The Brown Bible

Ken Brown | March 8, 2010

Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626), a famed British author and philosopher has been often quoted, “Death is a friend of ours; and he that is not ready to entertain him is not at home.”

Many modern Christian leaders also claim that for believers, death is a friend. The following was lifted from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) website:

“What is death? For the Christian death is a friend rather than an enemy. It is another step on the pathway to heaven rather than a leap into some dark unknown.”

These words from Billy Graham were no doubt meant to be comforting. They do not, however, express the view given by the Apostle Paul by divine revelation.

1 Corinthians 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

Category: 01) By Ken Brown, Biblical Considerations Series | No Comments »
Tags: Bible, Billy Graham, Christianity, death, enemy, friend, precious in the sight of the Lord, religion, resurrection, Sir Francis Bacon

Ken Brown | February 27, 2010

A participant on our site recently e-mailed me a question. He wanted to know if one could lose his salvation. He correctly identified scriptures that show that salvation once gained cannot be lost, but was concerned that he might be wrong. I empathised with his concern. There can hardly be a more crucial quetion for a believer to have answered. He wondered why so many churches teach that salvation can be lost.

There are quite a number of ways to show from the Scriptures that one cannot lose his salvation. Presenting all of them would make this a very long article. I’ll just approach a few, and then discuss reasons why a number of churches teach otherwise. Let’s start with a passage in 1 John.

Category: 01) By Ken Brown, Biblical Considerations Series | No Comments »
Tags: Bible, Christianity, eternal salvation, gift of salvation, religion, salvation

Ken Brown | February 14, 2010

I was recently reading some of the comments following some politically oriented news article on the net. One of the commenters used the opportunity to blast Christians in general for being judgmental and therefore hypocrites, since the Bible, which they (we) claim to believe, says, “judge not lest ye be judged.” The next respondent came back with, “You better read the Bible yourself. It does NOT teach ‘Judge not, lest ye be judged.’ I know most people think it does, but they have never actually read the passage, the entire passage. That is one sentence out of an entire teaching. Go ahead, read it yourself…. This is what happens when people who could care less about the word of God use the Bible in a perverted way to support their feelings.”
I was intrigued, to say the least. Setting aside the fact that perhaps this responder had some issues of his own that needed to be addressed, his point was never the less worth investigating.

Category: 01) By Ken Brown, Biblical Considerations Series | No Comments »
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Ken Brown | January 31, 2010

I admit it. I’m 60 years old, and I look at things differently than I used to. I think more about what is really important and also about what is really NOT. It matters much more how I live than how long I live. As we get older, things come into a more seasoned perspective. Chapter 12 of Ecclesiastes, though addressed to youth, contains a profound description of old age, the futility of life without meaning, and the conclusion of the whole matter: the one most important thing in life.

Category: 01) By Ken Brown, Biblical Considerations Series | 1 Comment »
Tags: Bible, Bishop K. C. Pillai, Ecclesiastes 12, life without meaning, meaning of life, old age, Orientalisms, poetic expressions, The whole duty of man, vanity

Ken Brown | January 23, 2010

For those of you who have frequented Christian church services of almost any variety, you are familiar with the routine: “Let us pray the prayer the Lord taught us. Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name….” The tiny little inconvenient detail is that our Lord Jesus Christ never taught us any such thing. He did not teach us to pray this prayer. This practice is contrary to what he taught.

Category: 01) By Ken Brown, Biblical Considerations Series | 2 Comments »
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Ken Brown | December 12, 2009

The “Star of Bethlehem” could not have been the way it is portrayed in traditional pictures. It could not have been a super brilliant “star” that aimed a beam of laser-like light on the stable in which was the manger where the baby Jesus lay.

Category: 01) By Ken Brown, Biblical Considerations Series | 3 Comments »
Tags: beam, Bethlehem, Bible, Biblical, born, child, christmas card, consideration, considerations, diligent, Eve, Herod, Herodians, his star, Jerusalem, Jesus, jesus birth, judaea, just, justify, king, laser, Light, Love, magi, Matthew, star in the east, time, tradition, tribute, Truth, USA, wise men

Ken Brown | December 8, 2009

I was embarrassed a few days ago to realize I had accepted as truth a certain matter of tradition. Oh well, it happens to all of us, I guess. It shouldn’t, but it does. If we are to believe the truth and only the truth, we must be ever vigilant.

Category: 01) By Ken Brown, Biblical Considerations Series | 2 Comments »
Tags: believe, Bethlehem, Bible, Biblical, biblical reference, caravans, Christ, Christmas, christmas card, consideration, considerations, den, diligent, donkey, Eve, Jerusalem, Jesus, Joseph, Joseph and Mary, just, justify, king, Mary, mind, poor, right, Scripture, Scriptures, time, tradition, Truth, USA, Void

Ken Brown | December 4, 2009

Tradition can be a subtle thing. We grow up believing something about a Biblical doctrine or event. It might never even occur to us to question where some particular belief came from, especially if that belief happens to be regarding some relatively minor point. I think the financial status of Joseph and Mary is a matter like that for many Christians.

It is a commonly held belief that the mother and “stepfather” of our Lord Jesus Christ were poor, but where does this belief come from?

Category: 01) By Ken Brown, Biblical Considerations Series | 8 Comments »
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Ken Brown | November 27, 2009

I was at a wedding reception not long ago, seated next to a man I had not previously met. We exchanged the usual small talk. I learned that he was a retired eighth-grade science teacher. The conversation was pleasant enough until he learned that I am a Bible-believing Christian. Then he launched into an all-out assault. “How can you possibly believe Genesis?” He went on and on about evolution, endeavoring to make a mockery of God’s Word. It takes hundreds of thousands of years for the light from such and such a star to reach the earth. How could God have created the universe only about six thousand years ago? He referred to the Bible as a practical joke.

Category: 01) By Ken Brown, Biblical Considerations Series | 12 Comments »
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Ken Brown | November 21, 2009

We as believers are always to trust absolutely in our wonderful heavenly Father. Any “Bible-believing” Christian (and should there be any other kind?) would acknowledge this in a heartbeat. In practice, however, who or what we REALLY trust in can be so subtle that even the most sincere among us might at times be outside of where we want to be.

Category: 01) By Ken Brown, Biblical Considerations Series | 6 Comments »
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