Ruth: Romance, Racism, and Redistribution

In my class on the Bible on Friday, we discussed the Book of Ruth. And as it happened, I discovered that it was possible to encapsulate the three main topics/themes that I wanted to make sure got attention under three headings with alliteration. One topic (the first “r”) was romance. My students were fairly sure [...]

Lecture on Authorship and Sources of the Pentateuch

 

Taxation, Charity, and Robbery

I’ve heard the argument made that the government taxing the wealthy and redistributing that wealth to those less fortunate than them is not taxation, but robbery. I wonder how many of those who say such things are Christians or Jews , and would also think Deuteronomy 26:12 was robbery. Israelites had to set aside 10% of [...]