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the bible
A modest plea for Bible reading
Wed, 06/23/2010 - 14:15 — Wayne StacyFrom time to time people who know of my appreciation for C. S. Lewis will ask me if I’ve read some recent book about Lewis. I always say the same thing: “No. I don’t read books about C. S. Lewis; I read Lewis.” There is this idea afoot that secondary literature (writings about other writings) is somehow as good as, or even perhaps more valuable than, primary literature (the writings themselves). And so, as a result people read biographies or “studies” of C. S. Lewis, thereby intending to understand his “thought,” rather than going straight to the “horse's mouth,” so to speak, and reading Lewis’s own writings themselves. “You’ll learn more Plato from the ‘experts’ than by reading the Symposium; you’ll learn more Homer from the textbook on ancient Greek literature than by reading the Odyssey.” I don’t much think so.... READ MORE.
Wisdom
Wed, 06/16/2010 - 14:20 — Simon CozensI've been reading the book of Proverbs on and off recently.
Much of it, let's face it, is pretty trivially obvious. Let's take 12:17, for instance: "The faithful witness tells what is right, but a false witness speaks deceit." Well, yes, by definition. (Mind you, Tony once told me that if someone uses "by definition" to seal an argument, you know they're lying.) But I've found two things intriguing as I've read through Proverbs.
First, there is the insistence that wisdom is necessary. I remember reading recently (I don't remember where) that our information society has placed a high premium on knowledge and ability, but a low premium on wisdom.... READ MORE.
Canon within the canon meme
Tue, 06/15/2010 - 13:11 — Marvin Lindsay"All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness." True dat. But most people subscribe to a canon within the canon, whether they admit it or not. In other words, some texts or books are more important than others.
My Old Testament professor, Walter Brueggemann, suggested that we consciously adopt a canon within the canon. Pick 40 indispensable Old Testament texts and 20 indispensable New Testament texts, and that collection can be the core of our personal biblical theology.
Brueggemann was not endorsing Jefferson's taking a pair of scissors to the Bible and excising the texts he didn't like. Rather, he wanted us to think long and hard about what is peripheral and what is central.... READ MORE.
Censoring the Bible
Fri, 05/14/2010 - 15:05 — Adam CopelandThe second reading from the Revised Common Lectionary (the Bible readings for worship used by churches around the world) for this Sunday comes from the book of Revelation. For a few weeks now, we’ve been working our way through Revelation and have now arrived at chapter 22. The assigned reading, though, is Rev. 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21. On first glance, it sure looks to me like we’re censoring the Bible.... READ MORE.
Homosexuality as divine punishment in Romans 1
Wed, 04/21/2010 - 13:22 — James McGrathRomans 1 is one of the most frequently-cited passages in the New Testament when it comes to the topic of homosexuality. I considered simply reposting one of my earlier posts on the subject, but it seemed worthwhile taking the time to focus instead on one specific aspect of the passage. In Romans 1, Paul talks about homosexuality not as a sin, but as a divine punishment for sin. He never says "Because people lusted for people of the same gender, therefore..." they were punished. It is consistently that people have glorified the creature rather than the Creator, or done other such things, and therefore God gave them over to homosexuality.
If we look carefully at the language Paul uses, we notice that the terminology Paul uses for such intercourse not that of sin but that of shame and dishonor. Looking at the background to this language may help us understand why Paul could think of homosexuality as a punishment from God.... READ MORE.
Comprehending sight
Tue, 02/16/2010 - 13:46 — Steven WoolleyGospel healing stories amaze me, especially the ones where the blind receive their sight. Consider, for instance, the story in John where the man born blind and earned his living as a beggar was told by Jesus to go wash in the pool of Siloam. To be sure he received his ability to see, but what is more amazing is that he could see with comprehension. There is no indication that he had any trouble recognizing people or places; he had no difficulty adjusting to his new world of sight. He could see with comprehension, and I wonder if that is what we need to focus on.
Is that what Paul was getting at when he wrote about seeing in a glass dimly now but once fully in God’s presence seeing clearly? It’s not about seeing but about comprehension. The man born blind could see with comprehension once he had been touched by Jesus, but he could not comprehend everything.... READ MORE.
Morning thanks: the old psalms
Mon, 01/11/2010 - 10:36 — James C. SchaapTen years ago maybe, my in-laws, then in their seventies, told us that they told the pastor that once in awhile they'd like to sing the old songs, too. They're not pushy people, believe me. The church had gone wholesale to the new and fresh "praise 'n worship" genre, and they simply got a little tired of being left out.
The pastor's patronizing response to the old folks was that, well, sometimes it was simply necessary to change with the times.
I'm sure my father-in-law never spit right there--after all the pastor was the dominie--but when we came around the next time, he unloaded. "Change?" he said. "I started farming with horses, didn't have indoor plumbing until the late 50s. He's telling me about change?"... READ MORE.
Rejoice
Mon, 12/14/2009 - 11:52 — Carol Howard MerrittText: Philippians 4:4-7
I saw the car commercial, just slightly in my vision as I was walking through the basement. I was doing laundry, but I could tell that the ad was showing footage of a beautiful, expensive, luxury automobile, zooming at high speeds around the highway curves. And there was some sort of prattle going on, I don’t remember the monologue, but I think it was a man talking about how he was going to his holiday family reunion, and he was going to show them how successful he had become.
I smiled. The messages of this season are so interesting. You can show people how much you love them with a diamond. Your can make your children happy by buying them a video game. Now, you can finally let your brother and sister know that you got the biggest piece of the pie. You own the most toys. You won the ultimate tug-of-war, because you have a shiny car. Not only can you buy emotional security for your spouse, happy memories for your kids, but you can win the final grand victory for your sibling rivalry. In fact, if we believe the commercials, the only thing that money cannot buy is poverty. ... READ MORE.
Messianic cause and effect
Mon, 12/14/2009 - 11:48 — James McGrathAcademic discussions of the subject of the place of Jesus' birth has been spreading Christmas cheer throughout the biblioblogosphere. Mark Goodacre's podcast started it off, and Doug Chaplin, +Wrong and I all responded in different ways. The +Wrong discussion is particularly interesting since it offered examples of individuals who became known as "NAME 0f PLACE" where the place was not where they were born; to which Steph responded by pointing out that in such cases the place they were associated with was a place they became famous, and it is not clear that "Jesus of Nazareth" fits that category. (An example that comes to mind from a later time is Rumi).
Historians are understandably skeptical and must consider the possibility that Jesus was associated with Bethlehem later. Because of the joint convictions that (a) Jesus was the Messiah, and (b) the Messiah has to come from Bethlehem, some Christians could well have drawn the conclusion that Jesus must have been from Bethlehem.... READ MORE.
Are the gospels historically reliable?
Mon, 11/30/2009 - 10:48 — Chris BrundageNew Testament scholar Craig Blomberg says they are, and he uses methods of critical historical inquiry to support his views. Although at some points he takes the argument farther than necessary, on the whole he presents a strong and compelling case, looking in a detailed analysis at the Synoptics and John.
The most striking aspect of his argument came at the end when he noted we assume the Gospels to be generally historically reliable unless it is demonstrated clearly they are not. This is the same assumption made for any historical document, especially ones so close in time and space to their events as the Gospels are.... READ MORE.
