The Prophetic Presbyterian & His Narrow Way

Does the Bible teach us the principles of sound reasoning?       Yes, it most certainly does.   Here are some examples… 1-  Is - Ought Fallacy  - Human anatomy is said to provide  a blueprint for sexual ethics.  We examined this in my previous article.  A moral “ought” is derived from a physical “is.” The disputant makes an illicit leap from what is to what ought to be. A classic example is the way some homosexuals defend their sexual ethics by appealing to their biology/genetics.  At its heart, the Is-Ought Fallacy is defined as the use of the state the created order to justify/warrant abstract moral principles.    For example, Greg Koukl writes:  People sometimes argue in favor of homosexuality by arguing that their inclination is natural, and if it’s natural, then we shouldn’t be making any moral objections about it. If that is their argument they are guilty of is-ought. This is true, insofar as the disputant is lo...

I recently read an LDS member’s statement about the alleged insufficiency of Scripture.  According to him, the Bible doesn’t contain everything necessary for our salvation. Here is my reply:  So what you’re saying is that the Scriptures of the Old Testament didn’t contain all that is necessary for salvation.   How did the Hebrew nation muddle through?  How was anyone saved?  The implication of your words is that the Old & New Testaments both individually & collectively did not testify all that is necessary to be saved, which implies either nobody whatsoever was saved or that some people were saved in spite of the lack of sufficient information/instruction.  How does that work? If you say nobody was saved, that contradicts LDS theology that people were saved in the OT era & that the gospel was preached in every age.     If people were saved & the gospel preached in those days, then the OT does contain all that is necessary to be sav...

And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel: 5   12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed, 12,000 from the tribe of Reuben,  12,000 from the tribe of Gad, 6   12,000 from the tribe of Asher, 12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali, 12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh, 7   12,000 from the tribe of Simeon, 12,000 from the tribe of Levi, 12,000 from the tribe of Issachar, 8   12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun, 12,000 from the tribe of Joseph, 12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin Who are they, what or who do they represent? 1. God  2. God’s names 3. The whole of the created order 4. The 12 tribes of Israel  5. The nations of the Earth 6. The Heavenly Nations 7. The nations below the Earth 8. The 12 Elders  9. The Angelic nations & orders Note: Dan is not among them & is conspicuous by his absence because of his idolatry (very like the 1/3 of the angels who fell from heaven, yet he is r...

The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw. Habakkuk's Complaint 2  O  Lord , how long shall I cry for help,      and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!”      and you will not save? 3  Why do you make me see iniquity,      and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me;      strife and contention arise. 4  So the law is paralyzed,      and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous;      so justice goes forth perverted. The  Lord 's Answer 5  “Look among the nations, and see;      wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days      that you would not believe if told. 6  For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans,      that bitter and hasty nation, who march through the breadth of the earth,...

  Luke 6 Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath 6  On a Sabbath, while he was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. 2  But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?” 3  And Jesus answered them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4  how he entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him?” 5  And he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath. Mark 2 23  One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. 24  And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” 25  And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungr...

   Link to Part 3    Link to Part 2     Link to Part 1                  Link to Part 4    Link to Part 5 What does charting the 6 days of creation in parallel with the First Table of the Law teach us?  God is already present & at work in the opening of Genesis.     Likewise, when the Children of Israel reach Sinai, God is already there.      God speaks the creation into existence just as He later reveals the Decalogue to Moses.   The text of Genesis is written from the perspective of an observer (Moses, the authors/editors, the reader or readers) standing on the Earth.     I find it helpful to place myself in Moses’ shoes on Sinai as he hears God speaking.  As Genesis opens, the Spirit of God is hovering, protecting, “quivering” over the deep.  Then,    God speaks, & the environment starts to take shape.   ...