Geneticist Francis Collins, director of the Human Genome Project, is one of the world’s best‐known scientists. An outspoken Christian, he recently challenged equally outspoken Oxford zoologist and atheist Richard Dawkins in the pages of Time magazine. Collins’s book The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief is equal parts autobiography, scientific reflection, theological […]
Biblical Interpretation Archive
Love Wins: Making a Contradictory Case for Universalism
This article first appeared in Christian Research Journal, volume 34, number 04 (2011). For further information or to subscribe to the Christian Research Journal go to: http://www.equip.org Pastor and author Rob Bell is a phenomenon hard to avoid. His best-selling books (e.g., Velvet Elvis) and his popular Nooma video series have made him an attractive figure for […]
Types and Shadows
Hank explains what he means when he refers to types and shadows in the Old Testament
Can a Loving God Hate Someone?
This article first appeared in the Practical Hermeneutics column of the Christian Research Journal, volume 34, number 01 (2011). For further information or to subscribe to the Christian Research Journal go to: http://www.equip.org “God hates the sin, but loves the sinner.” This old saying often is used to resolve the tension between God being both […]
Are Jehovah’s Witnesses Christian?
This article first appeared in the Ask Hank column of the Christian Research Journal, volume 33, number 04 (2010). For further information or to subscribe to the Christian Research Journal go to: http://www.equip.org “If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord […]
Does God Determine My Actions?
Hank addresses an atheist who asks: If God determines my choices, does that mean my rejection of God and subsequent punishment in hell is God’s will?
Modern Israel in Bible Prophecy: Promised Return or Impending Exile?
This article first appeared in Christian Research Journal, volume 29, number 06 (2006). For further information or to subscribe to the Christian Research Journal go to: http://www.equip.org/christian-research-journal/ SYNOPSIS Many Christians in the United States believe that it is their biblical responsibility to support the contemporary Jewish State of Israel for specific theological reasons (as opposed […]
The Dark Side of Eternity: Hell as Eternal Conscious Punishment
This article first appeared in the CHRISTIAN RESEARCH JOURNAL, volume 30, number 04 (2007). The full text of this article in PDF format can be obtained by clicking here. For further information or to subscribe to the CHRISTIAN RESEARCH JOURNAL go to: http://www.equip.org/christian-research-journal/ SYNOPSIS Eternal conscious punishment (also called traditionalism) holds that the wicked will […]
Recognizing and Interpreting Anthropomorphic Language
This article first appeared in the Practical Hermeneutics column of the Christian Research Journal, volume 33, number 02 (2010). For further information or to subscribe to the Christian Research Journal go to: http://www.equip.org The term “anthropomorphism,” in its restricted sense, refers to the representation of God with the forms of humanity (such as an arm […]
How Was Jesus “Made” Sin?
A verse commonly misinterpreted by cultists is 2 Corinthians 5:21, where the apostle Paul tells us that God “made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (NASB, emphasis added). Based on this verse, for example, the Christadelphians argue that Jesus […]
