In other (kind of weird) words

• AIsegesis, noun. An interpretation of the text of Scripture achieved by asking A.I. (artificial intelligence, such at ChatGPT) the meaning of the text.
• answerizing, noun. The art or practice of not answering the question that is asked, but rather answering the question that you want asked (i.e., giving the answer you wish to give regardless of the question).
• batnado, noun. The swirling vortex of 15-20 million bats rising out of the Bracken Cave near San Antonio, Texas.
• cage stage, noun. A period of religious zeal and arrogance following a religious conversion, usually  particularly referring to new adherents of Calvinistic theology (the idea is that these new converts are so aggressive in promoting their beliefs that they should be kept in a cage until they mature and gain humility).
• critocrisy, noun. Critical hypocrisy against criticizing (portmanteau of critical + hypocrisy).
• DARVO, noun. A manipulative tactic used by perpetrators to deflect blame and avoid accountability (it stands for Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender).
• glocal, adjective. Of or relating to the interconnection or integration of global and local issues, factors, etc. (a portmanteau of global + local).
• her-meneutics, noun. The practice and discipline of interpreting the Bible to align it with feminism or female leadership in the church.
• instapoetry, noun. A style of minimalist, confessional poetry written specifically for social media platforms.
• larping (also LARPing), verb. Performing in the way that is not actually authentic to who a person is; posing; pretending (an insult derived from L.A.R.P.  - live action role-playing).
• NED, noun. An acronym for either “Non-Executive Director” or “Non-Educated Delinquent.”
• NEET, noun. An acronym for a person “Not [in] Education, Employment, [or] Training” (usually applied to young people 16-34).
• oleaginous, adjective. Oily; falsely or smugly earnest; unctuous.
• panican, noun. A weak and stupid person who panics easily and readily (a portmanteau of panic + -an, a suffix denoting places or persons).
• pegan, adjective. Combining principles from the paleo and vegan (e.g. ‘pegan diet’).
• poorigin, adjective. A derived adjective to describe a story that posits a “poor origin” rather than one’s real background (often a political tactic).
• retcon, noun. A literary device in which new information is introduced to change, reinterpret, or contradict previously established events, characters, or facts (short for retroactive continuity; usually in serial fiction, but sometimes used of individuals trying to redefine their past).
• septum ring theory. A theory that suggests that individuals with septum piercings are radical leftists, man-haters, and/or chronically online with traumatic personalities.
• thimblerigging, verb. To cheat by or as by the thimblerig, a sleight-of-hand swindling game to swindle onlookers into betting and losing their money.
• transiloquent, adjective. Changing back and forth from talkative to unresponsive.
• situationship, noun. (Slang) An ambiguous romantic or dating relationship, in which feelings are not clearly defined (a portmanteau of situation + relationship).
• whataboutery, noun. The practice of repeatedly blaming the other side, or deflecting from the discussion of one thing by pointing to another thing (“Well, yes, but what about…?”).
• wokescold, noun. A neologism referring to a person who aggressively criticizes, shames, or scolds others for not being woke or progressive enough (woke + scold).

The language of redemption

Genesis 3:9 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

Before the fall, Genesis chapter 3 begins with the words of the serpent, “Yea, hath God said…?” After the fall, the first recorded words of God are “Where art thou?”[i] This word of God succintly sums up a stable scriptural soteriology (theology of salvation).

• God seeks the sinner.
• Verse 8 … the Lord God walking … and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God…
• God declares his condemnation.
• Verse 19 … dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
• God calls for his confession.
• Verse 9 … Where art thou?
• God provides for his redemption.
• Verse 15 … her seed…shall bruise thy head
• God works his restoration.
• Verse 21 … the Lord God…clothed them.

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[i] It is interesting how languages work. In the Hebrew language this question is one word (אַיֶּכָּה) which we transliterate as 'ay. In the English language it is three words. Not to try to find too much that isn’t there, but how intriguing that this works to combine “three in one.”

Sermons of the Westminster Divines, by Zachary Cole

In April I wrote about some frontal and rear attacks on Confessional Bibliology in The Authority of the Septuagint, edited by Greg Lanier and William Ross. Sometime later I wrote the following (many months ago), after reading “Providential Preservation of Scripture and Textual Criticism in the Sermons of Westminster Divines” (Zachary J. Cole, JETS 68.3, 2025: 405–23) and hearing the rejoinder presented by Jeff Riddle.

Though some of the text critics seem excited about it, Coles’s article seemed fairly weak to me. Often he jumped to (preconceived) conclusions not warranted by the evidence he presented. The article’s very existence shows that text critics (at least Reformed ones) don’t want to clearly admit that they find Westminster/London 1.8 and Confessional Bibliology a thorny problem that they need to answer (e.g., by not actually acknowledging and engaging current writers in this piece), while they actually do see they have a problem they have to answer.

Also, a note on footnote 57 on page 419. Cole wrote that the “alternative ἀπωλείαις appears to be unattested in Greek manuscripts, but is nevertheless the reading of Stephanus, which is in turn followed by the KJV” (with the accompanying footnote). It seems odd that he mentioned only Stephanus, when in fact it is in Erasmus 1516, and in Beza 1598 (the text the KJV translators mostly followed). In the ETC blog comments, Hefin Jones pointed out an error here. The reading απωλειαις in 2 Peter 2:2 is in fact found in GA 2815, a manuscript used by Erasmus.

Lastly, Cole established a method (reviewing published sermons of the Westminster divines) and yet departs from his method to include a sermon by James Ussher – I suppose just because he thinks it helped further his thesis/purpose.

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Note: Comment by Beza on 2 Peter 2:2.

Exitia, ταις απωλειαις, Vulgata, Lasciuias, ἀσελγείαις: quae lectio confirmatur Complutensis editionis & sex praeterea codicum auctoritate, ac mihi quidem satis videtur conuenire spurcos illos Nicolaitas. Sed si recemptum illud sequamur, Exitiorum nomine intelligentur viae, seu potius errores illi multiplices quibus in exitium praecipitantur homines.

Exitia, ταις απωλειαις, Vulgate, Lustful, ἀσελγείαις: which reading is confirmed by the authority of the Complutensian edition and six other codices, and indeed it seems to me that those filthy Nicolaitans are sufficiently suitable. But if we follow that received tradition, by the name of Exitia are understood the ways, or rather those manifold errors by which men are precipitated into destruction.

Worldly status and sincere worship

Worldly status can inhibit sincere worship. 2 Samuel 6:20.

Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel to day, who uncovered himself to day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself!

On the occasion of bringing the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem, David worshipped in dance before the Lord. He laid aside his royal garments and put on a simple linen ephod, such as was worn by those who ministered in the tabernacle (1 Samuel 2:18). When David’s wife Michal looked “and saw king David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart.” Matthew Henry writes, “David had pleased all the multitude of Israel (v. 19), but Michal was not pleased (v. 20) … when he was at a distance, she scorned him, and when he came home she scolded him.” This was an happy day – for David and for the nation – “and yet even this joyful day concluded with some uneasiness, occasioned by the pride and peevishness of his wife.”

Michal’s accusation drips with disdain for her husband (but cannot be accepted a literal claim of David being naked). She misrepresented and exaggerated David’s conduct, which is vindicated by the Bible text. He was not naked, but was girded with a linen ephod (v. 14). Michal sees his actions as shameful – beneath the dignity of a king, immodestly exposing himself before the handmaids of David’s servants as only shamelessly vain fellows would do. In reality, standing in her own pride and royal dignity, Michal was offended at his stepping below the dignity of a king. In this she exhibited toward David more the character of Saul her father of than Jonathan her brother. Michal held the worldly position in higher esteem than the pure worship. Her status in the kingdom inhibited her worship of the King (the Lord God the King, not David).

Blessed are those who wait

Isaiah 30:18 …blessed are all they that wait for him.

“Wait on God exclusively and wait on God expectantly. … This beatitude is not a future-oriented promise; it is a real-time assurance. … ‘Blessed are’ … Waiting on God brings a blessing; but waiting on God is itself a blessing. … Waiting on God is a matter of trust, not a matter of time.” (H. B. Charles, Jr., from a clip posted on his Facebook page)

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3:5-6

Weeping Peter

The following poetry by Charles Wesley is Hymn XIV in Hymns and Sacred Poems, In Two Volumes, Volume I (Charley Wesley, Bristol: Felix Farley, 1749, pp. 121-123). The primary allusion in the hymn is Peter’s denial of Christ, with subsequent repentance and restoration. In twelve stanzas Wesley draws in many other biblical references. The mourning penitent, in stanza after stanza, seeks the experience of Peter, that the Lord Jesus Christ might turn, look upon him, and break his heart of stone. The final stanza concluded with the heart of stone broken.

1. JESUS, let thy pitying eye
Call back a wandering sheep;
False to thee, like Peter, I
Would fain like Peter, weep;
Let me be by Grace restored;
On me be all longsuffering shown;
Turn, and look upon me, Lord,
And break my heart of stone.

2. Saviour, Prince, enthroned above,
Repentance to impart,
Give me, thro’ thy dying love,
The humble, contrite heart.
Give what I have long implored,
A portion of thy grief unknown:
Turn, and look upon me, Lord,
And break my heart of stone.

3. In restoring Love again,
O Jesus, visit me,
Give me back that pleasing pain,
That blessed misery:
Now thy tendering Grace afford,
And make me thine afflicted one:
Turn, and look upon me, Lord,
And break my heart of stone.

4. Harder than the flinty rock
My stubborn heart remains,
’Till I feel thy mercy’s stroke,
I only bite my chains,
Sinning on, though self-abhorr’d
As devils in their chains I groan:
Turn, and look upon me, Lord,
And break my heart of stone.

5. For thine own Compassion’s sake
The gracious wonder show;
Cast my sins behind thy back,
And wash me white as snow,
If thy bowels now are stirred,
If now I would myself bemoan,
Turn, and look upon me, Lord,
And break my heart of stone.

6. See me, Saviour, from above,
Nor suffer me to die;
Life and happiness and love,
Drop from thy gracious eye.
Break the reconciling word,
And let thy mercy melt me down,
Turn and look upon me, Lord,
And break my heart of stone.

7. Look, as when thine eye pursued
The First Apostate Man,
Saw him welt’ring in his blood,
And bade him rise again;
Speak my paradise restored
Redeem me by thy Grace alone;
Turn, and look upon me, Lord,
And break my heart of stone.

8. Look, as when thy pity saw
Thine own in a strange land,
Forc’d to obey the tyrant’s law,
And feel his heavy hand:
Speak the soul-redeeming word,
And out of Egypt call thy son;
Turn, and look upon me, Lord,
And break my heart of stone.

9. Look, as when thy weeping eye
The bloody city viewed,
Those, who stoned and doomed to die
The prophets, and their God;
I deserved their sad reward,
But this thy gracious day I own:
Turn, and look upon me, Lord,
And break my heart of stone.

10. Look, as when thy Grace beheld
The harlot in distress,
Dried her tears, her pardon sealed,
And bade her go in Peace;
Foul like her, and self-abhorred,
I at thy feet for mercy groan:
Turn, and look upon me, Lord,
And break my heart of stone.

11. Look, as when condemned for them
Thou didst thy followers see,
“Daughters of Jerusalem,
Weep for yourselves, not Me!”
And I by my God deplored,
And shall I not myself bemoan?
Turn, and look upon me, Lord,
And break my heart of stone.

12. Look as when thy languid eye
Was closed, that we might live;
“Father,” (at the point to die,
My Saviour gasped), “forgive!”
Surely, with that dying word,
He turns, and looks, and cries, “’Tis done.”
O my bleeding, loving Lord,
Thou break’st my heart of stone.

The tune Weeping Peter appeared in The Sacred Harp in 1860, with no attribution to the composer. It was originally in three parts. An alto part by J. W. McCoy was added in 1902. Examples of the tune may be seen HERE and HERE. The Hymnology Archive contains a biography of Charles Wesley.

It is easier to, and other quotes

The posting of quotes of human authors does not necessarily constitute agreement with either the quotes or their sources. (I try to confirm the sources that I give, but may miss on occasion; please verify if possible.)

“It is easier to ridicule than commend.” -- Thomas Fuller

“Don’t wait until you have a crisis to decide what you believe.” -- Bill Mounce

“A man doesn’t protect his wife because she is weak. He protects her because she is important.” -- Unknown

“Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and you’re a thousand miles from the corn field.” -- Dwight D. Eisenhower

“People ask me what I think about the gender debate. I tell them I don’t have an opinion. God already settled it in Genesis 1:27.” -- Pastor John

“We have to love you, but we don’t have to love your ways.” -- Johnnie Johnson

“Oh how amazing it is that people can talk so much about men’s power and goodness when, if God did not hold us back every moment, we should be devils incarnate!” -- David Brainerd

“Instead of theorizing and speculating about what God might be like, fix your eyes on Jesus.” -- Chad Bird

“Sometimes we go through the motions without knowing where we are going.” -- Dale Faulks

 “Anything and everything the Bible has to teach is illustrated somehow in the Tabernacle.” -- Grant Luton

“Somewhere along the way, too many have become more concerned with being the most celebrated preacher in the room than being the most faithful servant of the text.” -- Andre Jermaine Lewis

“If your worthiness of life is measured by perfection, then none of us qualify.” -- Mikaela Teixeira

“You never know Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have.” -- Peter Barnes

“The life of ministry is helping people with their hurt while you’re hurting.” -- Charles E. Hamilton, Jr.

Revival and Response

Below is something I discovered in a Word Document and decided it is worth posting. The following was a general response on the subject of revival, and specifically to a comment about Jack Hyles: “If immediate outward manifestations measured revival, Hyles did better than anyone I’ve ever seen and on a more consistent basis.”

It is interesting and apparently reflective of our culture, that happenings like the “Jesus Revolution” and the “Asbury University Revival” grasps attention in the wider culture, but “revivals” like those of Jack Hyles did not. Yes, Hyles and those in his orbit had much better “results” over a longer period of time and, as was stated, “on a more consistent basis.” Now, to be clear, I do not think Hyles’s revivals were really any more revival than what is what is happening at Asbury now. Back probably thirty years ago or so, for a while I made a concerted effort to go through and “add up” the revivals reported by evangelists to the Sword of the Lord periodical. It was quite consistent, in having multiple reports over and over with results such as “100 saved, 2 baptisms.” There is something wrong with that when this kind of ratio is consistently true of a large group of evangelists. It does not follow the biblical pattern.

All that said, it is intriguing that people outside of the “revivals” such as the “Jesus Revolution” and the “Asbury University Revival” get caught up in meditating on them as possible heirs to the “Great Awakenings” – while never giving revivalists such as Hyles the time of day. Not sure why that is/was. Regardless, time has proven the fruits of the “Hyles Revolution” were not as tasty as many independent Baptists thought.