Vin Sparks

Better to Be a One-Eyed Christian

31°46′6.262″N 35°13′49.58″E In Chapter 5, Hell on Earth, we looked at the idolatrous history of the Valley of Hinnom, the putrid, smoldering refuse dump below the wall of the city of Jerusalem that may have burned for nearly 1,000 years. This heap of everything rancid on the floor of the valley was called ge HinnomContinue reading “Better to Be a One-Eyed Christian”

Hell on Earth

THE ONE PLACE IN THE WORLD WORTHY OF THAT NAME Thinking of what might qualify as being hell on earth, one might think of the Colosseum at Rome, the most blood drenched piece of ground in the world. Maybe being incarcerated in a Russian Gulag comes to mind. Some Vietnam veterans might remember a prisonerContinue reading “Hell on Earth”

Sheol’s Younger Twin

TWO UNHAPPY RENDERINGS Again, as so often is the case, we look to the Old Testament for the beginnings of a doctrine, a principle or a truth taught in the New Testament. We look to the New Testament to see those doctrines, principles and truths fully revealed, cast in the light, or come to fruition.Continue reading “Sheol’s Younger Twin”

Old School

WHO GOES TO HELL? We look, so often, to the Old Testament for the beginnings of a doctrine, a principle or a truth taught in the New Testament and in doing so we can gain depth, clarity and context. The fact that there is but one God is entrenched so deeply in the Old Testament,Continue reading “Old School”

The Church And Plato

DRESSED IN THE GARB OF GREEK PHILOSOPHY So, who is this Plato guy and what does he have to do with the church? Plato (428 – 347BC) was a Greek philosopher and mathematician and, given that he lived 400 years or so before Christ, he had nothing to do with the church. His writings, however,Continue reading “The Church And Plato”

The Soul in Western Thought

OF GHOSTS, LINGERING REALTIVES AND INK SPOTS Science will be of little help to us here. There is no hard scientific evidence for the existence of the soul. There is no observation to be made, no experiment to be conducted. Everything we believe regarding the existence of the soul comes to us from somewhere otherContinue reading “The Soul in Western Thought”

Introduction

A Story About Our Bible This story begins in 375BC, or there about. Plato, the world’s foremost philosopher, is at the pinnacle of his career having just published his most notable work – The Republic1. He and his colleagues were sitting around the Areopagus, (Mars Hill) celebrating and doing what they do – attempting toContinue reading “Introduction”