Tuesday, February 27, 2007

If it's in the Bible it's not a sin?

I was listening to a Rich Mullin song (Jacob and 2 Women on his album The World as Best as I Remember It) the other day and was struck by these lyrics:
Jacob he loved Rachel and Rachel she loved him
And Leah was just there for dramatic effect
Well it’s right there in the Bible so it must be a sin...’
The reasoning here is:
P1: Jacob having two wives is in the Bible.
[P2]: Anything recorded in the Bible is not a sin.
T1: Therefore, Jacob having two wives is not a sin.
The problem with this argument is P2 (which is the implied assumption required to lead to the conclusion). There are many things recorded in the Bible which are clearly sins, eg, murder, rape. So the fact that something is recorded in the Bible is never enough to conclude that it is or is not a sin. If it was, then we could engage in all sorts of behaviours which are clearly proscribed elsewhere in the Bible!

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Book Review: Comes a Horseman

Comes a HorsemanTwo FBI agents are called in to investigate a series of murders that apparently have nothing in common. However, it soon becomes obvious that they are being carried out by a member of a centuries-old cult. Once they learn what is happening, they also realise the killer is after them. How will they survive? And how will they save humanity?
Robert Liparulo’s Comes a Horseman is a gripping thriller based loosely on a number of end time passages in the Bible (I won’t reveal them otherwise I will give the plot away). Christian themes are subtly woven into the narrative by Liparulo in a way that is fresh and avoids cliches. The main protagonists are real people struggling to come to grips with the terror they find themselves having to handle.
Comes a Horseman is a great read by this new Christian author. The story gallops along at a cracking pace, the dialogue is snappy, there are plenty of twists and turns, and lots of action. The violence is pretty gruesome and vivid - so beware.
It’s an chillingly entertaining yarn with a subtle message about the seductiveness of evil, loyalty, love, and religion.