The article by Judith Diehl (pp. 38-81, the longest article in the book) is a condensation of several survey articles she has done on the subject of the NT and the Imperial Cult. It is a very useful piece of summarizing and evaluating, but it has some surprising lacunae– for example where is the treatment of Chris Bryan’s important Render unto Caesar book? Nevertheless, you can’t cover everything in one Reader’s Digest sort of article, and what it does give… Read more

The first two articles in this volume are of the nature of survey articles, which is a good thing for readers unfamiliar with the topic of ‘The NT and the Imperial Cult’. We will summarize a few of the major points made by David Nystrom and discuss them in this post and do the same for the second article by Judith Diehl in the next post. One of the nice features about this book is that the chapters do not… Read more

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TA5Y86yAo4[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TA5Y86yAo4[/youtube] In a year where decent, never mind good movies are few and far between (indeed this may be the worst year in a half century for movies) those of us who love the silver screen are prepared to accept pretty good. And ‘the Judge’ as it turns out, is better than pretty good, because it has outstanding actors in it, playing believable parts. I’m on record as saying I would watch Robert Duvall play Queen Elizabeth if he tried… Read more

In the past several decades, one of the major trends in the evaluation of the NT has been the study of its contents in relationship to the rising tide of the Emperor cult during the first century A.D. On the surface of things, such a comparison seems promising because Jesus and one or another of the Emperors were the only actual historical figures of the era who came to be worshiped only shortly after their deaths, or in the case… Read more

We are standing across from St. George’s monastery high above Jericho, and looking at the valley of the shadow while I read Psalm 23, next to the cross tower. Notice that the cross stands tall and I stand small, which is as it should be. At least my attire blends with the color of the tower Thanks to Aussie friend Caleb for the picture! BW3 Read more

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqLTe8h0-jo[/youtube] His your chance to show your musical knowledge and get a free lunch with moi. The person who gets the most names of the singers (and guitar and piano and harmonica players) in this video will win a free lunch at Solomon’s Porch in Wilmore, date to be determined. On your mark, get set, start naming names! N.B. I’m not looking for the names of the persons in the BBC orchestra or choir, rather only the solo singers or… Read more

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_cVXdr8mVs[/youtube] Read more

p. 1504 revives Tom’s earlier suggestion (see n. 74) that by Arabia is meant Sinai, and so Paul went on a little Elijah tour after his conversion. This view I think is untenable. In the first place, the old Arabia a Jew from Jerusalem would normally refer to is Petran Arabia, which Josephus said could be visible from the Judean hills on occasion in good weather. Secondly, it won’t do to dismiss the fact that the Nabatean king Aretas was… Read more

‘God was reconciling the world to himself…’ What exactly did this mean? Tom (p. 1490) takes Col. 1.23 to indicate that Paul thought that in some sense the Gospel had already been proclaimed to the whole cosmos. More likely, this is a reference to what 1 Pet. 3 also speaks of Christ’s on his ascension proclaims his victory over the principalities and powers, certainly a subject in view in Col. 1. If Paul really thought the Gospel had already been… Read more

The last chapter of Tom’s magnum opus is not quite what one might have expected. There are considerable reflections on modern secular Jewish thought (Benjamin, Marx, etc.) and on the philosopher Heidegger and his connection with the Nazis, and how this may, or may not have affected European theology vis a vis the Jewish character of Paul’s thought. Tom thinks there is some truth in the suggestion that Paul was the philosopher who provided the ideological validation for the worldwide… Read more