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Channel: Critical Thinking/Discernment Archives - The Chi Files
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Why House Churches Concern Me

What? I thought this post was about House-churches! Not long ago I made a statement on facebook about how “‘home churching’ makes me wince”.  After receiving a question about it, I started to think it...

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Taking a Bite Out of “Twilight”

Earlier this week I was engaged in a facebook conversation about the “Twilight” series (and the genre in general).  One thing that frustrated me was that I was apparently not able to convey my concerns...

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“What is love?”

In the song of the same name, Haddaway asks a profound question.  In a day where the words “I love you” are used as sparingly as sand on the seashore, and passion seems to be the order of the day, it’s...

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Is Mormonism Christian?

There’s been quite the hullabaloo about Mormonism in the news media lately.  As I’ve observed this discussion (brought into the fore due to being the religion of certain political candidates), I’ve...

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“What is love?” pt. 2

I was in my hometown of Norman, OK this past Sunday and attended Sunday morning service at my former congregation, Trinity Lutheran. The timing for my visit could not have been better. Having freshly...

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Dogmatism without Scripture is bluster.

My Pastor’s wife just gave birth to their first child this past weekend (congratulations!!!). My Pastor baptized his newborn son there in the hospital. Leaving aside the anabaptists, surely such an act...

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Swing, Swing

Human beings tend to be very reactionary.  We see an error being made, some perceived ill take place, and in our zeal to rectify the situation we inevitably overcorrect and end up having an equal but...

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Bloggin’ on an Impulse

This is a sort-of continuation of my last post, brought on by a very pragmatically minded question: how does one avoid jumping to extremes in practice? In response, let me first address in a little...

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I can still taste the soap…

“A little leaven leavens the whole lump.” This phrase used by Paul in 1st Corinthians 5:6 is instructive of the determined assertiveness with which sin spreads, indeed infects, what is good and...

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Both/And

Two days ago I was reading a book that I got for Christmas from my family.  The subject of the section was “chivalry”, and the author made the statement that certain actions done by a man on behalf of...

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The afterlife of the ancients

I read someone on the web today positing that at the time of Moses there was “no belief in heaven and hell… nor were there firm beliefs about the afterlife.”  I’m no expert in the ancient near-east,...

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Slippery Slopes

Since writing this post about how Christians are accused of resorting to the slippery slope fallacy when arguing against homosexuality, I’ve wanted to post some examples about what actual slippery...

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Death is thy god

I’ve just begun reading the “Atheist Manifesto” by Michel Onfray this weekend.  I wanted to find something in the current atheist mainstream to try and better understand their arguments.  I had first...

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Is Scriptural Interpretation Possible?

Just a brief note on the canard I’ve heard a lot this week that “there are just so many different interpretations of Scripture” (and therefore it can’t be held up as authoritative, even in discussions...

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Slippery Slopes

Since writing this post about how Christians are accused of resorting to the slippery slope fallacy when arguing against homosexuality, I’ve wanted to post some examples about what actual slippery...

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I don’t “stand with” Orlando

Many of my devoutly Christian friends have been posting on Facebook that they “stand with” the LGBT community in the wake of last week’s Orlando shooting at a gay bar. I take issue with this, because...

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Debt-free virgins without tattoos? — In this, Christians are treating their...

Tom addresses the “Men prefer debt-free virgins without tattoos” controversy. Particularly, the need for wisdom, and the passing of such to the next generation. Question is, are modern,...

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Thoughts on Scriptural Inspiration and Inerrancy

A couple of years ago I was introduced, through Michael Heiser’s excellent “Naked Bible Podcast,” to a very convincing interpretive framework for Paul’s 1st Corinthians “head covering” passages. Below...

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The Bible as Science Textbook

This is a tangental followup to my previous thoughts on scriptural inerrancy. And, yes, my thoughts will be as meandering in this post as in that one. Time and toddler don’t currently permit organized...

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Two X chromosomes good, one X chromosome bad

I recently added some links in the sidebar to some good resources on current trends in the sexual revolution (which I call the “sexual arms race,” due to its ever-escalating nature). Run, don’t walk,...

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