Author Archives: jackpelham

How People Think About The Bible

Posted on February 26, 2015 by jackpelham

I couldn’t get sleepy last night at the usual hour so I decided to stay up and do the poor man’s version of a massive survey on how people think about the Bible.  What I found deserves some attention. What … Continue reading →

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There Is No Special Bible For Lazy People, PART II

Posted on February 19, 2015 by jackpelham

In my previous post, I talked about how: We have to actually read the Bible to know what’s in it. Jesus seems to have thought that people’s misunderstandings were worth correcting, so we are to be in the habit of … Continue reading →

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There Is No Special Bible For Lazy People

Posted on February 18, 2015 by jackpelham

Jesus was talking to some from a religious faction (Sadducees)  one day and he told them a most instructive thing: Matthew 22:29 But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. … Continue reading →

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On Keeping Bible Interpretation In Its Proper Place

Posted on February 17, 2015 by jackpelham

There is the Bible, and then there is one’s interpretation of the Bible.  Because we are so prone to cognitive error, these two are quite often not the same.  None of us are inspired and/or infallible in our ability to … Continue reading →

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Three Bible Study Rules

Posted on February 14, 2015 by jackpelham

Regarding the Bible, here are three rules of study that most manage to resist quite successfully: Let us constrain ourselves to get out of the Bible nothing more than what was put there by its authors. Let us diligently get … Continue reading →

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SURVEY: Your Outlook on Life

Posted on February 2, 2015 by jackpelham

What is your outlook on life? Here’s an early draft of a survey I’ve building as a pre-reading survey for the book I’m writing.  Sorry, but it’s not going to analyze your answers and give you some result—so it’s probably … Continue reading →

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A Tale of Two Believers

Posted on January 24, 2015 by jackpelham

One man derives his beliefs by taking an idea that seems valuable or desirable to him and enshrining it in multiple layers of stubborn refusal to believe anything contrary to it.  He guards it and even builds his own identity … Continue reading →

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Voices of Reason Doing More Harm than Good

Posted on January 8, 2015 by jackpelham

It does very little good to attempt to be a voice of reason in a society that is not given to sound reasoning.  In fact, in an irrational culture such as ours, reasonable commentary on particular points of religious or … Continue reading →

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Political Reform? Really?

Posted on January 7, 2015 by jackpelham

Why is there such drive amongst some people to reform the state and federal governments when there is not one city or county government in this country that is known for being non-corrupt? Do you really expect to succeed in … Continue reading →

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Pelham’s Law of Social Dissonance

Posted on January 6, 2015 by jackpelham

In a relativist culture, the more beliefs one person communicates to another, the greater the likelihood that dissonance between their conflicting beliefs will spur the listener not to like the one communicating. In a culture (or subculture) in which people … Continue reading →

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