Q. On p. 254 you say you think it is wrong minded for Christians to try and change the law of the land on particular topics they are passionate about. This view I think is problematic. Were that the correct approach John Wesley would have been wrong to urge William Wilberforce to work hard in Parliament to change the law of the land which allowed slavery to be legal. I believe we are to have a prophetic witness to our... Read more

Q. In your discussion of why Jesus doesn’t mention same sex intercourse, you say he refers to it indirectly in Mk. 7 when he says what comes out of a person that is prohibited includes adultery and sexual sins of other sorts. Surprisingly, to me, you do not discuss Mt. 19 where Jesus tells his disciples that there only alternative to heterosexual monogamy is celibacy in singleness— being a eunuch for the kingdom. Why not discussion of that text? A.... Read more

Q. In your discussion of the Levitical case law where same-sex sexual activity is prohibited, you link that with the ten commandments and specifically the prohibition of adultery. Can you explain the connection? Are you say that all forms of sexual activity except within heterosexual marriage are forms of adultery? How so? I would have thought that adultery is something only already married persons can commit. A. The ten commandments are general ethical principles that are then applied to specific... Read more

Q. In your last main chapter, you focus on the fact that the story of Sodom and Gomorrah is not in the main about homosexuality but rather about violations of hospitality. And yet Jude surely suggests that sexual perversion was at least part of the issue. Right? A. Yes, he does and I think I mention Jude briefly (or should have!). But then the question is what is the nature of the perversion. After all there is a whole list... Read more

Q. Klaus Koch in his two volumes on the Prophets talks about God’s redemptive-judgment (he judges Pharaoh and by the same act redeems or frees the Hebrews). Following Steck, he also points out the prophetic pattern that the redemption of God’s people comes after the judgment on their sins— redemption after judgment (and perhaps after repentance for sin). I am wondering what you think of these lines of reasoning vis a vis the issue of how and in what what... Read more

Q. I agree with you that the NT does insist that Gospel should not be advanced by violence (it does not justify Crusades for example). The question is why? Why was God in his Son prepared to suffer violence on the cross rather than to accomplish his purposes using violence when it comes to the new covenant? Why should an apparent difference with the means by which God accomplishes his purposes in the OT? I would put some of this... Read more

Q. One question worth pondering is ‘exactly how does God fight’? It seems to me that in the vast majority of cases he simply uses natural means, rather than acting directly. He uses human beings, whether a single individual like David vs. Goliath (who is killed by a sling shot by David), or he uses an Israelite force, like Gideon’s, or he uses nature, like the sea swallowing up Pharaoh’s chariots, or he uses plagues etc. Even in the famous... Read more

Q. Let’s start with some basic assumptions: 1) in the OT God is not expecting fallen people, including his own people to behave like Jesus later expects of his disciples, particularly after Pentecost. Not only hardness of heart, but a lack of the ongoing presence of the Spirit in the lives of God’s people in the OT has to be taken into account; 2) commandments like ‘an eye for an eye’ etc. are meant to limit violence and revenge taking... Read more

As by now, most of you know, Captain Marvel is the latest hero injected into the Marvel Universe. What you may not know is that before the movie Captain Marvel was even made, the star, Brie Larson (real name Brianne Sidonie Desaulniers) was already in the plot of and filming for Avengers Endgame. She revealed to Stephen Colbert that this was more than a little confusing, as she was not fully sure what she was supposed to be like, since... Read more

Q. On pp. 153-54 you rightly invoke the concept of progressive revelation, and I agree with your view that what the divine ‘warrior’ passages in the Bible are ultimately about is God’s victory over evil, not over humanity in general. The NT would say that it involves a victory over the powers and principalities, or as we would say over the Devil and his minions. It is not about God having a victory over a particular group of human beings... Read more