( Proverbs 10:19 ) The book of Proverbs has much wise counsel concerning the use of the tongue . It contains, for example, no less than 27 sober warnings against speaking lies! There are also at least eight condemnations of gossiping. For example: “A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter” (11:13). Then there are warnings against using the tongue to criticize, or to slander, or to hurt. A good example is in 12:18: “There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health,” and also in 18:8: “The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.” Too much talking is also dangerous, as our text for the day points out, for it often results in sin. In this connection, one of the most picturesque proverbs is the foll...

Image via Wikipedia “ And the Word became flesh, and  dwelt  among us… ” -  John 1:14  - We read that Jesus “dwelt” among us, and when we think of the idea of “dwelling” we just think of “hanging out.” John uses a peculiar word here. There are more common Greek words for “to dwell,” but he chooses  skēnoō . Now, the word  skēnē  in Greek means “tent,” and  skēnoō  is the verb form. So we could render it, “to pitch a tent.” John tells us that this Word became flesh and  pitched his tent  among us. That’s a weird way to talk, isn’t it? Especially since we don’t have any Scripture that tells us that Jesus actually pitched any literal tent during his time on Earth. Why say it this way? He’s got at least two other words that he could use here. But John uses this particular word because he wants his readers—who would be familiar with the history of Israel—to recall the  tabernacle , the tent of meeting ( Ex 27:21 ), where God met...

Image via Wikipedia “I thought Jesus didn't descend into hell! Just that he suffered the death we deserved.” The answer is: yes and no! The question raises complex issues that cannot be easily answered in a short space. So let me take a long space. (And if you are interested, read on, read slowly, and re-read if you need!) There are a couple of complicating factors. The first is how we use the English word, ‘hell’ to translate various Hebrew and Greek words . The second is the history and meaning of the phrase in the Apostles' Creed , “he descended into hell”. Let me now try and unpack these issues in turn. The various uses of ‘hell’ in translating the Bible into English The English word ‘hell’ often does double duty in translating words from the original biblical languages of Hebrew and Greek. The Hebrew word ‘ Sheol ’ is pretty much a close equivalent of the Greek word, ‘ Hades ’. These words (especially ‘Sheol’) can refer simply to the grave, where bodies decay. But mor...