Here is a brief explanation of baptism I used in a service this morning: As we saw this morning, Jesus’ baptism and reception of the Spirit was immediately followed by combat in the wilderness with the devil. The church fathers saw that this was one of the meanings of Christian baptism: Baptism, they said, was a “seal,” like a mark put on a slave, like the brand put on a sheep to identify His owner, like the tattoo put on... Read more
The exhortation for August 31: The essence of original sin, and of every sin, is to trust Satan’s word above God’s word. Satan’s word comes to us in many forms, but in essence every word of Satan is a slander against God. We succomb to temptation when we begin to believe the slander. Remember the story of Adam: He was placed in the garden and given all possible blessings, including access to the Tree of Life. The one restriction was... Read more
In Luke 4, Jesus responds to the wonder and marveling of the crowd by saying that “no prophet is welcome in his home town” (v. 24). The comments, like the comments in v 23, seem to come out of left field. Why does Jesus say this? What’s he up to? Verses 23-24 are responses to the question “Is this not Joseph’s son?” in v 22. The issue is Jesus’ paternity, an issue that has already been raised a couple of... Read more
In Luke 4, Jesus responds to the wonder and marveling of the crowd by saying that “no prophet is welcome in his home town” (v. 24). The comments, like the comments in v 23, seem to come out of left field. Why does Jesus say this? What’s he up to? Verses 23-24 are responses to the question “Is this not Joseph’s son?” in v 22. The issue is Jesus’ paternity, an issue that has already been raised a couple of... Read more
Adam (son of Saul) Bellow has written a book in praise of nepotism. Well, du-uh. Read more
Dale C. Allison, Jr., The New Moses: A Matthean Typology (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1993). Dale Allison, a research fellow at the Friends University in Wichita, Kansas, has written a superb case study in the New Testament’s use of the Old. Though he focuses on only a single typology (Christ as a new Moses) in only a single gospel (Matthew), Allison’s book carries important implications for the study of the New Testament in general. He demonstrates that no one can hope to... Read more
Here is a very partial review/summary of a wonderfully stimulating book. I hope to go over it again sometime and add to this, but here it is in its unfinished form. Jeremy Begbie, Theology, Music and Time (Cambridge Studies in Christian Doctrine; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000). This is a book to savor. The basic theme is simple: Begbie, a musician and Vice Principal of Ridley Hall, Cambridge, serves up a theological meditation on time by employing categories drawn from... Read more
Richard A. Burridge, Four Gospels, One Jesus? (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994). Richard Burridge, dean of King’s College, London, has produced an insightful and very accessible introduction to the gospels. The book is straightforwardly organized: After an introduction that treats the various forms of modern New Testament criticism, he offers a substantial chapter on each gospel and concludes with a chapter arguing that while the four gospels present a diverse portrait of Jesus, they also set limits to our understanding of... Read more
I found several reviews (and partial reviews) of articles and books on my hard drive, and will post them here. Some of them were posted on a now-defunct web site, so this will make them available on the web, for those who know that this site exists! John Milbank, “The Soul of Reciprocity Part One: Reciprocity Refused,” Modern Theology 17:3 (July 2001): 334-391. Like everything that Milbank writes, this is a dense and difficult article. In essence, it is the... Read more
Teaching on Basil’s treatise On the Holy Spirit this year, I was impressed again with this wonderful treatise. Some quotations, from the St Vladimir’s edition: On the cosmic role of the Spirit: All things thirsting for holiness turn to Him; everything living in virtue never turns away from Him. He waters them with His life-giving breath and helps them reach their proper fulfillment. He perfects all other things, and Himself lacks nothing; He gives life to all things, and is... Read more
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