Author Archives: jackpelham

Reading the Bible is somewhat like looking into Harry Potter’s Mirror of Erised. That is, the actual meaning of the content aside, people tend to see in it what they want to see. I don’t mean to suggest that it’s … Continue reading →

As if they were public defenders, looking to champion The most absurd cause imaginable,Some of them will even defend Judas Iscariot,As if he did not go willingly into that darkness,But had been forced there by virtueOf having grown up in … Continue reading →

Having diligently studied Matthew 7,Right up to the comma, noninclusive,He is now expert on the teachings of JesusAnd can tell you exactly what you ought not be doing―Which includes, chiefly, reminding him of certain mattersOf diligence regarding those teachings―Things he … Continue reading →

Some among those in the churches―some, mind you, and not nearly all―will cry out against the hypocrites in the churches. They call them Pharisees, and rail at them with deep conviction over their hypocrisy―over claiming to be loyal to God … Continue reading →

By the time I was six or seven,I was well-convinced that my denominationWas the best there was, and thatMy congregation was the best in townOf that denomination.

He was at his church once,And he heard the leader saying a thingThat he pretty much knew Didn’t jibe with scripture.

WARNING: THIS POST MAY RAISE SOME TROUBLING THOUGHTS Here’s what might seem like an easy question, yet it may get harder the more we look into it: Does God run your church? I do not presume that my audience will … Continue reading →

Show him a Bible verse he has not studied before,And watch the common man rush to assumeThat it’s true meaning must not be farFrom what he thinks he already understands.

Once upon a time, someone taught man That he is at his smartest when heExtracts the ready facts from a narrativeSo as to fashion them into worksheets And talking points for discussion.

The Big Picture of the Bible: God is wonderful and wants you to choose during your lifetime to become like him in his righteousness―which is only possible if you really believe in him. The Supposedly-Improved Big Picture of the Bible: … Continue reading →