Posts by Layton Talbert
Do We Still Have God’s Words? The Preservation of Scripture (Part 2)
The previous post explored four observations from which we can infer the necessity for a doctrine of preservation: the divine act of Scripture, the express purpose of Scripture, the inherent authority of Scripture, and the divine purpose of God to glorify himself among all the nations. This post turns to a more direct question: Does…
Read MoreDo We Still Have God’s Words? The Preservation of Scripture (Part 1)
Jeremiah 36 contains one of the Bible’s most astonishing stories about the Bible. This word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying: Take a scroll of a book and write on it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel, against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spoke…
Read MoreHistory, Theology, and the Nation of Israel
How the Theological-Historical Interface Impacted the Rise of National Israel [Editor’s note: this historical survey was published in our magazine, FrontLine, in our November/December 2016 issue. We republish it today because of its relevance to the current crisis in Israel. Readers may find it helpful in putting the current situation in historical context. The author…
Read MoreChristmas and the Reliability of God’s Words
Sometimes a light surprises the Christian while he reads, even when it’s a passage he has seen many times before. As I was rereading (for the fifth or sixth time this Christmas season) Luke’s nativity narrative, I was surprised by a repeated emphasis on the utter certainty of God’s words. Over the years, I’ve given…
Read MorePurposes of Predictive Prophecy (Part 2)
God intends prophecy to have a definite impact on people. Commentators and hermeneutics texts warn us not to misconstrue the intent of prophetic passages. Much of what they say is helpful; what’s curious is what is left unsaid or even denigrated. Many interpreters downplay some purposes that seem not only self-evident but Scripturally emphasized. The…
Read MorePurposes of Predictive Prophecy (Part 1)
Why has God given revelation in the form of prophecy? And why so much? What is the goal of prophecy? Or are there multiple intended effects? A number of passages answer these questions. The answers are surprisingly diverse. Some passages corroborate what many interpreters emphasize about the purpose of prophecy. Other passages emphasize answers that…
Read MoreWhy Interpretational Disagreements?
Besides the Fundamentals, is there anything that all Fundamentalists agree on? The question is facetious … sort of. But somewhere in the tagline of most of our churches are three words: Baptist, Fundamental, and Independent. It’s the ramifications of that last one that this column addresses, especially the hermeneutical ramifications— that is, our differences in…
Read MoreHow Do Orthodox Jews Read Isaiah 53?
The short answer is that, as a rule, they don’t. Every year around September, they systematically avoid reading Isaiah 53. But that begs a little explanation. My good friend Craig Hartman (director of Shalom Ministries) describes an approach he likes to use with Orthodox Jews. He starts with a question: “As an Orthodox Jew you…
Read MoreGender Questions (Part 3)
Time to wrap up the series of gender questions emailed to me a while back. (For related issues previously discussed, see Part 1 and Part 2.) Q: Since man and woman are both image-bearers, should we look at them as equal halves of a single image, neither of which completely bears that image without the…
Read MoreGender Questions (Part 2)
More questions about gender issues from an emailer. (See Gender Questions Part 1 for backstory.) Q: Scripture quotes Eve saying that she ate because she was deceived (Gen 3:13). Was she just blame-shifting or do 2 Cor. 11:3 and 1 Tim 2:13 corroborate her statement? She was, indeed, deceived. However, her deception doesn’t automatically mean…
Read More