Dr Paul Allen

A depiction of the Hebrews' bondage in Egypt, during which they were forced to make bricks without straw. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The Israelites Leaving Egypt (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) A "house altar" (c. 1350 BC) depicting Akhenaten, Nefertiti and three of their daughters. Note Nefertiti wears a crown similar to that depicted on the bust. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Small statue of Ahkenaten wearing the blue crown (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The Exodus is so fundamental to us and our Jewish sources that it is embarrassing that there is no evidence outside of the Bible to support it. So we prefer not to talk about it and hate to be asked about it. For the account in the Torah is the basis of our people’s creation, it is the basis of our existence and it is the basis of our important Passover festival and the whole Haggada that we recite on the first evening of this festival of freedom. So that makes archaeologists reluctant to have to tell our brethren...

“I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.” ( Deuteronomy 30:19 ) Shortly before his death, Moses restated the law and the covenant between God and His people summed up in the greatest commandment : “Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might” ( Deuteronomy 6:5 ). Furthermore, Moses claimed that “this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven . . . . Neither is it beyond the sea” ( Deuteronomy 30:11-13 ). Nothing about it was hard to understand. “But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it” ( Deuteronomy 30:14 ). Indeed, the evidence that God is Creator , Judge, Provider, and Redeemer is all around us. Our text informs us that “heaven and earth” are witnesses of God’s...

English: English translation of hebrew version. Map of the twelve tribes of Israel, before the move of Dan to the North (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Much of “ biblical theology ” has a glaring weakness: it misses one of the major themes of the Bible . Biblical theology is the study of how to read the Bible as a whole, or how to trace a theme as it progresses from Genesis to Revelation. While systematic theology systematizes the teaching of the Bible (what the Bible says about God ’s attributes, the person of Christ, salvation, etc.), biblical theology traces the major themes of the Bible chronologically (how the Passover lamb was instituted, celebrated, neglected, and finally fulfilled). The study of biblical theology often focuses on themes, types, figures, symbols and motifs that develop canonically in an attempt to show the unity of scripture and the power of progressive revelation. Most biblical theology books read similarly. They point out the garden-to-garden theme of Genes...

Rahab and the Emissaries of Joshua (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Three common systems of ethics Christians subscribe to: 1) Graded ethics. E.g. when lying to save a life, a lie is clearly the lesser of two evils. 2) Situational ethics . E.g. when lying to save a life, if the life is an innocent one and the person you are lying to doesn’t deserve the truth, then in that situation the lie is not evil at all, but justified by the situation. 3) Absolutism . E.g. God never permits us to sin, a lie is always a sin, and your only responsibility is to refrain from sinning; thus either refuse to co-operate with the request and deal with the consequences, or tell the truth and deal with the consequences. Here is a Bible passages that seem to contradict absolutism.  The Hebrew midwives (Exodus 1:15-20). If you read the account carefully you will notice that Shiphrah and Puah did not lie to save the lives of the Hebrew babies, they lied to save their own skin. They had already saved the ...

StJohnsAshfield StainedGlass Baptism (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Balancing God’s grace with his commands can overload even the most sincere Christian. And it’s not only lay believers who struggle with this balance. Recently, leaders vigorously debated how to balance law and grace in the Christian’s life. Some argued that Christians should live their life solely by grace, while others advocated that both grace and law should guide a person’s life. You’ve probably experienced the practical side to the debate in your life. Recall sinful behavior that you struggle with, and which you want to overcome. Perhaps you struggle with pornography, recurring anger, or even slothfulness. Whatever your struggle is, you’ve probably tried many different ways to overcome it. Do you rely on grace and turn to God ’s commands in the Bible or create a system of rules that guide your eyes away from your ailing sin? Or, do you turn solely to God’s grace to overcome this sin? Put another way, do...

Bible Study 2 (Photo credit: DrGBB ) “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” ( Matthew5:18 ) Here is the commentary of the Lord Jesus on the doctrine of plenary verbal inspiration . Not only were the words of the Bible divinely inspired, but even the very letters! The “jot” was the smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet (yod, the tenth letter). The “tittle” was a small horn-like appendage which transformed one Hebrew letter into another. Thus, a stronger statement of absolute verbal inspiration than this could hardly be imagined. Further, the phrase “in no wise” is actually a double negative in Greek. In New Testament Greek it was used for strong emphasis. According to none other than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, every word—even every letter—of the “law” must be fulfilled. This certainly includes the books of the Pentateuch —including even the often-maligned and distorted openin...

Quran, Mus'haf_Al_Tajweed. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Islam teaches that throughout history God has sent prophets, from Adam to Noah to Jesus and ultimately Muhammad, all with the same message: There is only one God, who desires people to pursue good and to prevent evil. Christians and Jews, “People of the Book,” are believed to be the remaining followers of earlier divine, but corrupted, revelations. Islam’s scripture, the Qur’an , is understood by Muslims to have restored God’s original guidance. The Qur’an includes numerous biblical personalities but recognizes as authentic only three sections of biblical literature: the Torah of Moses, the Evangel of Jesus, and the Psalms of David . Muslims see many of their beliefs and practices as biblical: the existence of only one God, the prophets, heaven, hell, angels, and a day of judgment. They also see the importance of charity, prayer, and fasting in the Bible. Although Muslims believe that Jesus was only a prophet and no...

Moses with the tablets of the Ten Commandments, painting by Rembrandt (1659) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 8:1 –4 “ Jesus said to him, ‘See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them’” (v. 4). The first evangelist has shown our Savior to be a new Moses in his gospel. Like Moses, Jesus was in mortal danger shortly after His birth ( Ex. 1:8–2:10; Matt. 2:16–18). Christ, the new covenant mediator, delivered God’s word on a mountain just as Moses received the Torah (the Law) on Sinai (Ex. 19:20–23:33; Matt. 5–7). However, Jesus comes not as Moses’ equal, but as his superior. Unlike Moses, our Lord explains the Law by His own authority (7:28–29). Moreover, Jesus comes down from the mountain to cleanse His people after declaring His Father’s will (8:1–4). Christ is better than Moses, who came down with commands that could only pronounce them “unclean” ...

John Calvin (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 23:23 –24 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees…you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness” (v. 23). Matthew 23:23–24 warns us that it is possible to become focused on one set of God ’s demands at the expense of another. The scribes and Pharisees tried to obey God’s law scrupulously; they tithed their herbs even though the Torah did not specifically require the giving of such ( Deut. 14:22–23). However, their obedience did not include the weightier, and more difficult, matters of the Law. It is easy to count out a tenth of one’s cumin seeds , but it is much harder to help needy people in a substantial way. Sacrifice of time and leisure might be required to show mercy to the one who is downtrodden. Faithfulness may mean the loss of one’s job or reputation as the result of bearing witness to Christ . The...