Unfortunately we live in an age where realities are denied. Fantasy is allowed to replace it. My father fought in WWII and saw the devastations wrought by the Nazis, not least the concentration camps. As my Jewish friends say– ‘we must never forget’. I bring this up because the twin sins of hatred of Jews and white supremacy have reared their ugly heads again in America. If it were up to me, I would require members of such hate groups... Read more
This is the third Jake Brigance novel, who was the star of John Grisham’s first big novel, a Time to Kill, and also the much more recent and excellent Sycamore Row. Here Grisham is in his native habitat, talking about the law in Mississippi, where he was plied that very trade. This novel is frankly more interesting and better than some of the other recent offerings by Grisham, not least because the author brings to bear his deep understanding of... Read more
THE HABITS OF THE MIND Infinite curiosity The mind never rests….. Searching and probing, The better, the best. Imagination’s fantasies Transforming the real Infusing emotion Into things that do not feel…. The tears of a tree The smile of a sun Worry lines on a rock Drooping flowers, undone. But motion is not emotion Nor brightness a smile A wind is not a spirit A stream has no guile An active observer Transforms every scene... Read more
More of Philip Jenkins’ reflections……. Of Demons Laying Traps A Psalm 91 reference here would also contextualize Jesus’s foes quite powerfully. At the time, this was the main text for use in spiritual warfare and demon-fighting, and was used thus at Qumran. The hunter, or fowler, was the Devil, or a demon. So in this reading, the Pharisees were demonic. That reading is reflected in another (mis)translation, where is our Psalm 91.6 talks about “the plague that destroys at midday.”... Read more
Here is a very fine series of reflections by my friend and colleague Philip Jenkins. See what you think…. —— I recently had a sobering lesson in how we understand the New Testament. Obviously, it’s hard to make much sense of that text without at least some knowledge of the Greek in which it was written, to appreciate the nuances of the text, all the allusions and cross-references. But further, we have to understand that when that text’s authors and... Read more
Ben Witherington III & Jason Myers – Views on Paul Read more
Roger Pearse on his blog has posted the latest info about a graffito found in a Taberna in Puteoli (the Roman port) of a crucified person, in this case, a drawing of a crucified woman named Alkimila. Here is the link… : https://www.roger-pearse.com/weblog/2017/01/13/the-crucifixion-graffito-of-alkimilla-from-puteoli/ This graffito dates to the period of Hadrian or possible a little later… making it possibly the earliest such image of crucifixion. Several features are worth brief mention— it appears clear that in this case we... Read more
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