THE THIRTEENTH DAY OF DECEMBER IN THE YEAR OF GRACE TWO THOUSAND AND FIFTEEN. In a previous gracEmail I told of speaking, in a B'Nai B'rith program, on the Christian understanding of the Old Testament. As we moved into Q&A from Lecture, I urged these Jewish men to consider the claim of Jesus of Nazareth to be the Messiah foretold by the Hebrew prophets. A gracEmail subscriber who read the report now inquires further: "But what of your audience? Obviously they did not stone you. But did they believe you?" * * * The gentleman who invited me to take part in the B'Nai B'Rith program … [Read more...]
RETHINKING ‘THE SINNER’S PRAYER’
THE TWENTY-NINTH DAY OF NOVEMBER IN THE YEAR OF GRACE TWO THOUSAND AND FIFTEEN. It's a staple of conservative Protestant evangelism, so familiar that most evangelicals take it for granted. A bit odd perhaps, since neither Jesus nor his apostles nor any New Testament writer ever specifically mentions it. "It" is the so-called Sinner's Prayer, a verbal template that new converts are regularly instructed to paraphrase or repeat in order to "make a decision for Christ," "invite Jesus into (your) heart," and "accept Christ as Savior." The three clauses in quotes are not found in the Bible … [Read more...]
