By Mark W. Christy, PhD In a taunt directed at the King of Babylon as their empire was about to meet its end, Isaiah writes, “How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, you who have weakened the nations! But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I wi...

By Mark W. Christy, PhD In His famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus appeared to prohibit the practice of oath-taking when He said rather emphatically, “make no oath at all” (Matt 5:34).[i] Likewise, James offers similar instructions: “But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment” (5:12). Many Christians, upon reading this, begin to avoid the practice. This articl...

By Mark W. Christy, PhD The Calvinistic doctrine of election upholds the biblical teaching that one’s salvation is rooted in the will of God as opposed to the will of the person. In other words, those who respond to the gospel in repentance and faith do so because they were divinely chosen and enabled to make such a response. Despite the many passages in Scripture which undergird this doctrine, many remain uncomfortable with the idea that somehow their freewill is somehow constrained in the ...

By Mark W. Christy, PhD In Romans 9:13, Paul writes, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”[i] At first glance, many New Testament readers cannot help but cringe at the wording which suggests that God hates a person. To help readers better discern Paul’s meaning, this article will carefully consider the context of this verse and offer evidence to support a correct interpretation. To begin with, God’s “hate” for Esau and his descendants, the Edomites, is such that Isaiah labels them as “the pe...