The Riddleblog

“He Was Looking Forward” Hebrews 11:8-16 (An Exposition of the Book of Hebrews–Part Seventeen)

The Importance of Abraham

Three of the world’s great religions (Islam, Judaism, and Christianity) trace their origins back to Abraham. Yet the Genesis account speaks of Abraham as one who believed God’s covenant promise. It is said of him, Abraham “believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6). This explains why the account of the life of Abraham in Genesis 11-25 fits perfectly within the “catalogue of believers in God’s covenant promise” in Hebrews 11.

That Abraham was justified by faith is the reason why Christians are considered to be the true children of Abraham–much to the chagrin of Jews, and to the disdain of Muslims. Abraham is a man who pitched his tent in the land of promise, yet who also knew that dwelling in the land was not all that God had promised to him–God’s promise included eternal life as well. Therefore, Abraham is regarded as the man of faith, because he believed God’s covenant promise to make him the father of a great nation, and that he would have so many descendants that it would be impossible to count them all–despite the fact that this seemed to be a physical impossibility. It is to the story of Abraham as summarized in Hebrews 11, that we now turn.

Not About “Heroes of Faith” But About God’s Promise

We are working our way through Hebrews 11, the so-called “hall of faith” because so many important Old Testament figures are mentioned here. As we saw last time, the primary point being made by the author of Hebrews in this chapter is not that the people mentioned here are setting examples for us to follow (as people who had faith), but that these Old Testament saints all believed the same gracious covenant promise which God made to his people, and which the author of Hebrews has spent ten chapters unpacking. Rather than speak of Hebrews 11 as the “hall of faith,” it is much better to understand this chapter as a “catalogue of justified sinners,” sinful people who believed God’s covenant promise to save them from the guilt and power of their sin.

To read the rest, follow the link below

HebrewsKim RiddlebargerJune 19, 2025Hebrews 11:8-16, The Importance of AbrahamComment

Tucker Carlson and Ted Cruz Debate Israel

Needless to say, there is far more heat than light here. Both Cruz and Carlson claim to be Christians, but their debate reveals scant understanding of what the Bible actually says about the future of Israel.

I weigh in on the biblical teaching regarding the future of Israel in an episode of the Blessed Hope Podcast. What Does the Future Hold for Israel? A Look at Romans 9-11

This episode of the Blessed Hope Podcast (part of a larger series entitled “The Future,”) was posted about ten days before the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas upon Israel, so I make no reference to recent events. I address the October 7 attack here.

What I do in this episode of the Blessed Hope Podcast is address Paul’s understanding of the future role of Israel in redemptive history in Romans 9-11 where Paul specifically discusses the matter in great detail. I don’t think God is finished with national Israel, but I reject the dispensational teaching about what this entails and how it will work out.

Calvin on Prayer -- Christ Our Mediator Establishes Intercessory Prayer

19. Christ is the only mediator, even for the mutual intercession of believers

Calvin reminds us of a point he made in the previous section, that turning away from Jesus as our mediator is folly. This how the Lord has constituted our relationship to himself – “through the Son.” Apart from Christ, there is no access to God.

Now, since he is the only way, and the one access, by which it is granted us to come to God [cf. John 14:6], to those who turn aside from this way and forsake this access, no way and no access to God remain; nothing is left in his throne but wrath, judgment, and terror. Moreover, since the Father has sealed him [cf. John 6:27] as our Head [Matt. 2:6] and Leader [1 Cor. 11:3; Eph. 1:22; 4:15; 5:23; Col. 1:18], those who in any way turn aside or incline away from him are trying their level best to destroy and disfigure the mark imprinted by God. Thus Christ is constituted the only Mediator, by whose intercession the Father is for us rendered gracious and easily entreated.

Furthermore, Calvin adds since God has opened the way to the Father (through the mediation of Christ) this also opens the way for us to pray for each other–intercession for others being one of the great blessings of prayer. This is, in part, the reason why confessional Protestants place such stress upon the necessity and benefits of the pastoral prayer during the Lord’s Day worship service. The saints gather to receive the preached word and the sacraments, and to pray for one another.

To read the rest, follow the link below

John CalvinKim RiddlebargerJune 16, 2025Intercessory prayerComment

I Was a Recent Guest on Cápsulas de Teología Discussing my Book, A Case for Amillennialism

Here’s the link: A Case for Amillennialism (English and Spanish)

The AI generated glamour photo makes me look thinner and younger. I’m not sure what to think of it!

Amillennialism, Biblical TheologyKim RiddlebargerJune 13, 2025Discussion of A Case for AmillenniaismComment

Paul’s Macedonian Call -- When Closed Doors Lead to an Open Door

Paul’s Approach to Preaching the Gospel—The Second Missionary Journey Gets Underway

Preaching first to Jews in local synagogues, where Paul could find a “common starting-point in the Jewish Scriptures,”[1] and then preaching to Gentiles in the city’s public spaces, Paul and his associates witnessed the conversion of sufficient numbers of Christian believers that an apparently thriving church had been founded in the Greek city of Thessalonica merely twenty years after the death and resurrection of Jesus.[2] Our Lord’s promise to his disciples in Acts 1:8 comes to mind. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” In many ways, Paul’s missionary journeys are the means through which Isaiah’s prophecy of Israel’s Messiah serving as a light to the Gentiles (Isaiah 49:6) is fulfilled, as well as our Lord’s promise in Acts 1:8. The gospel was now going to the ends of the earth, largely through Paul’s preaching to Gentiles.

The Macedonian Call – Two Doors Closed While Another Opened

The church in Thessalonica, along with the new churches in Philippi, Berea, and Corinth, all have their origin in the so-called “Macedonian Call,” which is recounted by Luke in Acts 16:6-10. As a result of a vision given Paul while he was still in Asia Minor, the second missionary journey got under way as the gospel came to several prominent Greek cities: Philippi (Acts 16); Thessalonica (Acts 17:1-9); Berea (Acts 17:10-15); Athens (Acts 17:16-34); and Corinth (Acts 18:1-17).

Coming on the heels of the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15), the “Macedonian Call” was a significant event in the early church, and is recounted in Acts 16:6-10,

And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

To read the rest, follow the link below

Pauline Studies, Biblical Events, Biblical TheologyKim RiddlebargerJune 11, 2025The Macedonian CallComment

I Was a Recent Guest on the Distinctive Christianity Podcast, Discussing B. B. Warfield, the Lion of Princeton

Here’s the Link: On B. B. Warfield: The Lion of Princeton

B. B. Warfield, Reformed ResourcesKim RiddlebargerJune 9, 2025Podcast Lion of PrincetonComment

Popular Christian Books With Unintended Consequences

Billy Graham’s book on angels was a best seller—my guess is that we sold more of them than Graham’s popular How to Be Born Again. I knew it back in the day under the title, “Angels, Angels, Angels: God’s Secret Agents.” Graham’s book is light on biblical teaching, but is known for the anecdotal stories of angelic appearances and accounts of miraculous interventions. Nothing heretical here, but the unintended consequence is that when one focuses upon anecdotal stories about angels, that opens the door for folks to recount their own stories about angels. “Billy Graham may have some great stories about angels, but I’ve got a few of my own. If he can tell them, well, so can I.” And how many ministers felt the need or saw the opportunity to follow suit? Angels fascinate people.

The Reformed focus upon God’s providence in directing all things to their divinely appoint ends, and although willing to admit that angels may indeed be agents in accomplishing God’s purpose, Scripture does not say much about them nor reveal when and how they work. This is why we should be guarded when speaking about the angelic world. Ordinarily, angels do not appear to humans except in major turning points in redemptive history. Their work is mysterious. And when they do appear the reaction from human witnesses is fear and terror!

To read the rest, follow the link below

“By Faith” Hebrews 11:1-7 (An Exposition of the Book of Hebrews–Part Sixteen)

A Catalogue of Fellow Believers

Faith is one of those words Christians often use without definition. Since faith is a biblical word, it has the connotation of being a good thing, and therefore is something everyone should possess. But this understanding is very wide of the biblical mark. The word “faith” has a very technical meaning in the New Testament. Faith is not a generic term for whatever subjective opinion people may or may not have about God. Faith is used either as a verb (“to believe”) or as a noun (“faith”), and is always directed to its object (that which is believed). The author of Hebrews carefully defines the term “faith” and then illustrates that definition by describing how a number of great figures from the Old Testament (Noah, Moses, Abraham, etc.) believed in God’s promise–the same promise which the author of Hebrews has argued in chapters 1-10 was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Therefore, the Old Testament saints mentioned in Hebrews 11 serve primarily as witnesses to God’s faithfulness in keeping his covenant promises, and only secondarily as examples to us of people who have faith in God’s promise even during difficult times.

We now move into a new (and perhaps the best known) section of The Book of Hebrews, chapter 11. Often described as the “hall of faith” because so many Old Testament luminaries are mentioned here, all of those who make the author’s list are included here because they believed the gracious covenant promise which God made to his redeemed people– “I will be your God and you will be my people.” There is much here in this chapter–the nature and character of faith, as well as a discussion of how the New Testament writers (such as the author of Hebrews) read the Old Testament. So, we will take our time going through it.

Believers In God’s Covenant Promises or Examples to Follow? Or Both?

Many of those who preach through this particular section of Hebrews emphasize the exemplary character of the faith of those who make the list. In taking this approach, the focus falls upon the example these people set for us, and which we should follow. This approach emphasizes that these were great men, they had faith in YHWH during the most difficult of times, so we should imitate them by striving to have the same kind of faith they had. But the obvious problem with this approach is that one of those mentioned, Rahab, was a prostitute. In fact, all those mentioned were sinful individuals, and those who lived during the time of the Judges (Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah) were all men whose behavior was less then exemplary. Nevertheless, these people are numbered among those who had faith in the promise.

To read the rest, follow the link below

HebrewsKim RiddlebargerJune 4, 2025Hebrews 11:1-7, Abel Enoch and Noah, Faith in the PromiseComment

“Regeneration’s Effect” -- Article Sixteen, The Third and Fourth Main Points of Doctrine, Canons of Dort

Article 16: Regeneration’s Effect

However, just as by the fall man did not cease to be man, endowed with intellect and will, and just as sin, which has spread through the whole human race, did not abolish the nature of the human race but distorted and spiritually killed it, so also this divine grace of regeneration does not act in people as if they were blocks and stones; nor does it abolish the will and its properties or coerce a reluctant will by force, but spiritually revives, heals, reforms, and—in a manner at once pleasing and powerful—bends it back. As a result, a ready and sincere obedience of the Spirit now begins to prevail where before the rebellion and resistance of the flesh were completely dominant. It is in this that the true and spiritual restoration and freedom of our will consists. Thus, if the marvelous Maker of every good thing were not dealing with us, man would have no hope of getting up from his fall by his free choice, by which he plunged himself into ruin when still standing upright.

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In article sixteen we are reminded yet again that without the grace of God acting upon us and in us (when we were dead in sin), we would forever remain unbelievers. Even though the effects of sin are all-pervasive, nevertheless, the imago Dei remains in us, although badly defaced.

That the remnant of the imago remains can be proven from a number of biblical texts. In Ephesians 4:24, Paul speaks of the Christian “putting on the new self”—which is clearly a reference to the regenerate “new man” being restored to the true righteousness and holiness which were lost in the Fall. In Colossians 3:10, Paul reiterates much the same thing, this time mentioning that putting on the new self includes the restoration of true knowledge. In some sense then, regeneration restores particular aspects of the imago Dei which had been lost in the fall. These include true righteousness, knowledge, and holiness. Therefore, “putting on the new-self” is descriptive of the process of restoration of fallen human nature.

To read the rest, follow the link below

Who Said That? (Updated)

One of the most popular features on the old Riddleblog was “Who Said That?” I thought I would bring it back for a trial run.

I’ll post a quote and you guess who said it in the comments section. Please do not look up the answer—the whole point is to guess! But if you can’t restrain yourself, please don’t post the source and ruin it for everyone else.

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Who Said That?

Where is this place represented by "outer darkness" in Jesus' parables? To be in outer darkness is to be in the kingdom of God but outside the circle of men and women whose faithfulness on this earth has earned them a special rank or position of authority (italics in original).

The "outer darkness" represents not so much an actual place as it does a sphere of influence and privilege. It is not a geographical area in a kingdom where certain men and women are consigned to stay. It is simply a figure of speech describing their low rank or status in God's kingdom. . . . Now, imagine standing before God and seeing all you have lived for reduced to ashes. How do you think you would feel? How do you think you would respond? Picture yourself watching saint after saint rewarded for faithfulness and service to the King--and all the time knowing that you had just as many opportunities but did nothing about them. . .

We do not know how long this time of rejoicing and sorrow will last. Those whose works are burned will not weep and gnash their teeth for all eternity. At some point, we know God will comfort those who have suffered loss.

Follow the link below and leave your guess in the comments section. Answer to follow in a few days

B. B. Warfield's Essay "On the Antiquity and the Unity of the Human Race"

In 1911, B. B. Warfield addressed the theological significance of a growing challenge to the Christian faith. New geological data appeared to demonstrate that the earth was quite old, and this was becoming hugely problematic for those who accepted that the biblical date for the creation of the universe was 4004 BCE. This date was calculated from the biblical chronologies and is often attributed to Archbishop Ussher.

Warfield’s essay, entitled “On the Antiquity and the Unity of the Human Race”, was his effort to demonstrate that the importance of the biblical chronologies was to be found in their demonstration of the unity of the human race as descendants of Adam and Eve, not in their value for dating the creation of the earth. As Warfield explains, the genealogies given us in Scripture are not comprehensive—they are selective. It is wrong-headed to use them to attempt to determine the precise date of creation. Warfield devoted a significant portion of his essay to explain why such is the case.

The scientific evidence Warfield marshals throughout his 1911 essay is now badly outdated, which should be no surprise given how rapidly scientific data from the hard sciences, coupled with human DNA research, has changed the way we now understand human origins. All those cheek swabs and spit sent to DNA ancestry companies from those of us seeking to find out if we descend from royalty, coupled with significant DNA extraction from the skeletal remains collected for the last four centuries across Europe (and to a lesser degree elsewhere) and stored in university repositories are now being tested. These tests have generated a tidal wave of new DNA data. As this data is examined and correlated, it will, no doubt, impact our understanding of the age of the human race and may present a significant challenge to the biblical account of the creation of Adam. But as always, Christians will capably respond, since the two books of general and special revelation will not remain in conflict when all is said and done.

To read the rest, follow the link below

Books Which Helped Me Make Up My Mind

I was already well along in my journey to becoming Reformed back in 1981 when Sinclair Ferguson’s Know Your Christian Life appeared on the InterVarsity book rack in our store. Now out of print (and replaced by several more recent books from Ferguson on various aspects of the Christian life), this tome offered a succinct and devotional take on the major Reformed doctrines—including justification and sanctification. At the time, I was wrestling with a host of theological issues. I was working full-time, and commuting to Escondido, and I was feeling sort of wrung out from having so much of what I had always believed turned upside down during my studies at Westminster Seminary California. It was nice to read something about these same doctrines in a different context—one framed by John Owen and the Puritans now coming from the pen of someone new on the Christian publishing scene, Sinclair Ferguson. J. I. Packer described Ferguson’s book as, “Reformed theology of the older, riper, deeper sort.” That it was. It was also a great supplement to my initial seminary course work. Ferguson made it clear that in the Reformed tradition head and heart were not at war with each other. This breakthrough came to me at the very time when my anti-Calvinist evangelical friends were warning me that Calvinism was nothing but “head knowledge.”

I was so impressed with the book, I actually wrote to Dr. Ferguson at Westminster Theological Seminary, thanking him for it. I received a very nice reply, and have benefited from his work (especially his preaching) ever since.

To read the rest, follow the link below

Calvin on Prayer -- The Risen Christ Is Our Mediator

In his discussion of proper prayer, Calvin continues to direct us outside ourselves to focus upon the role of Jesus as our mediator—he intercedes with the holy God on behalf of his sinful people. All Christian prayer is mediated through Jesus Christ which is why Christians pray in his name and for his sake.

18. The Risen Christ as Our Intercessor

Calvin reminds us that this is what Jesus taught his disciples.

And we ought carefully to note the circumstance of the time when Christ enjoins his disciples to take refuge in his intercession, after he shall have ascended into heaven. “In that hour,” he says, “you will ask in my name.” (John 16:26)

Those prayers not offered to God through the intercession of Christ are not heard (i.e., received). We learn this in the Old Testament, Calvin says, through the foreshadowing of the law and the offering of sacrifices in the temple. Since our sin bars us from God’s presence, we must seek the divinely appointed means (cleansing from sin) so that our prayers are heard and answered. This requires both a priest and a mediator who can offer sacrifices which can remove the guilt of sin.

To read the rest follow the link below

John CalvinKim RiddlebargerMay 23, 2025The risen Christ, Jesus as intercessorComment

The Apostle Paul on the “Sweat Allergy”

As he did in his first Thessalonian letter, Paul wraps up his second letter with a series of imperatives (exhortations). In this case, Paul’s imperatives are concerned with warning the Thessalonians to be on guard for those who are consumers, or who are lazy, and for those who will not obey the instructions that the apostle has given. In 2 Thessalonians 3:6, Paul gives an emphatic command for the Thessalonians to keep away from “every brother who is idle and does not live according to the tradition you received from us.”

The word translated as “idle” can mean “disorderly.”[1] In this context, it probably refers to those who do not live up to reasonable expectations–people who disappoint us by making promises and never following through on them.[2] In light of the questions about the Lord’s return (parousia) put to Paul by the Thessalonians, it is possible that these individuals cause chaos in the church because they do not obey the teaching, and were refusing to do any work to support their brothers and sisters because they were convinced that the second coming was at hand. These are people who can be described as “so heavenly-minded, they are no earthly good.” But in light of what Paul says in verse 10, we can identify laziness (the dreaded “sweat allergy”) as the true problem—“For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.”

Pauline StudiesKim RiddlebargerMay 21, 2025Work, 2 Thess 3:6 Comment

Books Which Didn't Change My Mind

The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels was the first honest to goodness piece of critical scholarship I ever read—for a student paper at the Simon Greenleaf School of Law. If I recall correctly, it was suggested by John Warwick Montgomery as a recommended book for a student review, which was required for his History of Christianity course. Of course, we did not carry it in our Christian bookstore, but I found it at Walden Books—remember them? I almost felt like I was sinning when buying and then reading it, but then I got my dander up and gave it, let me just say, a less than stellar review. Little did I know it would be the first of many works I would read by critical scholars over the years. D. F. Strauss’s Life of Jesus, Critically Examined, and Ernest Renan’s, Life of Jesus were far and away the worst. Burton Mack’s (of the Jesus Seminar) stuff was pretty bad too.

Pagels argued that the famous discovery at Nag Hammadi in Egypt in 1945, of “lost” and long buried ancient Christian writings revealed a much more diverse set of authentic Christian writings than those included in our Bibles. Her claim is that orthodox Christianity was not so orthodox after all. Those accepted and esteemed biblical texts in our Bibles were more or less the product of political and ecclesiastical power struggles among those who determined which books made it into the canon, and which groups among these diverse Christian communities were to be regarded as orthodox. In Pagels’s estimation, the various Gnostic communities and their teachings were unjustifiably excluded by those with power—bishops with political connections. If the term existed when Pagels’s book was published, these suppression efforts in opposition to the Gnostic texts and groups would be labeled the “deep church.”

To read the rest, follow the link below

“Let Us Draw Near” Hebrews 10:19-39 (An Exposition of the Book of Hebrews–Part Fifteen)

A Valuable Treasure

There are some things easily taken for granted. A clean conscience before God based upon the knowledge that Jesus Christ made a perfect, once for all sacrifice for sin which turns aside the wrath of God, is a priceless treasure. Yet, people will spend hundreds of dollars per hour to have a counselor or psychiatrist tell them that they are OK, that they have done nothing wrong, that they couldn’t help themselves, or that it is not their fault. It is easy to take for granted the fact that it is the priestly work of Jesus Christ which secures for us full access to the very presence of God, who graciously hears our prayers only because his beloved son intercedes for us.

And it is very easy to take for granted that hope secured for us by Jesus Christ, who having completed his redemptive work on the cross and taken his place at God’s right hand, promises to come again to give us all those eternal blessings secured for us by his priestly work. All of these wonderful benefits are ours only because Jesus Christ is our great high priest who offered himself, once and for all, as the final and all sufficient sacrifice for sin. And it is this priestly work of Jesus Christ which secures for us the full assurance of our salvation and the freedom to draw near to God.

To read the rest, follow the link below

HebrewsKim RiddlebargerMay 16, 2025Draw Near to GodComment

“Responses to God’s Grace” -- Article Fifteen, The Third and Fourth Main Points of Doctrine, Canons of Dort

Article 15: Responses to God’s Grace

God does not owe this grace to anyone. For what could God owe to one who has nothing to give that can be paid back? Indeed, what could God owe to one who has nothing of his own to give but sin and falsehood? Therefore the person who receives this grace owes and gives eternal thanks to God alone; the person who does not receive it either does not care at all about these spiritual things and is satisfied with himself in his condition, or else in self-assurance foolishly boasts about having something which he lacks. Furthermore, following the example of the apostles, we are to think and to speak in the most favorable way about those who outwardly profess their faith and better their lives, for the inner chambers of the heart are unknown to us. But for others who have not yet been called, we are to pray to the God who calls things that do not exist as though they did. In no way, however, are we to pride ourselves as better than they, as though we had distinguished ourselves from them.

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Article fifteen deals with the attitude that we as Christian are to have about our salvation from sin and its consequences. Given the fact that it is God alone who saves–because human sinfulness renders us incapable of saving ourselves–salvation originates not in an act of the sinful human will, but in the gracious decree of God who loved the fallen world so much that he sent Jesus Christ to die for those unworthy sinners whom he has graciously decreed to save (cf. John 3:16).

The point the canons make here is that grace is not truly gracious if we define grace as something which God owes us. In other words, those who teach that God’s grace is a reward based upon something we have done which places God under obligation to respond to wicked and sinful creatures are in error. With Adam’s fall the human race has collectively rebelled against his majesty and holiness (Romans 4:16). We must be very careful not to base our theology of sin and grace upon the presuppositions of American democracy, which teaches us that we are all equal and able, and that those who act righteously get what they deserve in the end—a reward.

As we have seen repeatedly, the Bible does not begin to discuss redemption from the perspective of human worth, ability, or equality, as Arminians and semi-Pelagians would have us to believe. Instead, the Bible begins with the fall of the human race into sin. This includes universal human sinfulness, inability, and guilt. The Reformed have often charged that in the Arminian system, grace cannot be truly gracious, because we supposedly have it in our power to act in such a way that God must respond by granting us eternal life.

To read the rest, follow the link below

The Canons of DortKim RiddlebargerMay 14, 2025God's grace, response to graceComment

The Forgotten Apologist – Edward John Carnell (Part Three) "Common Ground and the Third Way of Knowing"

Carnell on Common Ground – The Descriptive But Not the Normative

An important area in Carnell’s apologetic method is his treatment of common ground.[39] Carnell outlines what he describes as three levels of meaning: (1) the personal, (2) the scientific, and (3) the ultimate or metaphysical. According to Carnell, all people share the personal level of meaning, but Christians and non-Christians do not share the metaphysical level. However, Christians and non-Christians do share a portion of the scientific level—namely, the realm of mere observation—which is not governed directly by metaphysical presuppositions. Since Carnell views the metaphysical as the ultimate level of meaning, it extends into most of the scientific realm. In practice, then, common ground is minimal and largely limited to observation (the descriptive).

While all descriptive aspects of reality and life ultimately point to the metaphysical, as we have seen, there remains common ground in the personal realm regarding what we observe and experience in the world. Carnell’s emphasis on “soul sorrow” and a shared personal level with non-Christians highlights the fact that acknowledging such common experience and observation leads us toward the normative—that is, the explanatory metaphysical ultimate. Observation and experience can tell us what is, but not what it means. Thus, whatever common ground exists at the personal level and within portions of the scientific (i.e., the observable), it is continually given through general revelation, which is ongoing. The things we experience and observe demand an explanation—the normative. While there may be some common ground between Christians and non-Christians, it is not and cannot be "neutral." This is a hostile environment for non-Christians, who, as Scripture teaches, must suppress the truth in unrighteousness to avoid facing the normative truth (cf. Romans 1:18-25).

To read the rest, including Carnell’s discussion of the “third way of knowing,” follow the link below.

ApologeticsKim RiddlebargerMay 12, 2025common ground, thrid way of knowing, third way of knowingComment

Spring Musings — May 9, 2025

Riddleblog and Blessed Hope Updates:

I have uploaded a series entitled the“Forgotten Apologist — E. J. Carnell.” An overlooked and tragic figure, Carnell’s apologetic insights are nevertheless well-worth consideration
The Blessed Hope Podcast is between seasons. I’ll begin work soon on season four, a deep dive into 2 Corinthians, tentatively titled “Life in the Midst of Death” (taken from Moo’s Theology of Paul’s Letters)

Thinking Out Loud:

The second season of Wolf Hall on PBS is truly outstanding. Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell and Damien Lewis as Henry VIII are phenomenal. Well worth watching!
April showers bring . . . a yard full of weeds in May
Shouldn’t Bernie Sanders and AOC be complaining about plutarchy and not oligarchy?
Men seem to universally love The Three Stooges, while women hate them. Women seem to love Jane Austen, men do not
I caught a bit of the NFL draft (even though I don’t watch NFL football). Most of the teams have giant entourages in their draft rooms—between 30-50 people. Why? I can see the GM, the head coach, a few position coaches, a scout or two, and a lawyer who handles the contracts being present. That’s what? Ten guys. Why so many? Too many chefs spoil the broth
Speaking of the draft, the dramatic fall of Shedeur Sanders to the 144th player selected has nothing to do with race, but with teams not wanting anything to do with an entitled young man and his father. We Yankees fans remember Dion’s first big league at bat—drawing a dollar sign in the dirt just outside the batter’s box. Grossly unprofessional. Dion’s a phenomenal two-sport athlete, but as my father-in-law used to say, “I spent a week with so and so yesterday.” Dion does not wear well

To read the rest of the spring musings, follow the link below

Gifts of the Spirit and Subjective Experience

As A. C. Thiselton (the author of a well-regarded commentary on 1 Corinthians) points out, “it is almost universally agreed that reference to modern Pentecostal and charismatic phenomena cannot be used as an exegetical test for interpretations of Paul and Corinth.”[1]

This is very important to keep in mind, because there is a tendency among many to experience something they consider “miraculous” (e.g., an unexpected new job, deliverance from temporal danger, an unexplained healing of bodily illness, or an ecstatic experience of speaking in tongues) and, based on such experiences, attempt to define the nature of the charismata (gifts of the Spirit) mentioned by Paul in his Corinthian letter.

It is simply misguided to do something with no biblical precedent—such as televangelists boasting about receiving “words of knowledge”—and then claim that they are exercising the same “word of knowledge” to which Paul refers in 1 Corinthians 12:8. Someone may experience an ecstatic utterance in private and then claim they have the gift of tongues, urging others to seek the same experience.

But this is not the proper method for understanding spiritual gifts.

To read the rest, follow the link below