Favorite Posts of 2014
To be honest, when 2014 began I didn’t know much about blogging and I thought websites were something that “other” people had. The start of my own website in 2014 and the opportunity to post articles on topics I believe are important has been more rewarding than I could ever have imagined. There has definitely been a learning curve involved for someone like me who is not the most computer literate person in the world and I continue to learn a lot about blogging and what goes in to making a good post. As you can tell by the title, this blog is about favorite posts in 2014. By favorite I mean three things. First, the posts that received the most views, second, some personal favorites that I’d like to draw to your attention in case you haven’t read them, and third, least viewed posts. I’m grateful to each one of you who has visited this site in the past year and would like to thank you for taking time to read what I’ve posted. I also want to thank my friend and colleague Lindsay Kennedy who helped get this website up and running, and whom I still barrage with tons of questions! Lindsay has a great website of his own and if you haven’t visited it, I highly recommend it. You can find him by going to mydigitalseminary.com.
If you are new to this website, or if you have missed some of the posts listed below, I hope you’ll click on the ones that pique your interest. Feel free to also explore the other posts on this website that are not listed here. Thanks again for visiting this site in 2014 and Happy New Year to each of you!
Top 5 Favorite Posts (the most viewed)
The top 3 favorite posts are all from my series “Violence in the Old Testament” (click on the link to view all the posts in this series). I have taken a break from this series, but I plan in the New Year to add more posts to it. Popular attacks on the Bible such as Richard Dawkins’s book “The God Delusion,” continues to make discussion of this topic very relevant. So here are the posts in order of most viewed in 2014.
1. Violence in the Old Testament Part 1: The Problem
2. “You Reap What You Sow:” Violence in the Old Testament Part 6
3. The Necessity of Judgment: Violence in the Old Testament Part 5
4. The Difference Between Legalism and Obedience (Romans 5-8) was the fourth most viewed post and among one of my personal favorites because I believe these two ideas are constantly confused and misunderstood in the Church today.
5. Khirbet Qeiyafa came in fifth and is part of my “Biblical Sites” series. This series concerns archaeological sites and artifacts and I look forward to adding to it in 2015, especially after our trip to Israel this coming Spring.
My 5 Favorite Posts (personal favorites)
1. Bible Study: Can it Be Spirit-Led and Academic is probably my favorite post of the year. I am convinced the answer is not “either/or” but “both/and”. We should not be discouraging people from rigorous study of the Scripture, nor should we become so academic that we leave the Holy Spirit out of it. Judging from reader response, this was a popular post for many of you as well.
2. For those of you who are tired of reading and just want to view a video, this next post is for you. Family Portraits Interview is a video interview featuring me and pastor Mike Neglia of Calvary Chapel Cork concerning my book, Family Portraits: Character Studies in 1 and 2 Samuel. Had I known he was going to do the interview that day I would have dressed nicer. Had I known a month sooner, I may have dieted…well, probably not! Hope you enjoy the interview.
3. One post that has not been well viewed, but that I think people will find helpful is entitled Mind the Gap: Guidelines for Gaps in Biblical Narratives. This is probably an obscure title (I chose it because “Mind the Gap” is a British expression) and people may be wondering what a gap is and what this has to do with Bible study. This post offers an important insight that is necessary for asking the right questions when we study the Bible.
4. Perhaps a post with another obscure title is The Pooh Principle: Violence in the Old Testament Part 8. I believe that this is one of the most important articles that I wrote in this series. It deals with a principle that is essential in understanding why there is so much violence in Scripture. Please read it if you haven’t and let me know what you think.
5. One of the very first articles I wrote is entitled Cross Examination: The Cross of Christ in the Roman World. This one is low on the viewing scale too, probably because I didn’t have many readers at the time I wrote it, but I think it is also one of my more important posts. Its a short aritcle, please give it a read.
Least Favorite Posts (the least viewed)
Some people not only want to know your successes, they want to know your failures too! Well far be it from me to conceal my failures! Actually, it’s a natural point of curiosity to want to know what’s at the bottom of the list, but rather than bore you with 5, I will give you the bottom 2.
1. At the very bottom is a post entitled Words and the Word: Book Review. This is actually a very good book, but it is also technical and I understand why the post doesn’t appeal to many. This review (and book) is for the serious student and Bible scholar, so if you don’t feel you fit in that category, I won’t beg you to read it!
2. The post that finished next to last is 2 Samuel 2–Asahel: Running into Trouble. Possibly the reason that this post didn’t receive a lot of attention is because Asahel is a rather obscure character. His story is a very interesting one, however. Most of this post is taken directly from my book Family Portraits: Character Studies in 1 and 2 Samuel, so it’s also a way of checking out whether you might like the rest of the book.
Once again, to everyone who has visited this site throughout 2014, thank you! I always welcome your thoughts and comments, so please feel free to interact with any of my posts. I hope you’ll return again and again in the New Year.