Lectures delivered at First Presbyterian Church, Richmond
Fall 2018
Category Archives: justice
Hungering and Thirsting for Rightness
Matt 5:6
As naturally as apple trees bear apples, righteous people do the right thing. Indeed, citizens in the Kingdom of God, justified (made right) by the grace of God through Jesus, will seek out wrongs to make right.
English translations typically translate the Greek and Hebrew nouns dikaiosune and tsedeqah with “righteousness” and related adjectives with “righteous.” Unfortunately, centuries of usage in the contexts of piety and spirituality have given these terms the patina of interiority and other-worldliness. One hears them as references to purely Continue reading Hungering and Thirsting for Rightness
Is the ‘Right to Self-Defense’ Biblical?
“Am I my brother’s guardian?” (Gen 4:9, my trans.)
The recent series of mass shootings, especially those at public schools, have brought the issue of gun control to the fore in public discussions. Many of the evangelical Christian voices in this discussion speak of the “right” to gun ownership, which obviously derives from the “right” to self-defense, as though both were “God-given.” I am increasingly Continue reading Is the ‘Right to Self-Defense’ Biblical?
Is Election the Same as License?
“I will curse those who curse you…” (Gen 12:3)
I anticipated some negative reactions to the most recent blog entry and have gotten them. In it, I argued that the United States, driven largely by evangelical Christian misunderstandings of the Bible, effectively taking sides, treats Israel as though it were untouchable. Generally, objections center around Israel’s status as God’s chosen people and seem to reflect the idea derived from God’s promise of protection to Abraham that Israel enjoys almost untouchable status in God’s eyes. To be “on Israel’s side” is to be on God’s side; to Continue reading Is Election the Same as License?
A Rebuilt Temple?
One aspect of contemporary apocalyptic doctrine held by many evangelical Christians is the expectation that a “third temple” (counting Herod’s temple as a continuation of the second temple rebuilt in the early Persian period) must and will be built in Jerusalem prior to the apocalypse. It is but a component of Evangelical Christianity’s theological program Continue reading A Rebuilt Temple?
Words that Cut
“Some speak rashly like thrusting with the sword, but the tongue of the wise heals” (Prov 12:18, my trans.)
Words can cut and wound. Words are groupings of sounds that represent ideas, actions, things, relationships. The aggregate sounds, themselves, have no essential “meaning.” They are conventions whose representations are tacitly agreed upon by native speakers of a given language. A given aggregation of sounds may, therefore, represent entirely different concepts in two distinct Continue reading Words that Cut
Israel’s United Monarchy II
Eclipses, Hurricanes, and an Integrated Christian Worldview
The sun will be turned to darkness…before the coming of the … day of the Lord.
Joel 2:31
Eclipses, hurricanes, and earthquakes have dominated the twenty-four hour news cycle in recent days and weeks. Total solar eclipses seem infrequent and are magnificent, but entirely harmless (unless, of course, viewed with the naked eye) and predictably regular; hurricanes and earthquakes, especially when of the magnitude of Harvey and Irma or the Continue reading Eclipses, Hurricanes, and an Integrated Christian Worldview
Plain Language is Difficult to Misinterpret, but Easy to Ignore
For this commandment which I command you this day is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, “Who will go up for us to heaven, and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?” Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, “Who will go over the sea for us, and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?” But the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it. (Deut 30:11-14 RSV)
This summer, I have been blogging about the harm done by propagating misinterpretations of scripture. In most cases, the scripture passages in question have at least been tricky enough to open the door for such misinterpretation – although not enough to excuse it. Recent events at Charlottesville, just a few miles to the west of my Continue reading Plain Language is Difficult to Misinterpret, but Easy to Ignore
Perpetual Poverty?
“…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?