God’s bodykins, man, much better: Use every man after his desert, and who should ‘scape whipping? (Hamlet II, 2, 500-501)
In addition to proclaiming God’s message to God’s people, Israel’s prophets traditionally also fulfilled the role of intercessor on behalf of the people with God. Moses interceded for Israel after the Golden Calf incident, for example (Exod 32:11-13), arguing that, although the people had flagrantly violated their covenant relationship with God almost
A Dangerous Cocktail
Growing up in the 1960’s in small-town Appalachia, I did not encounter significant cultural variety. As a member of the Baptist majority, I found Episcopalians extremely exotic. I was in high school when the first pizzeria opened in town. Of course, the only things Italian about it were the spices in the sauce.
And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?” (John 9:2 NAS)
Poverty is not (proof of) sin. Poverty is not a character flaw. Poverty happens to people.
John’s Gospel records an episode in Jesus’ ministry in which his disciples revealed their sadly respectable conventionality. Two prominent strands of theological tradition running throughout the Old Testament converged in their question concerning the identity of the sinner responsible for an unfortunate man’s blindness.
Ezra 9:1
The idea of divine election, while central to the biblical witness, can be dangerous if misunderstood. Political rhetoric this election cycle has called attention to the undercurrent of exclusionary sentiment flowing throughout the U.S. population. Events abroad surrounding the Syrian refugee crisis attest to the universal character of this sentiment. Everyone, even believers, it seems, wants to exclude someone from access to something and somewhere.
Keeping Kosher from a Contemporary Perspective
For a period when he was small, one of my children would regularly ask at mealtime, “What was this when it was alive?” His question expressed an attitude remarkably near that of ancient Israel’s priests about food that must be addressed in a life of faith.