Papers by Dennis Linscomb
There are certain words used in the Bible or in Christian Theology which have an interesting orig... more There are certain words used in the Bible or in Christian Theology which have an interesting origin or which need more of an explanation than you will find in a dictionary. I plan to use this paper to discuss such words and will add to it over time.
If you ask Christians today “How did the New Testament apostles die?” I think their answer would ... more If you ask Christians today “How did the New Testament apostles die?” I think their answer would include the following points: (a) all of the apostles were martyred, (b) they died in the most horrible way, e.g. they were crucified, stoned, stabbed, dragged, skinned, and burned, and (c) every apostle proclaimed the gospel of Christ with his dying breath, refusing to recant under pressure from the authorities. Is all of this true? I will examine this topic in this paper.
In this paper, I will attempt to answer the question: What does the Bible really tell us about h... more In this paper, I will attempt to answer the question: What does the Bible really tell us about heaven? To answer this question, I will examine what the Bible (in its religious context) says about the events and places a righteous person will experience and pass through from the time of their death until they are settled in their final place of residence for eternity.
Do you pray or “say grace” before meals and feel guilty if you don’t? In this paper, I will exam... more Do you pray or “say grace” before meals and feel guilty if you don’t? In this paper, I will examine the Christian practice of blessing food.
The purpose of this paper is to address the foreknowledge of God. Does God Know the Future?
All evil committed by humans that affects other humans creates two moral debts: a debt/sin agains... more All evil committed by humans that affects other humans creates two moral debts: a debt/sin against God and a debt against human victims. Murder, for example, creates a moral debt to multiple human victims: the murdered person (depriving their right to life) and the friends and relatives of the murdered person (causing mourning, anger, misery, despair, depression, and fear). The Christian doctrine of the atonement only addresses the sins against God because God can only forgive the moral debt owed to God. Therefore, God’s forgiveness cannot release an evildoer from the moral debts he owes to the human victims of his evil. Does Christian theology have an answer for resolving the moral debt to human victims? If not, then how can ultimate justice ever be realized for human victims of evil? I will explore these topics in this paper.
Charles Darwin expressed the sentiment of a lot of people about hell when he wrote: “I can indeed... more Charles Darwin expressed the sentiment of a lot of people about hell when he wrote: “I can indeed hardly see how anyone ought to wish Christianity to be true; for if so, the plain language of the text seems to show that the men who do not believe, and this would include my Father, Brother and almost all my best friends, will be everlastingly punished. And this is a damnable doctrine.” (Moskala 93) Bertrand Russell, a British philosopher and mathematician, once said: “There is one very serious defect to my mind in Christ’s moral character, and that is that He believed in hell. I do not myself feel that any person who is really profoundly humane can believe in everlasting punishment.” (Russell 17)
Are these valid criticisms? What does the Bible really tell us about hell? I would like to explore this topic in this paper because what we believe about hell has a direct impact on our understanding of God, his values, image, and character.
When the topics of abortion and pacifism are discussed, invariably someone says that killing is a... more When the topics of abortion and pacifism are discussed, invariably someone says that killing is always wrong in every situation and that this is the only view that true Christianity allows. In this paper, I will discuss why such a view (called moral absolutism) is problematic and will present better approaches to Christian ethics.
How do you explain God’s commands in the Old Testament (OT) to stone or burn people to death for ... more How do you explain God’s commands in the Old Testament (OT) to stone or burn people to death for doing things that we today believe do not deserve the death penalty? How do you explain God’s commands in the OT to wipe out a nation by killing not only the military but also women, children, and livestock? Did God really command or condone child sacrifice in the OT? I will analyze these OT passages and various approaches to answering these questions.
On June 24, 2022, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the U.S. Supreme Court overtur... more On June 24, 2022, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that guaranteed the right to an abortion. Many states are considering or have passed so-called trigger laws, and other measures, that would rapidly curtail or outlaw abortion.
The purpose of this paper is to make the case for allowing specific exceptions to abortion bans, or, to put it another way, to make the case for allowing abortions for specific cases. I will not try to cover all issues in the abortion debate because that would be too lengthy. A March 2022 Pew Research survey showed that only 8% of U.S. adults say abortion should be illegal in every case, without exception. (Pew) Therefore, those states which impose a total ban on abortions without exceptions are out of touch with the sentiment of the American population.
The Book of Revelation is often read with a certain view of eschatology (study of end times or la... more The Book of Revelation is often read with a certain view of eschatology (study of end times or last things) in mind, e.g. certain views of the Rapture, the Tribulation, and the Millennium. In this paper, I will look at passages in Revelation without a predetermined eschatological framework in mind, but with the goal of understanding how Revelation would have been understood by Christians and Jews when it was written in the first century AD.
The purpose of this paper is to show the influence of Second Temple Judaism on certain doctrines ... more The purpose of this paper is to show the influence of Second Temple Judaism on certain doctrines in the New Testament and to discuss what impact this has on biblical inspiration and progressive revelation.
Many conservative/evangelical Christians believe that every time a New Testament (NT) writer says... more Many conservative/evangelical Christians believe that every time a New Testament (NT) writer says that an Old Testament (OT) passage was “fulfilled,” then that means the OT passage contains predictive prophecy and the prediction was fulfilled the way stated by the NT writer. That is not always the case as I shall show in this paper, restricting my scope to those OT fulfillments in the Gospels.
The purpose of this paper is to identify the spiritual (nonhuman) forces of evil in the Bible and... more The purpose of this paper is to identify the spiritual (nonhuman) forces of evil in the Bible and to show their connection with the rebellions of the sons of God.
At the time I wrote this paper, the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic was spreading throughout the ... more At the time I wrote this paper, the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic was spreading throughout the United States with a prediction that over 71,000 people will die in the USA in 2020 due to COVID-19. There has been a lot of speculation by religious leaders and others about what part God plays in the COVID-19 pandemic. In this paper, I will give you my view on this topic.
The traditional Christian viewpoint is that there is only one real spiritual being presented in t... more The traditional Christian viewpoint is that there is only one real spiritual being presented in the Old Testament (OT) who can be labeled "God" (Hebrew elohim). This viewpoint, therefore, entails that all other references to "god" or "gods" in the OT cannot refer to real spiritual beings. This paper presents an alternative view that even though there is only one uncreated God presented in the OT, the OT also refers to some other created spiritual beings as “gods,” “sons of God,” and members of the divine council.
Does the Bible contain any errors? The answer to this question has been used by some Christians ... more Does the Bible contain any errors? The answer to this question has been used by some Christians to separate conservative Christians from liberal ones and even to determine who is a true believer in Christ versus a false believer. Biblical inerrancy has been viewed by some as central to the Christian faith on the same level as the inspiration of the Bible. In this paper, I will look at the definitions of inerrancy, examine some problem biblical passages, and will propose what I believe to be the correct view of biblical inerrancy.
Many people, including myself, find Calvinism's doctrine of election and predestination to be mor... more Many people, including myself, find Calvinism's doctrine of election and predestination to be morally repugnant. In this paper, I will describe why I believe this doctrine is morally unacceptable and will propose a better way to understand those biblical passages dealing with election and predestination.
There are many tragic, often horrific, things that happen in life. Some are due to human actions... more There are many tragic, often horrific, things that happen in life. Some are due to human actions, either intentionally (e.g. the Las Vegas shooting, school shootings, ISIS-inspired killings) or unintentionally (e.g. parent forgets child is in back seat of car and child dies from heat). Others are due to nature, such as natural disasters (e.g. floods, tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes), flawed genetic makeup (e.g. mental and physical deformities), and diseases. Are Christians required to believe that all of these things are part of God's plan and, therefore, they happen for a reason? I will examine this topic in this paper.
Many Christians ignore the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7) because they do not know how to interp... more Many Christians ignore the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7) because they do not know how to interpret it. Some verses appear to present a pacifist Jesus. Other verses appear to present a Jesus who is nothing more than a moral or ethical teacher with no hint of his deity that we find in other portions of the New Testament (NT). In this paper, I will propose a way to interpret the Sermon on the Mount that I believe makes the most sense.
Uploads
Papers by Dennis Linscomb
Are these valid criticisms? What does the Bible really tell us about hell? I would like to explore this topic in this paper because what we believe about hell has a direct impact on our understanding of God, his values, image, and character.
The purpose of this paper is to make the case for allowing specific exceptions to abortion bans, or, to put it another way, to make the case for allowing abortions for specific cases. I will not try to cover all issues in the abortion debate because that would be too lengthy. A March 2022 Pew Research survey showed that only 8% of U.S. adults say abortion should be illegal in every case, without exception. (Pew) Therefore, those states which impose a total ban on abortions without exceptions are out of touch with the sentiment of the American population.