CINXE.COM
Recommended Reading: God Has a Wonderful Plan for Your Life: The Myth of the Modern Message « Blue Letter Bible Blogs Main landing site
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en-US"> <head> <!-- Google tag (gtag.js) --> <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-K1J93ETYRG"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-K1J93ETYRG'); </script> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /> <title>Recommended Reading: God Has a Wonderful Plan for Your Life: The Myth of the Modern Message « Blue Letter Bible Blogs Main landing site</title> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/wp-content/ata-images/new-favicon.ico" /> <link rel="profile" href="http://gmpg.org/xfn/11" /> <link rel="pingback" href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/xmlrpc.php" /> <meta name='robots' content='max-image-preview:large' /> <style>img:is([sizes="auto" i], [sizes^="auto," i]) { contain-intrinsic-size: 3000px 1500px }</style> <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="Blue Letter Bible Blogs Main landing site » Feed" href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/feed/" /> <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="Blue Letter Bible Blogs Main landing site » Comments Feed" href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/comments/feed/" /> <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="Blue Letter Bible Blogs Main landing site » Recommended Reading: God Has a Wonderful Plan for Your Life: The Myth of the Modern Message Comments Feed" href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2012/10/04/recommended-reading-god-has-a-wonderful-plan-for-your-life-the-myth-of-the-modern-message/feed/" /> <script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ window._wpemojiSettings = {"baseUrl":"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/15.0.3\/72x72\/","ext":".png","svgUrl":"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/15.0.3\/svg\/","svgExt":".svg","source":{"concatemoji":"https:\/\/blogs.blueletterbible.org\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-emoji-release.min.js?ver=6.7.1"}}; /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(i,n){var o,s,e;function c(e){try{var t={supportTests:e,timestamp:(new Date).valueOf()};sessionStorage.setItem(o,JSON.stringify(t))}catch(e){}}function p(e,t,n){e.clearRect(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height),e.fillText(t,0,0);var t=new Uint32Array(e.getImageData(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height).data),r=(e.clearRect(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height),e.fillText(n,0,0),new Uint32Array(e.getImageData(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height).data));return t.every(function(e,t){return e===r[t]})}function u(e,t,n){switch(t){case"flag":return n(e,"\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\u26a7\ufe0f","\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200b\u26a7\ufe0f")?!1:!n(e,"\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf3","\ud83c\uddfa\u200b\ud83c\uddf3")&&!n(e,"\ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc65\udb40\udc6e\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc7f","\ud83c\udff4\u200b\udb40\udc67\u200b\udb40\udc62\u200b\udb40\udc65\u200b\udb40\udc6e\u200b\udb40\udc67\u200b\udb40\udc7f");case"emoji":return!n(e,"\ud83d\udc26\u200d\u2b1b","\ud83d\udc26\u200b\u2b1b")}return!1}function f(e,t,n){var r="undefined"!=typeof WorkerGlobalScope&&self instanceof WorkerGlobalScope?new OffscreenCanvas(300,150):i.createElement("canvas"),a=r.getContext("2d",{willReadFrequently:!0}),o=(a.textBaseline="top",a.font="600 32px Arial",{});return e.forEach(function(e){o[e]=t(a,e,n)}),o}function t(e){var t=i.createElement("script");t.src=e,t.defer=!0,i.head.appendChild(t)}"undefined"!=typeof Promise&&(o="wpEmojiSettingsSupports",s=["flag","emoji"],n.supports={everything:!0,everythingExceptFlag:!0},e=new Promise(function(e){i.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",e,{once:!0})}),new Promise(function(t){var n=function(){try{var e=JSON.parse(sessionStorage.getItem(o));if("object"==typeof e&&"number"==typeof e.timestamp&&(new Date).valueOf()<e.timestamp+604800&&"object"==typeof e.supportTests)return e.supportTests}catch(e){}return null}();if(!n){if("undefined"!=typeof Worker&&"undefined"!=typeof OffscreenCanvas&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&URL.createObjectURL&&"undefined"!=typeof Blob)try{var e="postMessage("+f.toString()+"("+[JSON.stringify(s),u.toString(),p.toString()].join(",")+"));",r=new Blob([e],{type:"text/javascript"}),a=new Worker(URL.createObjectURL(r),{name:"wpTestEmojiSupports"});return void(a.onmessage=function(e){c(n=e.data),a.terminate(),t(n)})}catch(e){}c(n=f(s,u,p))}t(n)}).then(function(e){for(var t in e)n.supports[t]=e[t],n.supports.everything=n.supports.everything&&n.supports[t],"flag"!==t&&(n.supports.everythingExceptFlag=n.supports.everythingExceptFlag&&n.supports[t]);n.supports.everythingExceptFlag=n.supports.everythingExceptFlag&&!n.supports.flag,n.DOMReady=!1,n.readyCallback=function(){n.DOMReady=!0}}).then(function(){return e}).then(function(){var e;n.supports.everything||(n.readyCallback(),(e=n.source||{}).concatemoji?t(e.concatemoji):e.wpemoji&&e.twemoji&&(t(e.twemoji),t(e.wpemoji)))}))}((window,document),window._wpemojiSettings); /* ]]> */ </script> <style id='wp-emoji-styles-inline-css' type='text/css'> img.wp-smiley, img.emoji { display: inline !important; border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; height: 1em !important; width: 1em !important; margin: 0 0.07em !important; vertical-align: -0.1em !important; background: none !important; padding: 0 !important; } </style> <link rel='stylesheet' id='wp-block-library-css' href='https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/wp-includes/css/dist/block-library/style.min.css?ver=6.7.1' type='text/css' media='all' /> <style id='classic-theme-styles-inline-css' type='text/css'> /*! This file is auto-generated */ .wp-block-button__link{color:#fff;background-color:#32373c;border-radius:9999px;box-shadow:none;text-decoration:none;padding:calc(.667em + 2px) calc(1.333em + 2px);font-size:1.125em}.wp-block-file__button{background:#32373c;color:#fff;text-decoration:none} </style> <style id='global-styles-inline-css' type='text/css'> :root{--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--square: 1;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--4-3: 4/3;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--3-4: 3/4;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--3-2: 3/2;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--2-3: 2/3;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--16-9: 16/9;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--9-16: 9/16;--wp--preset--color--black: #000000;--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray: #abb8c3;--wp--preset--color--white: #ffffff;--wp--preset--color--pale-pink: #f78da7;--wp--preset--color--vivid-red: #cf2e2e;--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange: #ff6900;--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber: #fcb900;--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan: #7bdcb5;--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan: #00d084;--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue: #8ed1fc;--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue: #0693e3;--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple: #9b51e0;--wp--preset--gradient--vivid-cyan-blue-to-vivid-purple: linear-gradient(135deg,rgba(6,147,227,1) 0%,rgb(155,81,224) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--light-green-cyan-to-vivid-green-cyan: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(122,220,180) 0%,rgb(0,208,130) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-amber-to-luminous-vivid-orange: linear-gradient(135deg,rgba(252,185,0,1) 0%,rgba(255,105,0,1) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-orange-to-vivid-red: linear-gradient(135deg,rgba(255,105,0,1) 0%,rgb(207,46,46) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--very-light-gray-to-cyan-bluish-gray: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(238,238,238) 0%,rgb(169,184,195) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--cool-to-warm-spectrum: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(74,234,220) 0%,rgb(151,120,209) 20%,rgb(207,42,186) 40%,rgb(238,44,130) 60%,rgb(251,105,98) 80%,rgb(254,248,76) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--blush-light-purple: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(255,206,236) 0%,rgb(152,150,240) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--blush-bordeaux: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(254,205,165) 0%,rgb(254,45,45) 50%,rgb(107,0,62) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-dusk: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(255,203,112) 0%,rgb(199,81,192) 50%,rgb(65,88,208) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--pale-ocean: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(255,245,203) 0%,rgb(182,227,212) 50%,rgb(51,167,181) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--electric-grass: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(202,248,128) 0%,rgb(113,206,126) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--midnight: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(2,3,129) 0%,rgb(40,116,252) 100%);--wp--preset--font-size--small: 13px;--wp--preset--font-size--medium: 20px;--wp--preset--font-size--large: 36px;--wp--preset--font-size--x-large: 42px;--wp--preset--spacing--20: 0.44rem;--wp--preset--spacing--30: 0.67rem;--wp--preset--spacing--40: 1rem;--wp--preset--spacing--50: 1.5rem;--wp--preset--spacing--60: 2.25rem;--wp--preset--spacing--70: 3.38rem;--wp--preset--spacing--80: 5.06rem;--wp--preset--shadow--natural: 6px 6px 9px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);--wp--preset--shadow--deep: 12px 12px 50px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.4);--wp--preset--shadow--sharp: 6px 6px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);--wp--preset--shadow--outlined: 6px 6px 0px -3px rgba(255, 255, 255, 1), 6px 6px rgba(0, 0, 0, 1);--wp--preset--shadow--crisp: 6px 6px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 1);}:where(.is-layout-flex){gap: 0.5em;}:where(.is-layout-grid){gap: 0.5em;}body .is-layout-flex{display: flex;}.is-layout-flex{flex-wrap: wrap;align-items: center;}.is-layout-flex > :is(*, div){margin: 0;}body .is-layout-grid{display: grid;}.is-layout-grid > :is(*, div){margin: 0;}:where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-flex){gap: 2em;}:where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-grid){gap: 2em;}:where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-flex){gap: 1.25em;}:where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-grid){gap: 1.25em;}.has-black-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--black) !important;}.has-cyan-bluish-gray-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-white-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--white) !important;}.has-pale-pink-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-pink) !important;}.has-vivid-red-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-red) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan) !important;}.has-vivid-green-cyan-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-pale-cyan-blue-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-purple-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple) !important;}.has-black-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--black) !important;}.has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-white-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--white) !important;}.has-pale-pink-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-pink) !important;}.has-vivid-red-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-red) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan) !important;}.has-vivid-green-cyan-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-pale-cyan-blue-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-purple-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple) !important;}.has-black-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--black) !important;}.has-cyan-bluish-gray-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-white-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--white) !important;}.has-pale-pink-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-pink) !important;}.has-vivid-red-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-red) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan) !important;}.has-vivid-green-cyan-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-pale-cyan-blue-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-purple-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-to-vivid-purple-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--vivid-cyan-blue-to-vivid-purple) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-to-vivid-green-cyan-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--light-green-cyan-to-vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-to-luminous-vivid-orange-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-amber-to-luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-to-vivid-red-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-orange-to-vivid-red) !important;}.has-very-light-gray-to-cyan-bluish-gray-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--very-light-gray-to-cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-cool-to-warm-spectrum-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--cool-to-warm-spectrum) !important;}.has-blush-light-purple-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--blush-light-purple) !important;}.has-blush-bordeaux-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--blush-bordeaux) !important;}.has-luminous-dusk-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-dusk) !important;}.has-pale-ocean-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--pale-ocean) !important;}.has-electric-grass-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--electric-grass) !important;}.has-midnight-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--midnight) !important;}.has-small-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--small) !important;}.has-medium-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--medium) !important;}.has-large-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--large) !important;}.has-x-large-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--x-large) !important;} :where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-flex){gap: 1.25em;}:where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-grid){gap: 1.25em;} :where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-flex){gap: 2em;}:where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-grid){gap: 2em;} :root :where(.wp-block-pullquote){font-size: 1.5em;line-height: 1.6;} </style> <link rel='stylesheet' id='ppress-frontend-css' href='https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/wp-content/plugins/wp-user-avatar/assets/css/frontend.min.css?ver=4.15.18' type='text/css' media='all' /> <link rel='stylesheet' id='ppress-flatpickr-css' href='https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/wp-content/plugins/wp-user-avatar/assets/flatpickr/flatpickr.min.css?ver=4.15.18' type='text/css' media='all' /> <link rel='stylesheet' id='ppress-select2-css' href='https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/wp-content/plugins/wp-user-avatar/assets/select2/select2.min.css?ver=6.7.1' type='text/css' media='all' /> <link rel='stylesheet' id='simple-social-icons-font-css' href='https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/wp-content/plugins/simple-social-icons/css/style.css?ver=3.0.2' type='text/css' media='all' /> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/wp-includes/js/jquery/jquery.min.js?ver=3.7.1" id="jquery-core-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/wp-includes/js/jquery/jquery-migrate.min.js?ver=3.4.1" id="jquery-migrate-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/wp-content/plugins/wp-user-avatar/assets/flatpickr/flatpickr.min.js?ver=4.15.18" id="ppress-flatpickr-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/wp-content/plugins/wp-user-avatar/assets/select2/select2.min.js?ver=4.15.18" id="ppress-select2-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/wp-content/themes/atahualpa/js/DD_roundies.js?ver=0.0.2a" id="ddroundies-js"></script> <link rel="https://api.w.org/" href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/wp-json/" /><link rel="alternate" title="JSON" type="application/json" href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4128" /><link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" title="RSD" href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/xmlrpc.php?rsd" /> <link rel="canonical" href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2012/10/04/recommended-reading-god-has-a-wonderful-plan-for-your-life-the-myth-of-the-modern-message/" /> <link rel='shortlink' href='https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/?p=4128' /> <link rel="alternate" title="oEmbed (JSON)" type="application/json+oembed" href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/wp-json/oembed/1.0/embed?url=https%3A%2F%2Fblogs.blueletterbible.org%2Fblog%2F2012%2F10%2F04%2Frecommended-reading-god-has-a-wonderful-plan-for-your-life-the-myth-of-the-modern-message%2F" /> <link rel="alternate" title="oEmbed (XML)" type="text/xml+oembed" href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/wp-json/oembed/1.0/embed?url=https%3A%2F%2Fblogs.blueletterbible.org%2Fblog%2F2012%2F10%2F04%2Frecommended-reading-god-has-a-wonderful-plan-for-your-life-the-myth-of-the-modern-message%2F&format=xml" /> <style type="text/css">body{text-align:center;margin:0;padding:0;font-family:tahoma,arial,sans-serif;font-size:0.8em;color:#000000;background:#ffffff}a:link,a:visited,a:active{color:#666666;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;}a:hover{color:#CC0000;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:underline}ul,ol,dl,p,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6{margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px;padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0;}ul ul,ul ol,ol ul,ol ol{margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0}code,pre{font-family:"Courier New",Courier,monospace;font-size:1em}pre{overflow:auto;word-wrap:normal;padding-bottom:1.5em;overflow-y:hidden;width:99%}abbr[title],acronym[title]{border-bottom:1px dotted}hr{display:block;height:2px;border:none;margin:0.5em auto;color:#cccccc;background-color:#cccccc}table{font-size:1em;}div.post,ul.commentlist li,ol.commentlist li{word-wrap:break-word;}pre,.wp_syntax{word-wrap:normal;}div#wrapper{text-align:center;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;display:block;width:99%}div#container{padding:0;width:auto;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;text-align:left;display:block}table#layout{font-size:100%;width:100%;table-layout:fixed}.colone{width:200px}.colone-inner{width:200px}.coltwo{width:100% }.colthree-inner{width:200px}.colthree{width:200px}div#header.full-width{width:100%}div#header,td#header{width:auto;padding:0}table#logoarea,table#logoarea tr,table#logoarea td{margin:0;padding:0;background:none;border:0}table#logoarea{width:100%;border-spacing:0px}img.logo{display:block;margin:0 10px 0 0}td.logoarea-logo{width:1%}h1.blogtitle,h2.blogtitle{ display:block;margin:0;padding:0;letter-spacing:-1px;line-height:1.0em;font-family:tahoma,arial,sans-serif;font-size:240%;font-smooth:always}h1.blogtitle a:link,h1.blogtitle a:visited,h1.blogtitle a:active,h2.blogtitle a:link,h2.blogtitle a:visited,h2.blogtitle a:active{ text-decoration:none;color:#666666;font-weight:bold;font-smooth:always}h1.blogtitle a:hover,h2.blogtitle a:hover{ text-decoration:none;color:#000000;font-weight:bold}p.tagline{margin:0;padding:0;font-size:1.2em;font-weight:bold;color:#666666}td.feed-icons{white-space:nowrap;}div.rss-box{height:1%;display:block;padding:10px 0 10px 10px;margin:0;width:280px}a.comments-icon{height:22px;line-height:22px;margin:0 5px 0 5px;padding-left:22px;display:block;text-decoration:none;float:right;white-space:nowrap}a.comments-icon:link,a.comments-icon:active,a.comments-icon:visited{background:transparent url(https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/wp-content/themes/atahualpa/images/comment-gray.png) no-repeat scroll center left}a.comments-icon:hover{background:transparent url(https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/wp-content/themes/atahualpa/images/comment.png) no-repeat scroll center left}a.posts-icon{height:22px;line-height:22px;margin:0 5px 0 0;padding-left:20px;display:block;text-decoration:none;float:right;white-space:nowrap}a.posts-icon:link,a.posts-icon:active,a.posts-icon:visited{background:transparent url(https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/wp-content/themes/atahualpa/images/rss-gray.png) no-repeat scroll center left}a.posts-icon:hover{background:transparent url(https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/wp-content/themes/atahualpa/images/rss.png) no-repeat scroll center left}a.email-icon{height:22px;line-height:22px;margin:0 5px 0 5px;padding-left:24px;display:block;text-decoration:none;float:right;white-space:nowrap}a.email-icon:link,a.email-icon:active,a.email-icon:visited{background:transparent url(https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/wp-content/themes/atahualpa/images/email-gray.png) no-repeat scroll center left}a.email-icon:hover{background:transparent url(https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/wp-content/themes/atahualpa/images/email.png) no-repeat scroll center left}td.search-box{height:1%}div.searchbox{height:35px;border:1px dashed #cccccc;border-bottom:0;width:200px;margin:0;padding:0}div.searchbox-form{margin:5px 10px 5px 10px}div.horbar1,div.horbar2{font-size:1px;clear:both;display:block;position:relative;padding:0;margin:0}div.horbar1{height:5px;background:#ffffff;border-top:dashed 1px #cccccc}div.horbar2{height:5px;background:#ffffff;border-bottom:dashed 1px #cccccc}div.header-image-container-pre{position:relative;margin:0;padding:0;height:150px;}div.header-image-container{position:relative;margin:0;padding:0;height:150px;}div.codeoverlay{position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%}div.opacityleft{position:absolute;z-index:2;top:0;left:0;background-color:#FFFFFF;height:150px;width:200px;filter:alpha(opacity=40);opacity:.40}div.opacityright{position:absolute;z-index:2;top:0;right:0;background-color:#FFFFFF;height:150px;width:200px;filter:alpha(opacity=40);opacity:.40}a.divclick:link,a.divclick:visited,a.divclick:active,a.divclick:hover{width:100%;height:100%;display:block;text-decoration:none}td#left{vertical-align:top;border-right:dashed 1px #CCCCCC;padding:10px 10px 10px 10px;background:#ffffff}td#left-inner{vertical-align:top;border-right:dashed 1px #CCCCCC;padding:10px 10px 10px 10px;background:#ffffff}td#right{vertical-align:top;border-left:dashed 1px #CCCCCC;padding:10px 10px 10px 10px;background:#ffffff}td#right-inner{vertical-align:top;border-left:dashed 1px #CCCCCC;padding:10px 10px 10px 10px;background:#ffffff}td#middle{vertical-align:top;width:100%;padding:10px 15px}div#footer.full-width{width:100%}div#footer,td#footer{width:auto;background-color:#ffffff;border-top:dashed 1px #cccccc;padding:10px;text-align:center;color:#777777;font-size:95%}div#footer a:link,div#footer a:visited,div#footer a:active,td#footer a:link,td#footer a:visited,td#footer a:active{text-decoration:none;color:#777777;font-weight:normal}div#footer a:hover,td#footer a:hover{text-decoration:none;color:#777777;font-weight:normal}div.widget{display:block;width:auto;margin:0 0 15px 0}div.widget-title{display:block;width:auto}div.widget-title h3,td#left h3.tw-widgettitle,td#right h3.tw-widgettitle,td#left ul.tw-nav-list,td#right ul.tw-nav-list{padding:0;margin:0;font-size:1.6em;font-weight:bold}div.widget ul,div.textwidget{display:block;width:auto}div.widget select{width:98%;margin-top:5px;}div.widget ul{list-style-type:none;margin:0;padding:0;width:auto}div.widget ul li{display:block;margin:2px 0 2px 0px;padding:0 0 0 5px;border-left:solid 7px #cccccc}div.widget ul li:hover,div.widget ul li.sfhover{display:block;width:auto;border-left:solid 7px #000000;}div.widget ul li ul li{margin:2px 0 2px 5px;padding:0 0 0 5px;border-left:solid 7px #cccccc;}div.widget ul li ul li:hover,div.widget ul li ul li.sfhover{border-left:solid 7px #000000;}div.widget ul li ul li ul li{margin:2px 0 2px 5px;padding:0 0 0 5px;border-left:solid 7px #cccccc;}div.widget ul li ul li ul li:hover,div.widget ul li ul li ul li.sfhover{border-left:solid 7px #000000;}div.widget a:link,div.widget a:visited,div.widget a:active,div.widget td a:link,div.widget td a:visited,div.widget td a:active,div.widget ul li a:link,div.widget ul li a:visited,div.widget ul li a:active{text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal;color:#666666;font-weight:normal;}div.widget ul li ul li a:link,div.widget ul li ul li a:visited,div.widget ul li ul li a:active{color:#666666;font-weight:normal;}div.widget ul li ul li ul li a:link,div.widget ul li ul li ul li a:visited,div.widget ul li ul li ul li a:active{color:#666666;font-weight:normal;}div.widget a:hover,div.widget ul li a:hover{color:#000000;}div.widget ul li ul li a:hover{color:#000000;}div.widget ul li ul li ul li a:hover{color:#000000;}div.widget ul li a:link,div.widget ul li a:visited,div.widget ul li a:active,div.widget ul li a:hover{display:inline}* html div.widget ul li a:link,* html div.widget ul li a:visited,* html div.widget ul li a:active,* html div.widget ul li a:hover{height:1%; } div.widget_nav_menu ul li,div.widget_pages ul li,div.widget_categories ul li{border-left:0 !important;padding:0 !important}div.widget_nav_menu ul li a:link,div.widget_nav_menu ul li a:visited,div.widget_nav_menu ul li a:active,div.widget_pages ul li a:link,div.widget_pages ul li a:visited,div.widget_pages ul li a:active,div.widget_categories ul li a:link,div.widget_categories ul li a:visited,div.widget_categories ul li a:active{padding:0 0 0 5px;border-left:solid 7px #cccccc}div.widget_nav_menu ul li a:hover,div.widget_pages ul li a:hover,div.widget_categories ul li a:hover{border-left:solid 7px #000000;}div.widget_nav_menu ul li ul li a:link,div.widget_nav_menu ul li ul li a:visited,div.widget_nav_menu ul li ul li a:active,div.widget_pages ul li ul li a:link,div.widget_pages ul li ul li a:visited,div.widget_pages ul li ul li a:active,div.widget_categories ul li ul li a:link,div.widget_categories ul li ul li a:visited,div.widget_categories ul li ul li a:active{padding:0 0 0 5px;border-left:solid 7px #cccccc}div.widget_nav_menu ul li ul li a:hover,div.widget_pages ul li ul li a:hover,div.widget_categories ul li ul li a:hover{border-left:solid 7px #000000;}div.widget_nav_menu ul li ul li ul li a:link,div.widget_nav_menu ul li ul li ul li a:visited,div.widget_nav_menu ul li ul li ul li a:active,div.widget_pages ul li ul li ul li a:link,div.widget_pages ul li ul li ul li a:visited,div.widget_pages ul li ul li ul li a:active,div.widget_categories ul li ul li ul li a:link,div.widget_categories ul li ul li ul li a:visited,div.widget_categories ul li ul li ul li a:active{padding:0 0 0 5px;border-left:solid 7px #cccccc}div.widget_nav_menu ul li ul li ul li a:hover,div.widget_pages ul li ul li ul li a:hover,div.widget_categories ul li ul li ul li a:hover{border-left:solid 7px #000000;}div.widget_nav_menu ul li a:link,div.widget_nav_menu ul li a:active,div.widget_nav_menu ul li a:visited,div.widget_nav_menu ul li a:hover,div.widget_pages ul li a:link,div.widget_pages ul li a:active,div.widget_pages ul li a:visited,div.widget_pages ul li a:hover{display:block !important}div.widget_categories ul li a:link,div.widget_categories ul li a:active,div.widget_categories ul li a:visited,div.widget_categories ul li a:hover{display:inline !important}table.subscribe{width:100%}table.subscribe td.email-text{padding:0 0 5px 0;vertical-align:top}table.subscribe td.email-field{padding:0;width:100%}table.subscribe td.email-button{padding:0 0 0 5px}table.subscribe td.post-text{padding:7px 0 0 0;vertical-align:top}table.subscribe td.comment-text{padding:7px 0 0 0;vertical-align:top}div.post,div.page{display:block;margin:0 0 30px 0}div.sticky{background:#eee url('http://blogs.blueletterbible.org/wp-content/themes/atahualpa /images/sticky.gif') 99% 5% no-repeat;border:dashed 1px #cccccc;padding:10px}div.post-kicker{margin:0 0 5px 0}div.post-kicker a:link,div.post-kicker a:visited,div.post-kicker a:active{color:#000000;text-decoration:none;text-transform:uppercase}div.post-kicker a:hover{color:#cc0000}div.post-headline{}div.post-headline h1,div.post-headline h2{ margin:0; padding:0;padding:0;margin:0}div.post-headline h2 a:link,div.post-headline h2 a:visited,div.post-headline h2 a:active,div.post-headline h1 a:link,div.post-headline h1 a:visited,div.post-headline h1 a:active{color:#666666;text-decoration:none}div.post-headline h2 a:hover,div.post-headline h1 a:hover{color:#000000;text-decoration:none}div.post-byline{margin:5px 0 10px 0}div.post-byline a:link,div.post-byline a:visited,div.post-byline a:active{}div.post-byline a:hover{}div.post-bodycopy{}div.post-bodycopy p{margin:1em 0;padding:0;display:block}div.post-pagination{}div.post-footer{clear:both;display:block;margin:0;padding:5px;background:#eeeeee;color:#666;line-height:18px}div.post-footer a:link,div.post-footer a:visited,div.post-footer a:active{color:#333;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none}div.post-footer a:hover{color:#333;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:underline}div.post-kicker img,div.post-byline img,div.post-footer img{border:0;padding:0;margin:0 0 -1px 0;background:none}span.post-ratings{display:inline-block;width:auto;white-space:nowrap}div.navigation-top{margin:0 0 10px 0;padding:0 0 10px 0;border-bottom:dashed 1px #cccccc}div.navigation-middle{margin:10px 0 20px 0;padding:10px 0 10px 0;border-top:dashed 1px #cccccc;border-bottom:dashed 1px #cccccc}div.navigation-bottom{margin:20px 0 0 0;padding:10px 0 0 0;border-top:dashed 1px #cccccc}div.navigation-comments-above{margin:0 0 10px 0;padding:5px 0 5px 0}div.navigation-comments-below{margin:0 0 10px 0;padding:5px 0 5px 0}div.older{float:left;width:48%;text-align:left;margin:0;padding:0}div.newer{float:right;width:48%;text-align:right;margin:0;padding:0;}div.older-home{float:left;width:44%;text-align:left;margin:0;padding:0}div.newer-home{float:right;width:44%;text-align:right;margin:0;padding:0;}div.home{float:left;width:8%;text-align:center;margin:0;padding:0}form,.feedburner-email-form{margin:0;padding:0;}fieldset{border:1px solid #cccccc;width:auto;padding:0.35em 0.625em 0.75em;display:block;}legend{color:#000000;background:#f4f4f4;border:1px solid #cccccc;padding:2px 6px;margin-bottom:15px;}form p{margin:5px 0 0 0;padding:0;}div.xhtml-tags p{margin:0}label{margin-right:0.5em;font-family:arial;cursor:pointer;}input.text,input.textbox,input.password,input.file,input.TextField,textarea{padding:3px;color:#000000;border-top:solid 1px #333333;border-left:solid 1px #333333;border-right:solid 1px #999999;border-bottom:solid 1px #cccccc;background:url(https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/wp-content/themes/atahualpa/images/inputbackgr.gif) top left no-repeat}textarea{width:96%;}input.inputblur{color:#777777;width:95%}input.inputfocus{color:#000000;width:95%}input.highlight,textarea.highlight{background:#e8eff7;border-color:#37699f}.button,.Button,input[type=submit]{padding:0 2px;height:24px;line-height:16px;background-color:#777777;color:#ffffff;border:solid 2px #555555;font-weight:bold}input.buttonhover{padding:0 2px;cursor:pointer;background-color:#6b9c6b;color:#ffffff;border:solid 2px #496d49}form#commentform input#submit{ padding:0 .25em; overflow:visible}form#commentform input#submit[class]{width:auto}form#commentform input#submit{padding:4px 10px 4px 10px;font-size:1.2em;line-height:1.5em;height:36px}table.searchform{width:100%}table.searchform td.searchfield{padding:0;width:100%}table.searchform td.searchbutton{padding:0 0 0 5px}table.searchform td.searchbutton input{padding:0 0 0 5px}blockquote{height:1%;display:block;clear:both;color:#555555;padding:1em 1em;background:#f4f4f4;border:solid 1px #e1e1e1}blockquote blockquote{height:1%;display:block;clear:both;color:#444444;padding:1em 1em;background:#e1e1e1;border:solid 1px #d3d3d3}div.post table{border-collapse:collapse;margin:10px 0}div.post table caption{width:auto;margin:0 auto;background:#eeeeee;border:#999999;padding:4px 8px;color:#666666}div.post table th{background:#888888;color:#ffffff;font-weight:bold;font-size:90%;padding:4px 8px;border:solid 1px #ffffff;text-align:left}div.post table td{padding:4px 8px;background-color:#ffffff;border-bottom:1px solid #dddddd;text-align:left}div.post table tfoot td{}div.post table tr.alt td{background:#f4f4f4}div.post table tr.over td{background:#e2e2e2}#calendar_wrap{padding:0;border:none}table#wp-calendar{width:100%;font-size:90%;border-collapse:collapse;background-color:#ffffff;margin:0 auto}table#wp-calendar caption{width:auto;background:#eeeeee;border:none;padding:3px;margin:0 auto;font-size:1em}table#wp-calendar th{border:solid 1px #eeeeee;background-color:#999999;color:#ffffff;font-weight:bold;padding:2px;text-align:center}table#wp-calendar td{padding:0;line-height:18px;background-color:#ffffff;border:1px solid #dddddd;text-align:center}table#wp-calendar tfoot td{border:solid 1px #eeeeee;background-color:#eeeeee}table#wp-calendar td a{display:block;background-color:#eeeeee;width:100%;height:100%;padding:0}div#respond{margin:25px 0;padding:25px;background:#eee;-moz-border-radius:8px;-khtml-border-radius:8px;-webkit-border-radius:8px;border-radius:8px}p.thesetags{margin:10px 0}h3.reply,h3#reply-title{margin:0;padding:0 0 10px 0}ol.commentlist{margin:15px 0 25px 0;list-style-type:none;padding:0;display:block;border-top:dotted 1px #cccccc}ol.commentlist li{padding:15px 10px;display:block;height:1%;margin:0;background-color:#ffffff;border-bottom:dotted 1px #cccccc}ol.commentlist li.alt{display:block;height:1%;background-color:#eeeeee;border-bottom:dotted 1px #cccccc}ol.commentlist li.authorcomment{display:block;height:1%;background-color:#ffecec}ol.commentlist span.authorname{font-weight:bold;font-size:110%}ol.commentlist span.commentdate{color:#666666;font-size:90%;margin-bottom:5px;display:block}ol.commentlist span.editcomment{display:block}ol.commentlist li p{margin:2px 0 5px 0}div.comment-number{float:right;font-size:2em;line-height:2em;font-family:georgia,serif;font-weight:bold;color:#ddd;margin:-10px 0 0 0;position:relative;height:1%}div.comment-number a:link,div.comment-number a:visited,div.comment-number a:active{color:#ccc}textarea#comment{width:98%;margin:10px 0;display:block}ul.commentlist{margin:15px 0 15px 0;list-style-type:none;padding:0;display:block;border-top:dotted 1px #cccccc}ul.commentlist ul{margin:0;border:none;list-style-type:none;padding:0}ul.commentlist li{padding:0; margin:0;display:block;clear:both;height:1%;}ul.commentlist ul.children li{ margin-left:30px}ul.commentlist div.comment-container{padding:10px;margin:0}ul.children div.comment-container{background-color:transparent;border:dotted 1px #ccc;padding:10px;margin:0 10px 8px 0; border-radius:5px}ul.children div.bypostauthor{}ul.commentlist li.thread-even{background-color:#ffffff;border-bottom:dotted 1px #cccccc}ul.commentlist li.thread-odd{background-color:#eeeeee;border-bottom:dotted 1px #cccccc}ul.commentlist div.bypostauthor{background-color:#ffecec}ul.children div.bypostauthor{border:dotted 1px #ffbfbf}ul.commentlist span.authorname{font-size:110%}div.comment-meta a:link,div.comment-meta a:visited,div.comment-meta a:active,div.comment-meta a:hover{font-weight:normal}div#cancel-comment-reply{margin:-5px 0 10px 0}div.comment-number{float:right;font-size:2em;line-height:2em;font-family:georgia,serif;font-weight:bold;color:#ddd;margin:-10px 0 0 0;position:relative;height:1%}div.comment-number a:link,div.comment-number a:visited,div.comment-number a:active{color:#ccc}.page-numbers{padding:2px 6px;border:solid 1px #000000;border-radius:6px}span.current{background:#ddd}a.prev,a.next{border:none}a.page-numbers:link,a.page-numbers:visited,a.page-numbers:active{text-decoration:none;color:#666666;border-color:#666666}a.page-numbers:hover{text-decoration:none;color:#CC0000;border-color:#CC0000}div.xhtml-tags{display:none}abbr em{border:none !important;border-top:dashed 1px #aaa !important;display:inline-block !important;background:url(https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/wp-content/themes/atahualpa/images/commentluv.gif) 0% 90% no-repeat;margin-top:8px;padding:5px 5px 2px 20px !important;font-style:normal}p.subscribe-to-comments{margin-bottom:10px}div#gsHeader{display:none;}div.g2_column{margin:0 !important;width:100% !important;font-size:1.2em}div#gsNavBar{border-top-width:0 !important}p.giDescription{font-size:1.2em;line-height:1 !important}p.giTitle{margin:0.3em 0 !important;font-size:1em;font-weight:normal;color:#666}div#wp-email img{border:0;padding:0}div#wp-email input,div#wp-email textarea{margin-top:5px;margin-bottom:2px}div#wp-email p{margin-bottom:10px}input#wp-email-submit{ padding:0; font-size:30px; height:50px; line-height:50px; overflow:visible;}img.WP-EmailIcon{ vertical-align:text-bottom !important}.tw-accordion .tw-widgettitle,.tw-accordion .tw-widgettitle:hover,.tw-accordion .tw-hovered,.tw-accordion .selected,.tw-accordion .selected:hover{ background:transparent !important; background-image:none !important}.tw-accordion .tw-widgettitle span{ padding-left:0 !important}.tw-accordion h3.tw-widgettitle{border-bottom:solid 1px #ccc}.tw-accordion h3.selected{border-bottom:none}td#left .without_title,td#right .without_title{ margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0}ul.tw-nav-list{border-bottom:solid 1px #999;display:block;margin-bottom:5px !important}td#left ul.tw-nav-list li,td#right ul.tw-nav-list li{padding:0 0 1px 0;margin:0 0 -1px 5px; border:solid 1px #ccc;border-bottom:none;border-radius:5px;border-bottom-right-radius:0;border-bottom-left-radius:0;background:#eee}td#left ul.tw-nav-list li.ui-tabs-selected,td#right ul.tw-nav-list li.ui-tabs-selected{ background:none;border:solid 1px #999;border-bottom:solid 1px #fff !important}ul.tw-nav-list li a:link,ul.tw-nav-list li a:visited,ul.tw-nav-list li a:active,ul.tw-nav-list li a:hover{padding:0 8px !important;background:none;border-left:none !important;outline:none}td#left ul.tw-nav-list li.ui-tabs-selected a,td#left li.ui-tabs-selected a:hover,td#right ul.tw-nav-list li.ui-tabs-selected a,td#right li.ui-tabs-selected a:hover{ color:#000000; text-decoration:none;font-weight:bold;background:none !important;outline:none}td#left .ui-tabs-panel,td#right .ui-tabs-panel{ margin:0; padding:0}img{border:0}#dbem-location-map img{ background:none !important}.post img{padding:5px;border:solid 1px #dddddd;background-color:#f3f3f3;-moz-border-radius:3px;-khtml-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;border-radius:3px}.post img.size-full{max-width:96%;width:auto;margin:5px 0 5px 0}div.post img[class~=size-full]{height:auto;}.post img.alignleft{float:left;margin:10px 10px 5px 0;}.post img.alignright{float:right;margin:10px 0 5px 10px;}.post img.aligncenter{display:block;margin:10px auto}.aligncenter,div.aligncenter{ display:block; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto}.alignleft,div.alignleft{float:left;margin:10px 10px 5px 0}.alignright,div.alignright{ float:right; margin:10px 0 5px 10px}div.archives-page img{border:0;padding:0;background:none;margin-bottom:0;vertical-align:-10%}.wp-caption{max-width:96%;width:auto 100%;height:auto;display:block;border:1px solid #dddddd;text-align:center;background-color:#f3f3f3;padding-top:4px;margin:10px 0 0 0;-moz-border-radius:3px;-khtml-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;border-radius:3px}* html .wp-caption{height:100%;}.wp-caption img{ margin:0 !important; padding:0 !important; border:0 none !important}.wp-caption-text,.wp-caption p.wp-caption-text{font-size:0.8em;line-height:13px;padding:2px 4px 5px;margin:0;color:#666666}img.wp-post-image{float:left;border:0;padding:0;background:none;margin:0 10px 5px 0}img.wp-smiley{ float:none;border:none !important;margin:0 1px -1px 1px;padding:0 !important;background:none !important}img.avatar{float:left;display:block;margin:0 8px 1px 0;padding:3px;border:solid 1px #ddd;background-color:#f3f3f3;-moz-border-radius:3px;-khtml-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;border-radius:3px}#comment_quicktags{text-align:left;padding:10px 0 2px 0;display:block}#comment_quicktags input.ed_button{background:#f4f4f4;border:2px solid #cccccc;color:#444444;margin:2px 4px 2px 0;width:auto;padding:0 4px;height:24px;line-height:16px}#comment_quicktags input.ed_button_hover{background:#dddddd;border:2px solid #666666;color:#000000;margin:2px 4px 2px 0;width:auto;padding:0 4px;height:24px;line-height:16px;cursor:pointer}#comment_quicktags #ed_strong{font-weight:bold}#comment_quicktags #ed_em{font-style:italic}@media print{body{background:white;color:black;margin:0;font-size:10pt !important;font-family:arial,sans-serif;}div.post-footer{line-height:normal !important;color:#555 !important;font-size:9pt !important}a:link,a:visited,a:active,a:hover{text-decoration:underline !important;color:#000}h2{color:#000;font-size:14pt !important;font-weight:normal !important}h3{color:#000;font-size:12pt !important;}#header,#footer,.colone,.colone-inner,.colthree-inner,.colthree,.navigation,.navigation-top,.navigation-middle,.navigation-bottom,.wp-pagenavi-navigation,#comment,#respond,.remove-for-print{display:none}td#left,td#right,td#left-inner,td#right-inner{width:0;display:none}td#middle{width:100% !important;display:block}*:lang(en) td#left{ display:none}*:lang(en) td#right{ display:none}*:lang(en) td#left-inner{ display:none}*:lang(en) td#right-inner{ display:none}td#left:empty{ display:none}td#right:empty{ display:none}td#left-inner:empty{ display:none}td#right-inner:empty{ display:none}}ul.rMenu,ul.rMenu ul,ul.rMenu li,ul.rMenu a{display:block;margin:0;padding:0}ul.rMenu,ul.rMenu li,ul.rMenu ul{list-style:none}ul.rMenu ul{display:none}ul.rMenu li{position:relative;z-index:1}ul.rMenu li:hover{z-index:999}ul.rMenu li:hover > ul{display:block;position:absolute}ul.rMenu li:hover{background-position:0 0} ul.rMenu-hor li{float:left;width:auto}ul.rMenu-hRight li{float:right}ul.sub-menu li,ul.rMenu-ver li{float:none}div#menu1 ul.sub-menu,div#menu1 ul.sub-menu ul,div#menu1 ul.rMenu-ver,div#menu1 ul.rMenu-ver ul{width:11em}div#menu2 ul.sub-menu,div#menu2 ul.sub-menu ul,div#menu2 ul.rMenu-ver,div#menu2 ul.rMenu-ver ul{width:11em}ul.rMenu-wide{width:100%}ul.rMenu-vRight{float:right}ul.rMenu-lFloat{float:left}ul.rMenu-noFloat{float:none}div.rMenu-center ul.rMenu{float:left;position:relative;left:50%}div.rMenu-center ul.rMenu li{position:relative;left:-50%}div.rMenu-center ul.rMenu li li{left:auto}ul.rMenu-hor ul{top:auto;right:auto;left:auto;margin-top:-1px}ul.rMenu-hor ul ul{margin-top:0;margin-left:0px}ul.sub-menu ul,ul.rMenu-ver ul{left:100%;right:auto;top:auto;top:0}ul.rMenu-vRight ul,ul.rMenu-hRight ul.sub-menu ul,ul.rMenu-hRight ul.rMenu-ver ul{left:-100%;right:auto;top:auto}ul.rMenu-hRight ul{left:auto;right:0;top:auto;margin-top:-1px}div#menu1 ul.rMenu{background:#FFFFFF;border:dashed 1px #cccccc}div#menu2 ul.rMenu{background:#777777;border:solid 1px #000000}div#menu1 ul.rMenu li a{border:dashed 1px #cccccc}div#menu2 ul.rMenu li a{border:solid 1px #000000}ul.rMenu-hor li{margin-bottom:-1px;margin-top:-1px;margin-left:-1px}ul#rmenu li{}ul#rmenu li ul li{}ul.rMenu-hor{padding-left:1px }ul.sub-menu li,ul.rMenu-ver li{margin-left:0;margin-top:-1px; }div#menu1 ul.sub-menu,div#menu1 ul.rMenu-ver{border-top:dashed 1px #cccccc}div#menu2 ul.sub-menu,div#menu2 ul.rMenu-ver{border-top:solid 1px #000000}div#menu1 ul.rMenu li a{padding:4px 5px}div#menu2 ul.rMenu li a{padding:4px 5px}div#menu1 ul.rMenu li a:link,div#menu1 ul.rMenu li a:hover,div#menu1 ul.rMenu li a:visited,div#menu1 ul.rMenu li a:active{text-decoration:none;margin:0;color:#777777;text-transform:uppercase;font:11px Arial,Verdana,sans-serif;}div#menu2 ul.rMenu li a:link,div#menu2 ul.rMenu li a:hover,div#menu2 ul.rMenu li a:visited,div#menu2 ul.rMenu li a:active{text-decoration:none;margin:0;color:#FFFFFF;text-transform:uppercase;font:11px Arial,Verdana,sans-serif;}div#menu1 ul.rMenu li{background-color:#FFFFFF}div#menu2 ul.rMenu li{background-color:#777777}div#menu1 ul.rMenu li:hover,div#menu1 ul.rMenu li.sfhover{background:#DDDDDD}div#menu2 ul.rMenu li:hover,div#menu2 ul.rMenu li.sfhover{background:#000000}div#menu1 ul.rMenu li.current-menu-item > a:link,div#menu1 ul.rMenu li.current-menu-item > a:active,div#menu1 ul.rMenu li.current-menu-item > a:hover,div#menu1 ul.rMenu li.current-menu-item > a:visited,div#menu1 ul.rMenu li.current_page_item > a:link,div#menu1 ul.rMenu li.current_page_item > a:active,div#menu1 ul.rMenu li.current_page_item > a:hover,div#menu1 ul.rMenu li.current_page_item > a:visited{background-color:#EEEEEE;color:#000000}div#menu1 ul.rMenu li.current-menu-item a:link,div#menu1 ul.rMenu li.current-menu-item a:active,div#menu1 ul.rMenu li.current-menu-item a:hover,div#menu1 ul.rMenu li.current-menu-item a:visited,div#menu1 ul.rMenu li.current_page_item a:link,div#menu1 ul.rMenu li.current_page_item a:active,div#menu1 ul.rMenu li.current_page_item a:hover,div#menu1 ul.rMenu li.current_page_item a:visited,div#menu1 ul.rMenu li a:hover{background-color:#EEEEEE;color:#000000}div#menu2 ul.rMenu li.current-menu-item > a:link,div#menu2 ul.rMenu li.current-menu-item > a:active,div#menu2 ul.rMenu li.current-menu-item > a:hover,div#menu2 ul.rMenu li.current-menu-item > a:visited,div#menu2 ul.rMenu li.current-cat > a:link,div#menu2 ul.rMenu li.current-cat > a:active,div#menu2 ul.rMenu li.current-cat > a:hover,div#menu2 ul.rMenu li.current-cat > a:visited{background-color:#CC0000;color:#FFFFFF}div#menu2 ul.rMenu li.current-menu-item a:link,div#menu2 ul.rMenu li.current-menu-item a:active,div#menu2 ul.rMenu li.current-menu-item a:hover,div#menu2 ul.rMenu li.current-menu-item a:visited,div#menu2 ul.rMenu li.current-cat a:link,div#menu2 ul.rMenu li.current-cat a:active,div#menu2 ul.rMenu li.current-cat a:hover,div#menu2 ul.rMenu li.current-cat a:visited,div#menu2 ul.rMenu li a:hover{background-color:#CC0000;color:#FFFFFF}div#menu1 ul.rMenu li.rMenu-expand a,div#menu1 ul.rMenu li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand a,div#menu1 ul.rMenu li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand a,div#menu1 ul.rMenu li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand a,div#menu1 ul.rMenu li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand a,div#menu1 ul.rMenu li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand a,div#menu1 ul.rMenu li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand a,div#menu1 ul.rMenu li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand a,div#menu1 ul.rMenu li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand a,div#menu1 ul.rMenu li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand a{padding-right:15px;padding-left:5px;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:100% 50%;background-image:url(https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/wp-content/themes/atahualpa/images/expand-right.gif)}div#menu2 ul.rMenu li.rMenu-expand a,div#menu2 ul.rMenu li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand a,div#menu2 ul.rMenu li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand a,div#menu2 ul.rMenu li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand a,div#menu2 ul.rMenu li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand a,div#menu2 ul.rMenu li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand a,div#menu2 ul.rMenu li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand a,div#menu2 ul.rMenu li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand a,div#menu2 ul.rMenu li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand a,div#menu2 ul.rMenu li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand a{padding-right:15px;padding-left:5px;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:100% 50%;background-image:url(https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/wp-content/themes/atahualpa/images/expand-right-white.gif)}ul.rMenu-vRight li.rMenu-expand a,ul.rMenu-vRight li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand a,ul.rMenu-vRight li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand a,ul.rMenu-vRight li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand a,ul.rMenu-vRight li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand a,ul.rMenu-vRight li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand a,ul.rMenu-vRight li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand a,ul.rMenu-vRight li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand a,ul.rMenu-vRight li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand a,ul.rMenu-vRight li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand a,ul.rMenu-hRight li.rMenu-expand a,ul.rMenu-hRight li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand a,ul.rMenu-hRight li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand a,ul.rMenu-hRight li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand a,ul.rMenu-hRight li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand a,ul.rMenu-hRight li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand a,ul.rMenu-hRight li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand a,ul.rMenu-hRight li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand a,ul.rMenu-hRight li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand a,ul.rMenu-hRight li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand a{padding-right:5px;padding-left:20px;background-image:url(https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/wp-content/themes/atahualpa/images/expand-left.gif);background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:-5px 50%}div#menu1 ul.rMenu-hor li.rMenu-expand a{padding-left:5px;padding-right:15px !important;background-position:100% 50%;background-image:url(https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/wp-content/themes/atahualpa/images/expand-down.gif)}div#menu2 ul.rMenu-hor li.rMenu-expand a{padding-left:5px;padding-right:15px !important;background-position:100% 50%;background-image:url(https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/wp-content/themes/atahualpa/images/expand-down-white.gif)}div#menu1 ul.rMenu li.rMenu-expand li a,div#menu1 ul.rMenu li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li a,div#menu1 ul.rMenu li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li a,div#menu1 ul.rMenu li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li a,div#menu1 ul.rMenu li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li a{background-image:none;padding-right:5px;padding-left:5px}div#menu2 ul.rMenu li.rMenu-expand li a,div#menu2 ul.rMenu li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li a,div#menu2 ul.rMenu li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li a,div#menu2 ul.rMenu li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li a,div#menu2 ul.rMenu li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li.rMenu-expand li a{background-image:none;padding-right:5px;padding-left:5px}* html ul.rMenu{display:inline-block;display:block;position:relative;position:static}* html ul.rMenu ul{float:left;float:none}ul.rMenu ul{background-color:#fff}* html ul.sub-menu li,* html ul.rMenu-ver li,* html ul.rMenu-hor li ul.sub-menu li,* html ul.rMenu-hor li ul.rMenu-ver li{width:100%;float:left;clear:left}*:first-child+html ul.sub-menu > li:hover ul,*:first-child+html ul.rMenu-ver > li:hover ul{min-width:0}ul.rMenu li a{position:relative;min-width:0}* html ul.rMenu-hor li{width:6em;width:auto}* html div.rMenu-center{position:relative;z-index:1}html:not([lang*=""]) div.rMenu-center ul.rMenu li a:hover{height:100%}html:not([lang*=""]) div.rMenu-center ul.rMenu li a:hover{height:auto}* html ul.rMenu ul{display:block;position:absolute}* html ul.rMenu ul,* html ul.rMenu-hor ul,* html ul.sub-menu ul,* html ul.rMenu-ver ul,* html ul.rMenu-vRight ul,* html ul.rMenu-hRight ul.sub-menu ul,* html ul.rMenu-hRight ul.rMenu-ver ul,* html ul.rMenu-hRight ul{left:-10000px}* html ul.rMenu li.sfhover{z-index:999}* html ul.rMenu li.sfhover ul{left:auto}* html ul.rMenu li.sfhover ul ul,* html ul.rMenu li.sfhover ul ul ul{display:none}* html ul.rMenu li.sfhover ul,* html ul.rMenu li li.sfhover ul,* html ul.rMenu li li li.sfhover ul{display:block}* html ul.sub-menu li.sfhover ul,* html ul.rMenu-ver li.sfhover ul{left:60%}* html ul.rMenu-vRight li.sfhover ul,* html ul.rMenu-hRight ul.sub-menu li.sfhover ul* html ul.rMenu-hRight ul.rMenu-ver li.sfhover ul{left:-60%}* html ul.rMenu iframe{position:absolute;left:0;top:0;z-index:-1}* html ul.rMenu{margin-left:1px}* html ul.rMenu ul,* html ul.rMenu ul ul,* html ul.rMenu ul ul ul,* html ul.rMenu ul ul ul ul{margin-left:0}.clearfix:after{ content:".";display:block;height:0;clear:both;visibility:hidden}.clearfix{min-width:0;display:inline-block;display:block}* html .clearfix{height:1%;}.clearboth{clear:both;height:1%;font-size:1%;line-height:1%;display:block;padding:0;margin:0}h1{font-size:34px;line-height:1.2;margin:0.3em 0 10px;}h2{font-size:28px;line-height:1.3;margin:1em 0 .2em;}h3{font-size:24px;line-height:1.3;margin:1em 0 .2em;}h4{font-size:19px;margin:1.33em 0 .2em;}h5{font-size:1.3em;margin:1.67em 0;font-weight:bold;}h6{font-size:1.15em;margin:1.67em 0;font-weight:bold;}</style> <script type="text/javascript"> //<![CDATA[ /* JQUERY */ jQuery(document).ready(function(){ /* jQuery('ul#rmenu').superfish(); */ /* jQuery('ul#rmenu').superfish().find('ul').bgIframe({opacity:false}); */ /* For IE6 */ if (jQuery.browser.msie && /MSIE 6\.0/i.test(window.navigator.userAgent) && !/MSIE 7\.0/i.test(window.navigator.userAgent) && !/MSIE 8\.0/i.test(window.navigator.userAgent)) { /* Max-width for images in IE6 */ var centerwidth = jQuery("td#middle").width(); /* Images without caption */ jQuery(".post img").each(function() { var maxwidth = centerwidth - 10 + 'px'; var imgwidth = jQuery(this).width(); var imgheight = jQuery(this).height(); var newimgheight = (centerwidth / imgwidth * imgheight) + 'px'; if (imgwidth > centerwidth) { jQuery(this).css({width: maxwidth}); jQuery(this).css({height: newimgheight}); } }); /* Images with caption */ jQuery("div.wp-caption").each(function() { var captionwidth = jQuery(this).width(); var maxcaptionwidth = centerwidth + 'px'; var captionheight = jQuery(this).height(); var captionimgwidth = jQuery("div.wp-caption img").width(); var captionimgheight = jQuery("div.wp-caption img").height(); if (captionwidth > centerwidth) { jQuery(this).css({width: maxcaptionwidth}); var newcaptionheight = (centerwidth / captionwidth * captionheight) + 'px'; var newcaptionimgheight = (centerwidth / captionimgwidth * captionimgheight) + 'px'; jQuery(this).css({height: newcaptionheight}); jQuery("div.wp-caption img").css({height: newcaptionimgheight}); } }); /* sfhover for LI:HOVER support in IE6: */ jQuery("ul li"). hover( function() { jQuery(this).addClass("sfhover") }, function() { jQuery(this).removeClass("sfhover") } ); /* End IE6 */ } /* Since 3.7.8: Auto resize videos (embed and iframe elements) TODO: Parse parent's dimensions only once per layout column, not per video */ function bfa_resize_video() { jQuery('embed, iframe').each( function() { var video = jQuery(this), videoWidth = video.attr('width'); // use the attr here, not width() or css() videoParent = video.parent(), videoParentWidth = parseFloat( videoParent.css( 'width' ) ), videoParentBorder = parseFloat( videoParent.css( 'border-left-width' ) ) + parseFloat( videoParent.css( 'border-right-width' ) ), videoParentPadding = parseFloat( videoParent.css( 'padding-left' ) ) + parseFloat( videoParent.css( 'padding-right' ) ), maxWidth = videoParentWidth - videoParentBorder - videoParentPadding; if( videoWidth > maxWidth ) { var videoHeight = video.attr('height'), videoMaxHeight = ( maxWidth / videoWidth * videoHeight ); video.attr({ width: maxWidth, height: videoMaxHeight }); } }); } bfa_resize_video(); jQuery(window).resize( bfa_resize_video ); jQuery(".post table tr"). mouseover(function() { jQuery(this).addClass("over"); }). mouseout(function() { jQuery(this).removeClass("over"); }); jQuery(".post table tr:even"). addClass("alt"); jQuery("input.text, input.TextField, input.file, input.password, textarea"). focus(function () { jQuery(this).addClass("highlight"); }). blur(function () { jQuery(this).removeClass("highlight"); }) jQuery("input.inputblur"). focus(function () { jQuery(this).addClass("inputfocus"); }). blur(function () { jQuery(this).removeClass("inputfocus"); }) jQuery("input.button, input.Button, input#submit"). mouseover(function() { jQuery(this).addClass("buttonhover"); }). mouseout(function() { jQuery(this).removeClass("buttonhover"); }); /* toggle "you can use these xhtml tags" */ jQuery("a.xhtmltags"). click(function(){ jQuery("div.xhtml-tags").slideToggle(300); }); /* For the Tabbed Widgets plugin: */ jQuery("ul.tw-nav-list"). addClass("clearfix"); }); //]]> </script> <script type="text/javascript"> var get_sizes = null; </script> <!--[if IE 6]> <script type="text/javascript">DD_roundies.addRule("a.posts-icon, a.comments-icon, a.email-icon, img.logo");</script> <![endif]--> </head> <body class="post-template-default single single-post postid-4128 single-format-standard category-book-review" > <div id="wrapper"> <div id="container"> <table id="layout" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <colgroup> <col class="colone" /><col class="coltwo" /> <col class="colthree" /></colgroup> <!-- Main Body --> <tr id="bodyrow"> <!-- Left Sidebar --> <td id="left"> <div class="widget widget_categories"> <div class="widget-title"> <h3>Categories</h3> </div> <ul> <li class="cat-item cat-item-25"><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/category/apologetics/">Apologetics</a> (1) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-26"><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/category/attributes-of-god/">Attributes of God</a> (13) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-27"><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/category/bible-study-2/">Bible Study</a> (2) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-28"><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/category/biblical-languages/">Biblical Languages</a> (54) <ul class='children'> <li class="cat-item cat-item-46"><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/category/biblical-languages/justin-alfred/">Justin Alfred</a> (9) </li> </ul> </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-29"><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/category/blb-bookstore/">BLB Bookstore</a> (2) <ul class='children'> <li class="cat-item cat-item-35"><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/category/blb-bookstore/book-giveaway/">Book Giveaway</a> (2) </li> </ul> </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-30"><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/category/blb-commentaries/">BLB Commentaries</a> (2) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-31"><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/category/blb-faq/">BLB FAQ</a> (5) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-32"><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/category/blb-news/">BLB News</a> (21) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-33"><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/category/blb-tips/">BLB Tips</a> (14) <ul class='children'> <li class="cat-item cat-item-44"><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/category/blb-tips/hitchcocks-topical-analysis/">Hitchcock's Topical Analysis</a> (1) </li> </ul> </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-34"><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/category/blue-letter-links/">Blue Letter Links</a> (8) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-36"><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/category/book-review/">Book Review</a> (1) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-37"><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/category/books/">Books</a> (1) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-38"><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/category/charles-h-spurgeon/">Charles H. Spurgeon</a> (21) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-39"><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/category/christ-2/">Christ</a> (3) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-40"><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/category/cultural-commentary/">Cultural commentary</a> (3) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-41"><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/category/don-stewart-faqs/">Don Stewart FAQ's</a> (23) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-42"><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/category/f-e-marsh/">F.E. Marsh</a> (51) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-43"><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/category/good-news/">Good News</a> (3) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-45"><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/category/incarnation-2/">Incarnation</a> (12) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-47"><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/category/r-a-torrey/">R.A. Torrey</a> (8) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-48"><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/category/the-bible/">The Bible</a> (12) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-49"><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/category/the-blb-institutute/">The BLB Institutute</a> (17) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-50"><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/category/theology-2/">Theology</a> (5) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-1"><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/category/uncategorized/">Uncategorized</a> (163) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-51"><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/category/videos/">Videos</a> (29) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-52"><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/category/weekday-series/">Weekday Series</a> (50) <ul class='children'> <li class="cat-item cat-item-55"><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/category/weekday-series/faithful-saints-of-the-past/">Faithful Saints of Before</a> (15) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-56"><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/category/weekday-series/mondays-missionariesmartyrs/">Mondays: Missionaries&Martyrs</a> (20) </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-58"><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/category/weekday-series/thursdays-theology/">Thursdays: Theology</a> (15) </li> </ul> </li> <li class="cat-item cat-item-53"><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/category/word-studies/">Word Studies</a> (16) <ul class='children'> <li class="cat-item cat-item-57"><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/category/word-studies/names-of-god/">Names of God</a> (16) </li> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="widget widget_archive"> <div class="widget-title"> <h3>Archives</h3> </div> <ul> <li><a href='https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2013/01/'>January 2013</a></li> <li><a href='https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2012/12/'>December 2012</a></li> <li><a href='https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2012/11/'>November 2012</a></li> <li><a href='https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2012/10/'>October 2012</a></li> <li><a href='https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2012/09/'>September 2012</a></li> <li><a href='https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2012/08/'>August 2012</a></li> <li><a href='https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2012/07/'>July 2012</a></li> <li><a href='https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2012/06/'>June 2012</a></li> <li><a href='https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2012/05/'>May 2012</a></li> <li><a href='https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2012/04/'>April 2012</a></li> <li><a href='https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2012/03/'>March 2012</a></li> <li><a href='https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2012/02/'>February 2012</a></li> <li><a href='https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2012/01/'>January 2012</a></li> <li><a href='https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2011/12/'>December 2011</a></li> <li><a href='https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2011/11/'>November 2011</a></li> <li><a href='https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2011/10/'>October 2011</a></li> <li><a href='https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2011/09/'>September 2011</a></li> <li><a href='https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2011/08/'>August 2011</a></li> <li><a href='https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2011/07/'>July 2011</a></li> <li><a href='https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2011/06/'>June 2011</a></li> <li><a href='https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2011/05/'>May 2011</a></li> <li><a href='https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2011/04/'>April 2011</a></li> <li><a href='https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2011/03/'>March 2011</a></li> <li><a href='https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2011/02/'>February 2011</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="widget widget_text"> <div class="widget-title"> <h3>A sample text widget</h3> </div> <div class="textwidget"> <p>Etiam pulvinar consectetur dolor sed malesuada. Ut convallis <a href="http://wordpress.org/">euismod dolor nec</a> pretium. Nunc ut tristique massa. </p> <p>Nam sodales mi vitae dolor <em>ullamcorper et vulputate enim accumsan</em>. Morbi orci magna, tincidunt vitae molestie nec, molestie at mi. <strong>Nulla nulla lorem</strong>, suscipit in posuere in, interdum non magna. </p> </div> </div> </td> <!-- / Left Sidebar --> <!-- Main Column --> <td id="middle"> <div class="clearfix navigation-top"> <div class="older">« <a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2012/10/08/whose-i-am/" rel="next">Whose I Am</a> </div><div class="newer"> <a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2012/10/03/john-10-and-the-doctrine-of-eternal-security/" rel="prev">John 10 and the Doctrine of Eternal Security (part 3)</a> »</div></div> <div class="post-4128 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-book-review odd" id="post-4128"> <div class="post-headline"><h1>Recommended Reading: God Has a Wonderful Plan for Your Life: The Myth of the Modern Message</h1></div> <div class="post-bodycopy clearfix"><p><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size: small"><strong>Book</strong>:<em> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1878859498?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=1878859498&linkCode=xm2&tag=bluletbib-20">God Has a Wonderful Plan for Your Life: The Myth of the Modern Message</a></em></span><br /> <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size: small"> <strong>Author</strong>: Ray Comfort</span><br /> <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size: small"> <strong>Published</strong>: Living Waters, May 2012</span><br /> <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size: small"> <strong>Review by</strong>: Chris Poblete</span></p> <hr /> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1878859498?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=1878859498&linkCode=xm2&tag=bluletbib-20"><img decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-4152" style="margin-left: 10px;margin-right: 10px" src="http://blogs.blueletterbible.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/GHAWPFYL_Comfort.gif" alt="" width="163" height="258" /></a></p> <p>Ray Comfort’s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1878859498?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=1878859498&linkCode=xm2&tag=bluletbib-20"><em>God Has a Wonderful Plan for Your Life: The Myth of the Modern Message</em></a>, is a short, punchy book on a very timely topic.</p> <h3>Possibly the most frightening passage in Scripture</h3> <p>Ray Comfort considers Jesus’ warning in Matthew 7:21-23 “possibly the most frightening passage in Scripture.” In it, Jesus spoke of many who would consider themselves Christians and yet are not saved. He warned, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven…I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.”</p> <h3>Today’s church statistics confirm this bleak reality</h3> <p>According to <em>God Has a Wonderful Plan for Your Life</em>, a 2003 survey found that of all those in the U.S. who profess to be born-again Christians, 49% enjoyed sexual fantasies about other people, 33% thought it was okay to kill a baby while it is still in the womb. Other surveys concluded that 53% of the men belonging to a large Christian organization visited porn sites every week, and 30% of 6000 pastors surveyed had viewed Internet porn in the last 30 days.</p> <p>The book also cites a Barna Group survey conducted in 2009 which found that among individuals describing themselves as Christian: close to half believe that Satan does not exist, one-third contend that Jesus sinned while He was on earth, two-fifths say they do not have a responsibility to share their faith with others, and one-quarter deny that the Bible is accurate in all of the principles it teaches.</p> <h3>How did we get here? What is our way out?</h3> <p><em>In God Has a Wonderful Plan for Your Life: The Myth of the Modern Message</em>, Ray Comfort argues that this is all a result of “the enemy subtly diverting our attention away from our core message.” He argues:</p> <blockquote><p>Instead of preaching the Good News that sinners can be made righteous in Christ and escape the wrath to come, we have settled for a “gospel” that implies that God’s primary purpose in saving us is to unfold a “wonderful plan” for our lives: to solve our problems, make us happy in Christ, and rescue us from the hassles of this life.</p></blockquote> <p>The book is, quite simply, a call away from “modern evangelistic methods” to what Comfort argues is the Biblical one. According to Comfort, the issue of man’s blindness to his need for a Savior is not so much a <em>lifestyle issue</em> as the “modern myth” argues; nor is it a <em>philosophical issue</em> or <em>intellectual issue</em>. Ultimately, it is a <em>moral issue</em>. Man needs to know of his depravity鈥攖hat he is guilty in sin.</p> <h3>So what is is this Biblical method of evangelism?</h3> <p>Appealing to Galatians 3:24, Comfort tells us that the Law is a “a schoolmaster to bring sinners to Christ, just as it brought Israel to Christ.” He shares with readers the story of how he came to this epiphany and how he learned that this is a method of evangelism that has been used for centuries. He tells of how he “began to study Scripture as well as the gospel proclamation of men like John Wesley, Spurgeon, Whitefield, Moody, Luther, and others whom God had used through the ages.”</p> <h3>Jesus and the Law</h3> <p>Comfort reminds us that the Old Testaments said that the Messiah would “magnify the law and make it honorable” (Isaiah 42:21). Jesus Himself used the Law to bring sinners to repentance and point to Himself as the only one and true Savior of the world (Matthew 5). Comfort is careful to emphasize that the Law does not account for our justification (Galatians 2:16). Only the precious blood of Christ and the power of His resurrection can do that. “The Law’s rightful purpose is simply to act as a mirror to show us that we need cleansing,” says Comfort.</p> <p>After laying these foundations, Ray Comfort spends the rest of his short book explaining how one can鈥攑ractically speaking鈥攗se the Law as a schoolmaster to lead others to Christ.</p> <p>If you have any desire to see the lost convicted of sin and saved in Jesus Christ (and as a Christian, you should!), then this short, 120-page book will serve as a great tool for Biblical evangelism. <strong>We highly recommend it.</strong></p> <p><span style="color: #333333;font-size: large"><strong>**For a chance to win a free copy of this book,<span style="color: #666699"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/blueletterbible/app_100265896690345"><span style="color: #666699"> sign up for our newsletter</span></a></span> and view the <span style="color: #666699"><a href="http://us5.forward-to-friend.com/forward/show?u=a5701bfb08b97f65b3aff1e37&id=f7c86a5761"><span style="color: #666699">October ministry update</span></a></span> to enter**</strong></span></p> <!-- iframe plugin v.5.1 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ --> <iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=bluletbib-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=1878859498&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" height="300" width="100%" scrolling="yes" class="iframe-class" frameborder="0"></iframe> </div> <div class="post-footer">October 4th, 2012 | Category: <a class="book-review" href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/category/book-review/" title="Book Review">Book Review</a> </div> </div><!-- / Post --> <div id="disqus_thread"></div> </td> <!-- / Main Column --> <!-- Right Inner Sidebar --> <!-- Right Sidebar --> <td id="right"> <!-- Default content here --> <div class="widget"><div class="widget-title"><h3>Recent Posts</h3></div> <ul> <li><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2013/01/17/how-we-should-think-about-the-second-coming-of-jesus/">How We Should Think About the Second Coming of Jesus</a></li> <li><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2013/01/16/the-canon-of-scripture-part-2/">The Canon of Scripture (part 2)</a></li> <li><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2013/01/15/the-canon-of-scripture-2/">The Canon of Scripture</a></li> <li><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2013/01/14/the-incomparable-uniqueness-of-scripture/">The Incomparable Uniqueness of Scripture</a></li> <li><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2013/01/11/jesus-the-bible-and-you/">Jesus, the Bible, and You</a></li> <li><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2013/01/10/what-does-it-mean-to-say-that-the-bible-is-inspired/">What does it mean to say that the Bible is "inspired"?</a></li> <li><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2013/01/09/they-shall-not-escape/">They Shall Not Escape</a></li> <li><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2013/01/07/sdf/">Rejoice, you poor in spirit!</a></li> <li><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2013/01/04/under-grace-not-law/">Under Grace, Not Law</a></li> <li><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2013/01/03/gods-acceptance-of-christ-is-thine-acceptance/">God's acceptance of Christ is thine acceptance</a></li> <li><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2013/01/02/start-the-new-year-with-a-devotional-or-reading-plan/">Start the new year with a devotional or reading plan!</a></li> <li><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2012/12/28/why-was-jesus-called-immanuel/">Why Was Jesus Called Immanuel?</a></li> <li><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2012/12/26/jesus-christ-anchor-of-the-soul/">Jesus Christ: Anchor of the Soul</a></li> <li><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2012/12/22/word-made-flesh/">Word Made Flesh</a></li> <li><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2012/12/21/the-sages-the-star-and-the-savior-part-4/">The Sages, the Star, and the Savior [part 4]</a></li> <li><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2012/12/20/why-did-god-come-as-man-part-3/">Why Did God Come As Man? [Part 3]</a></li> <li><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2012/12/20/why-did-god-come-as-man-part-2/">Why Did God Come As Man? [Part 2]</a></li> <li><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2012/12/19/the-gift-of-faith-its-origin-and-its-action/">The Gift of Faith: Its Origin and Its Action</a></li> <li><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2012/12/18/spurge-part-3/">The Sages, the Star, and the Savior [part 3]</a></li> <li><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blog/2012/12/17/prophecies-concerning-the-birth-of-christ-2/">Prophecies Concerning the Birth of Jesus</a></li> </ul> </div> <div id="linkcat-99" class="widget widget_links"><div class="widget-title"> </div> <div class="widget"><div class="widget-title"> <h3>Meta</h3> </div> <ul> <li><a href="https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/wp-login.php">Log in</a></li> <li><a href="http://wordpress.org/" title=" Powered by WordPress, state-of-the-art semantic personal publishing platform."> WordPress</a></li> </ul> </div> </td> <!-- / Right Sidebar --> </tr> <!-- / Main Body --> </table><!-- / layout --> </div><!-- / container --> </div><!-- / wrapper --> </body> </html>