Pisteuomen - πιστευομεν - T. Michael W. Halcomb

In my last few posts I have made mention of the construction of the mosque hoping to be built a couple of blocks from Ground Zero in New York. By now, most all of us in America have caught wind of this story in some form or another. I have not had the opportunity to read other bloggers' thoughts on it--though, I wish that I'd have had the time--but I do know that some have been posting their two cents. As one whose interest is first and foremost exegesis of the Bible, I thought I'd put my thoughts out there with the hopes of focusing the discussion a bit more. I want to keep this post brief, so, I will simply state my case and be done. Basically, within the Scriptures themselves, "place" and "space" are central issues. In the Old Testament, especially in texts like Deuteronomy, "the land" is very significant. Further, I have noticed that the phrase "the land" is actually ciphered by the phrase "the place" all throughout...

You may have heard by now that in reaction to the Quran burning, another church in Flordia has decided to do the opposite, to read the Quran. That's right, as a part of Sunday morning worship, a UCC congregation led by pastor Larry Reimer will read the Quran. Reimer says that this idea was born out of a reaction to the burning festivities. His congregants approached him wondering what they should do about the burning and how they should react, immediately after catching wind of the burning plot. Reading the Quran was their idea. The pastor wrongly says, "Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are all part of the Abrahamic tree of faith. We all believe in the same God, and in many aspects we are all trying to accomplish the same goals." Well, this just depends on what Jew, Christian or Muslim you ask; it is a terrible over-generalization with only some less than half-truths. Reimer goes on to say, "And in Islam, there are things that I think any follower of any other...

In the last few weeks, talks about the relationship between Islam and Christianity as well as Islam within America have stirred much controversy. On the one hand, the Quran burning festivities have sparked outrage worldwide. On the other hand, the building of a Muslim museum and mosque two blocks from Ground Zero have created much controversy. News analysts, columnists, bloggers and many others have come out of the woodworks to voice their opinions on either or both of these hot topic issues. At the level of which side(s) to support and which to reject, there seems to be inconsistency. The call to have patience with Muslims worldwide and to refrain from burning the Quran originates from various viewpoints depending on the person. For example, some desire patience so as not to harm American troops around the world. Others desire patience because in a land with freedom of religion, this is simply what one should do; they should tolerate the "other." Still, others think t...

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So, I've been on quite a hiatus from blogging over the last few weeks. It all started when the motherboard on my laptop had a meltdown. Well, now I've got the computer back and it's working okay. I've had a number of things happen in my life over the last month, some great and some, well, not so great. I'll save those things for another post perhaps. Anyway... Last night, just before going to bed, I landed on the local Christian TV station. There were two ladies speaking about2 Cor. 3.13-6. In those verses, Paul is comparing the obstinate hearts and minds of certain Hebrew (Jewish) people in his day to that of his Hebrew forebearers. To quote, the verses say this: "We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away....

Reading through the book Islam Vs. Islamism recently, I came across this brief timeline which I found both fascinating and illuminating: * 622 The hijra, or migration of Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina; start of the Islamic calendar * 661–689 Civil wars lead to the split between Sunnis and Shiites * 744–750 `Abbasid revolution ends the first, Arab-dominated, Omayyad caliphate and establishes political equality among believers. Start of Islam’s Golden Age 1258 Mongols sack Baghdad—end of `Abbasid caliphate and of Golden Age * 1453 Ottoman Turks capture Constantinople; end of Byzantine Empire * 1492 Discovery of America breaks Middle Eastern monopoly of trade with Asia; fall of Granada ends Muslim hold over Spain 1683 Ottoman Turks fail to conquer the Habsburg capital Vienna; beginning of Ottoman decline * 1798 Napoleon Bonaparte’s Egyptian expedition breaks Mamluk power and opens the Middle East to Western influences * 1856–1857 Heyday of tanzimat reforms to modernize Otto...

A friend of mine sent me a link to a fascinating site yesterday. Perhaps this is old news to you but it was new to me. The site deals with "The Abraham Path" that is being recreated in the Mid-East. Here's a bit about the site. After you read this, check it out (click HERE ): "The Abraham Path is a route of cultural tourism that retraces the journey made by Abraham (Ibrahim) through the heart of the Middle East some four thousand years ago. Three and a half billion people — over half the human family — trace their history or faith back to Abraham, considered the father of monotheism. The Abraham Path honors this shared cultural heritage by linking together into a single itinerary of outstanding interest and beauty the ancient sites associated with Abraham and his family."

Did the Pope really baptize a Muslim? That's what the news stations and columnists had me believing. However, the man the Pope baptized, while he had a Muslim past, was no longer practicing Islam. Furthermore, he had been writing columns against Islamic extremism and had married a Catholic woman. So, when the Pope baptized the man, He was baptizing him into Christ. He wasn't baptizing a Muslim just for the heck of it. No, the man desired to be a Christian and in doing so, wanted to undergo baptism. This was a conversion, not a mere social event.