Does a real gift truly expect nothing in return?

I recently saw the statement below posted on social media.

That sounds very nice. After all, what could be more noble that unlimited generosity?

The problem is, the statement simply isn't true.

Have Tongues Ceased?

In the past few weeks, there has been a lot of discussion on social media concerning the announcement and promotion of a conference to be hosted by John MacArthur's Grace Community Church in October 2024. The title of the conference is Cessationist, and is associated with a documentary film of the same name that debuted in September 2023 at the G3 Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. The announcement of the upcoming conference has made waves not only in the United States, but among many of my Facebook friends in Latin America.

The topic became part of a discussion in a Facebook group I am a member of (where the primary topic is the doctrine of soteriology, and debates between Calvinists, and Arminians and other non-Calvinists, such as Provisionists). One commentor made the claim that 

tongue speakers have been tested by linguists and their so-called tongues were not languages but gibberish. Second many former Charismatics have admitted that modern tongues can be of the devil. Also it's a learned behavior and or it's an emotional experience. What's really telling is no charismatic or Pentecostal can ever tell me what language they are supposedly speaking. It's nothing more than gibberish. It's not biblical tongues!! Tongues and all sign gifts have ceased!

I asked the commenter if he had a citation for these studies by linguists, and he said he did have sources, and had cited them in a paper in his seminary studies. I asked for a copy of the paper, which he sent to me. In this blog post, I will address the arguments he made for the cessation of tongues, and point out how his arguments fail to make his case.

Accuracy and Credibility as a Teacher, Take 2

Almost five years ago I wrote a post about the importance of accuracy as a teacher of the Bible and Christian doctrine, and how that impacts one's credibility in this important ministry. I've come across some things lately that have prompted me to post this follow-up.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I'm a nerd. In junior high back in the early 80s, I was a computer nerd before computers were cool and part of every household. I taught myself to program in BASIC with a book from Radio Shack, and lots of Friday mornings sitting in front of a TRS-80 Model I at the store in the neighborhood strip mall (the manager would let me come in and tinker while my mom was getting her hair done at the other end of the shopping center). In high school, I was the math nerd. In college, I majored in computer and information sciences, with a minor in mathematics.