“…you must utterly destroy them…” (Deut 7:2)
Many people, non-believer and believer alike, regard the Old Testament as particularly bellicose. For many, in fact, this perception justifies a devaluation of the Old Testament generally or especially in comparison to the New Testament. This entry will examine whether the Old Testament deserves its reputation for ruthless violence, especially with Continue reading Concerning Violence in the Old Testament
“Remember, you were once in Egyptian bondage…” (Deut 5:15)
“Do this in remembrance of me…” (Luke 22:19)
Remembrance evokes the partner senses of gratitude and humility. In turn, the journey before indicates the direction of the journey ahead.
I am writing this on Ash Wednesday (2019), the day on the liturgical calendar that marks the beginning of the season of Lent, a period of reflection, penitence, and, traditionally, fasting. During Lent, one prepares for the joyous Good News of Easter. In many respects, Lent resembles the Jewish autumn holiday of Succoth, the “Feast of Booths,” which is also Continue reading Remembering, Gratitude, and Direction: A Lenten Reflection
I have been swamped recently: meeting a publication deadline (a translation of the final volume of the Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, which deals with Biblical Aramaic), attending the Society of Biblical Literature annual meeting in Boston, chairing an editorial board meeting there (with all the preparation entailed), presenting a paper there, holidays, family, and all the rest. Consequently, I have neglected this blog. A New Year approaches and I do not intend to wait for its arrival before acting on my resolve to be more attentive. For the next several weeks, I will be posting a series of lectures given last month at the First Presbyterian Church on the subject of:
“…you always have the poor…”
(Mark 14:7; Matt 26:11; John 12:8)
The two most recent entries in this blog have examined how people have used poor biblical interpretation of, admittedly, difficult texts to justify and undergird racism and misogyny. This entry turns attention to the ways in which some have perverted a saying of Jesus – who elsewhere called the poor blessed and equated how one treats the poor with Continue reading Perpetual Poverty?
Exod 2:24; Judg 2:16; Luke 17:12-19
Grace is not transactional.
This time of year means preparation for facing first year students. Most have never engaged in rigorous academic study of the Bible. They come to seminary as I came to my undergraduate religion major, innocently expecting that the Bible says what they have always thought it said and that serious study of it will only confirm what they Continue reading Grace: Transactional or Transformational?
Exod 20:5-6; Deut 5:9-10
A reader and long-time friend emailed me this week with a question concerning the statement in the Decalog that God “visits the iniquities of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate [God]” (Exod 20:5; Deut 5:9; my translation; cf. also Exod 34:6-7; Deut 7:9-10; Jer 32:18; and Ps 105:8=1 Chron 16:15). On its face, this Continue reading Q&A: Intergenerational Guilt