The Divine Dance: Unpacking the Divine Encounters in Human Experience by Pastor Rudolph P. Boshoff
In Biblical theology, the doctrine of accommodation refers to the idea that God, when revealing divine truths to humanity, adapts or accommodates the message in a way that is understandable and relatable to human beings. When we look at the reception of any revelation from God, we understand that God reveals, preserves, and relates it as He wills. We clearly recognize the inherent limitations of human comprehension and reception of God’s revelation, but we always [...]
Table of Qur’anic Surahs with short explanations.
Surah # Anglicized title(s) Arabic title(s) English title(s) Number of verses Place of Revelation Main theme Juz’ 1 Al-Fatiha ٱلْفَاتِحَة al-Fātiḥah al Hamd The Opening, The Opening of the Divine Writ, The Essence of the Divine Writ, The Surah of Praise, The Foundation of the Qur’an, andThe Seven Oft-Repeated [Verses] 7 (1) Makkah The “seed” of the whole Qur’ān 1 2 Al-Baqarah ٱلْبَقَرَة al-Baq̈arah The Calf, The Cow 286 (40) Madinah The necessity of God-consciousness. The [...]
Not everyone is a Heretic by Pastor Rudolph P. Boshoff
“Heresy!” They blurted out when the preacher said something that sounded suspicious. “He is preaching something that is out of the norm...” “I just do not like that guy's vibe...” “Where was he educated?” “Whatever the Bible says, it can’t be that?” “I just don’t like him...” Steven Bullivant writes. “Heresy is what sincere Christians, quite properly and prudently, are keen to avoid. It comes from the Greek word hairesis, which means “choice," “opinion," or [...]
Does the Prophetic still matter? by Pastor Rudolph P. Boshoff
I love the Bible and, even more, what God did in history as it is accounted for in these books. From both the Old and the New Testaments, one aspect that seems relevant is the area of the Prophetic. Sam Storms writes that; "Prophecy is always the communication of something the Holy Spirit has "revealed," or disclosed to a person." Dr Hugh Goosen says; "Prophecy occurs when an individual (a) through various means, including vision, [...]
Jesus died for…..SOME? by Pastor Rudolph P. Boshoff
I have many friends who hold to the idea that Christ Died only for those that are elect, or even better, those decreed to be His from the beginning. Now I am not even going to touch upon if He did so before the foundation of the World (Subla-lapsairianism) or only after the fall (infralapsarianism). The idea that God does know the end from the beginning, and he, therefore, determines the eventual outcome, is one [...]
How the Arminian View Responds to Calvinist Beliefs About Salvation and Free Will by Pastor Rudolph P. Boshoff
(10-minute Read) Recently, I saw that some of my friends had posted the following banner on one of their social media sites, and as a result, I decided to jot down a brief reaction to what it is that they have been posting. I've seen that a lot of individuals appear to denounce any opinion that isn't consistent with their particular Calvinist beliefs. In the following post, I will make a brief effort to respond [...]
The Trinity in light of Scripture and reason by Pastor Rudolph P. Boshoff
In this blog, I want to touch on some of the points that I made in a recent debate that I participated in with the well-known debater Dr. Shabir Ally and my good friend Yusuf Ismail. In all honesty, I believe that as Christians, we should be able to defend the merits of the Doctrine of the Trinity with a fair amount of ease. When I was attempting to describe a setting in the first [...]
Does the Qur’an validate the New Testament? by by Pastor Rudolph P. Boshoff
In the previous debate, I attempted to demonstrate that a cursory reading of the Qur'an reveals that it speaks positively about the Christian Scriptures. Unfortunately, due to loadshedding in South Africa, my internet line was unstable, and I could not really anticipate the other speaker's questions and opinions. So let me start by showing you what the Qur'an says. The Qur'an's respectful view of the Bible. The Qur'an says that the original New Testament [...]
The Historical Significance of the date September 11 by Pastor Rudolph P. Boshoff
A Short History The events of September 11 are significant in world history. It wasn't just a random date picked by the Muslim terrorists who attacked the United States in 2001, using four American aircraft to crash one into the Pentagon, another into a field in Pennsylvania, and two more into the World Trade Center towers in New York City. It also commemorates the day in 1683 when the Muslim troops of the Ottoman Empire [...]
The New Testament Canon: Man-Made of Divine? Notes on my debate with Adnan Rashid by Pastor Rudolph P. Boshoff
Recently I was invited to speak to Ustad Adnan Rashid on the topic, "The New Testament Canon: Man-made or Divine?" Even though text-critical issues are not my forte, I thought a discussion on the temperament of the New Testament community would be something interesting to discuss with Adnan. The five ways in which I wanted to answer the question of this debate were in the following sequence: The nature of Christian inspiration in that which [...]