We had a total of three current and former Things Above Us authors at the Wokeness and the Gospel conference this past weekend. It was truly a joy meeting new people, catching up with old friends, and digging into some solid teaching! I plan to have more later concerning the conference itself. For now, please be in […]
The Elect by John McWhorter — partial-book review, and it’s not about Calvinism
John McWhorter is a linguist and an assistant professor of English and comparative literature at Columbia University. I heavily cited his work earlier when previewing Voddie Baucham’s Fault Lines and discussing McWhorter’s contention that the word “Antiracism,” referring to the new woke religion of critical race theory, ought to be capitalized as a proper noun. […]
Did They Know Jesus Yet? A Textual Criticism Case Study in John 14:7
For those of you who are tracking the release of the Legacy Standard Bible — the real, actual successor to the NASB 1995 — there’s an interesting change in John 14:7 that’s more textual criticism than translation. Let’s take a look. LSB NASB 1995 John 14:6 Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and […]
Jesus and John Wayne (book review)
Kristin Kobes Du Mez (pronounced “doo may”) is a professor of history and gender studies at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation, she lays out a seventy-five-year history of evangelical culture with an aim towards explaining the cultural rise of Donald […]
Fault Lines by Voddie Baucham (book review)
Why the name Fault Lines? Baucham describes the climate around Critical Social Justice, etc. in terms of “fault lines,” continually referring to this metaphor throughout the book. It has less to do with a demand to pick a side than it does with the inevitability of finding oneself and one’s church on one side or […]
You Will Be Like ‘Gods’?: Genesis 3:5 and Mormonism (re-post)
The following post originally appeared on Things Above Us in October 2019. A good friend in the ministry recently raised a question she was asked by someone else concerning Genesis 3:5 in the context of a conversation with members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and it’s a very good one. In this […]
“Antiracism” Deserves a Capital Letter: A Preview of Voddie Baucham’s Fault Lines
Note: The full review is now published. Recently on Twitter, a Ph.D. student at a Southern Baptist seminary threw shade at Voddie Baucham’s upcoming book Fault Lines for many flaws such as “commitment to innuendo,” riling up a “populist mob,” and lacking integrity. He went so far as to criticize Baucham and his publisher for […]
2 Peter 1 in the Legacy Standard Bible
With the full text of the LSB New Testament now available, we have an opportunity for the first time to look through how the translation handles one of the catholic (general) epistles. I’ve sought to explain every change in 2 Peter 1 in this post. LSB NASB 1995 head Growth in Christian Virtue Precious and […]
Extrabiblical Revelation: Being Chained to the Ocean Floor (repost)
Here’s a repost from August of 2018, back in the infancy of Things Above Us, that we think might encourage you today. Here in the DFW area, much has been made lately concerning Matt Chandler of The Village Church having encouraged his congregation(s) to seek extrabiblical revelation in the form of visual images. I thought […]
Accordance-fu(n) with the Legacy Standard Bible
This post is edited from its original version. See comment from Rick Mansfield below. The Legacy Standard Bible app for iOS and Android is out, but it’s not exactly a standalone app. It’s really a repackaged version of Accordance 13. If you’ve already purchased Accordance, you can go to their web page and “purchase” the […]
Manga Messiah (children’s book review)
Manga Messiah is the first to be published in a series of manga books that covers the narrative biblical canon. Manga Messiah in particular is a harmonization of the Gospels, starting with the birth story in Luke and ending with Acts 1:8, John 20:30; 21:25. The other books in the series are Manga Mutiny, Manga Melech (“king” […]
The Church History ABCs (children’s book review)
The Church History ABCs is a fun way for kids to learn about great figures in Christian history. Twenty-six heroes of the faith march through the alphabet, boldly telling their stories in language children can understand. This wide range of characters—men and women from across the centuries and from all over the globe—reflects the breadth of […]
Psalm 46 in the LSB vs. NASB 1995
Last week, Three Sixteen Publishing posted the text of Psalm 46 in the Legacy Standard Bible. As we did with Psalm 37 earlier, here’s a verse-by-verse comparison with its NASB 1995 predecessor. I’ve also added some small commentary below. LSB NASB 1995 0 God Is Our Refuge and Strength For the choir director. | Of […]
Psalm 37 in the LSB vs. NASB 1995
The LSB website recently posted its translation of Psalm 37. I’ve typed it out here and marked differences with its NASB 1995 basis. LSB NASB 1995 1 Do not fret because of evildoers, Be not envious toward doers of unrighteousness. Do not fret because of evildoers, Be not envious toward wrongdoers. 2 For they will […]
Soul (movie review)
Though originally intended for theatrical release, Disney/Pixar’s Soul was released on Disney+ on Christmas last year given the present pandemic. Christians may rightly already be skeptical just by virtue of the film’s title and its dealing with souls. Weird metaphysics are to be expected, but there’s also a skewed sense of justice that’s worth examining […]
Philippians in the Legacy Standard Bible: Instances of “Think”
In case you’ve been hiding under the sky☘, a team from The Master’s University and Seminary is working on the Legacy Standard Bible, an update to the much-beloved NASB 1995. They recently released a PDF containing the entire text of Philippians, and I’ve made the time to note all of the differences from its predecessor. […]
Justification, Mercy, and Propitiation
I should probably get back to working on the book manuscript I wrote. Back in May, I posted an excerpt called “The Need for Justification.” This is the portion that follows. Just and Merciful But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God (being testified by the Law and the Prophets) has been made […]
Socially Responsible Investing Choices, part 3 — Conscience, China, and Putting it Together
In part 1 of this series, I discussed the concept of ESG investing from a secular standpoint and evaluated the screening of GuideStone Funds, the Southern Baptist Convention financial services arm. In part 2, I evaluated three more Christian providers of investment funds and discussed the dollar value of ESG investing. Here in part 3, […]
Socially Responsible Investing Choices, part 2 — More Alternatives and Dollar Value
In part 1, we discussed secular “ESG” investing choices and did an overview of GuideStone’s negative investment screening. In this post, we’ll look at some firms that claim positive screening and consider whether these are worthwhile for the individual investor. We’ll then consider the costs of such fund choices and whether they are worth their fees. […]
Socially Responsible Investing Choices, part 1 — Secular “ESG” and GuideStone Funds
Every so often, the advertisements on my social media feeds become heavily saturated with “socially responsible” or “ESG” investing products. There are also get plenty of “non-responsible” investing products and perhaps even a few overtly “sinful” investing products such as VICE (alcohol, tobacco, gambling, etc.) and TOKE (cannabis!). Lots of us are going to be […]