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But Hypocrites …
An excerpt from Chapter 7. The word hypocrite first appeared back in chapter six. The term referred to an actor—someone playing a role on a stage. There, Jesus applied the word to people who had learned how to perform spirituality. But hypocrisy takes more than one form. Sometimes it appears as public displays of devotion… Continue reading
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But Have Eternal Life
It may be the most well-known, beloved, and frequently quoted verse in the Bible: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Talk about broken stories meeting God’s grace. If you watched much televised sports in the late 1970s… Continue reading
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Proverbial But O’ the Week: Humility
Pride only breeds quarrels, BUT wisdom is found in those who take advice. (Proverbs 13:10) Pride has a way of turning differences into battles. When being right becomes more important than listening, learning, or understanding, even small disagreements can grow into quarrels. BUT wisdom is willing to admit, Maybe I don’t know everything. Maybe someone else sees something I don’t. Taking… Continue reading
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The Pivot: But If They Will Confess
“They will waste away in the lands of their enemies because of their sins… But if they will confess their sins and the sins of their ancestors… I will remember my covenant.”—Leviticus 26:39–42 There are consequences to wandering from God. Leviticus 26 doesn’t soften that truth. Israel’s rebellion would lead them into brokenness, loss, and exile. But.… Continue reading
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God Was Already Preparing the After
Take a look at Genesis 7. There isn’t much in Genesis 7 that feels hopeful. The flood comes. The waters rise. The earth disappears beneath them. And tucked safely inside the ark are Noah, his wife, his sons and their wives—and a representative gathering of the animal kingdom. Seven pairs of every kind of clean… Continue reading
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We Interrupt These Big Buts…
I interrupt your regularly scheduled Big Buts for a brief announcement about another project that is especially important to me. Although, come to think of it, it really isn’t much of an interruption at all. Around here, I like to say that but may be the most hopeful word in the Bible. Again and again, we find… Continue reading
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Attention Students: Your Catechismal Assignment
Dr. Buttersworth has been reading the Heidelberg Catechism again. Longtime students will recall that we’ve visited this document before and discovered something rather remarkable: apparently the theologians responsible for the Heidelberg Catechism understood the extraordinary theological usefulness of a well-placed conjunction. The Doctor approves. And today he’s found another one. This time it doesn’t appear… Continue reading
Darin Michael Shaw
In addition to being the world’s foremost expert on the conjunction but, author and freelance writer Darin Michael Shaw (he/him/his) identifies as a post-evangelical, free-range Jesus Freak, taking Jesus seriously when he says, “Follow me,” while inviting others to come and see for yourself.
Big Buts of the Bible 