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

Q. On pp. 151-52 surprisingly you use Jesus’ action in the temple to suggest that Jesus was not opposed to violence. The problem with that example is that it does not involve violence against human beings nor does it appear any animals were harmed in the process either! Indeed, some were liberated. There is a difference between using force to some end, and doing violence against other human beings, something Jesus does prohibit his disciples from doing. [BTW, Heiser has... Read more

Q. On pp. 150-51 you make the surprising comment that you don’t think that polygamy, at least in OT times was immoral, and you go further to suggest that if a polygamous person today becomes a Christian they should not divorce one of their spouses. This is said at the same time you say that monogamy is the standard held up by Genesis and the NT. I must say I find this surprising, to say the least. Polygamy, like patriarchy... Read more

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Q. Let’s look at this issue from a little different perspective. Just as the Bible talks about God and his justice and judgment plenty in both the OT and the NT, it also says things like God is light and in him is no darkness at all. God is good, and not evil in any sense of the word, nor does he perpetrate evil. For example, it’s wrong to say ‘God gave me this cancer….’ No, cancer, like all disease,... Read more

Q. Let us suppose for a moment that there is a moral structure to the universe God has created, and even perhaps that ‘the arc of history tends towards justice’, though I am less sure of that last idea than the first one. Paul says ‘whatsoever you sow that you shall also reap’. Now what this seems to suggest, as a book like Proverbs intimates is that a lot of this language about divine violence, should actually be seen as... Read more

For those who have not been following the discussions and decisions of the United Methodist Church and think things are still afloat, the outcome of the recent Judicial Council decision should leave little doubt. The Traditional Plan as passed at the special General Conference meeting in February has now been declared constitutional, despite the expectation of many that thought at least some important parts of it would be declared unconstitutional. That did not happen. What that means is that the... Read more