Martin Luther (1483-1546) that Augustinian monk who had an epiphany and began the Protestant movement quite unintentionally, of course deserves close attention. While Luther did indeed say some strong things about the problems with allegorical exegesis, and used it less and less as he got older and older. He did not, however, entirely abandon this approach. He never sets forth a programmatic rejection of the medieval tradition he inherited, in particular from Augustine himself. Luther recognized the difference between parable/simile... Read more

If you need a feel good movie to get you out of the winter doldrums, this movie is just the ticket. Complete with 80s synthesizer music (including of course Van Halen’s ‘Jump’ and Hall and Oates ‘You Make My Dreams Come True’) and an 80s Olympic Games (88 in Calgary), this movie is a ride back in time that may leave you cheering. And indeed, it is based on a true story about overcoming great odds. It also illustrates the... Read more

Nicholas of Lyra (ca. 1270-1349 A.D.) has sometimes been accused of being as pale imitator of Thomas Aquinas, which is not exactly fair. He does argue with Thomas that “words always signify things, but in scripture the things signified by the words [e.g. Is. 7.14] signify other things” as well.” The literal or historical sense of the text is obtained by understanding the first signification, the spiritual sense is acquired by understand the second ‘level’ of signification—things signifying things other... Read more

The influence of Thomas Aquinas (ca. 1225-74 A.D.) compared to some of these earlier church fathers, not including Augustine, can hardly be over-estimated. I recently went to a Christology Conference at the Dominican Centre at Catholic University in D.C. to present a paper. To my amazement, most of what went on was interpreting Christology through the lens of Thomist theology. Thomas Aquinas is alive and well in this nation’s capital. As profound a theologian as Aquinas was, it is interesting,... Read more

Gary Hoag continues—— Texts like 1 Tim 2:9-15 reveal that social and cultural expectations linked to the decorum and deeds of women in God’s house must change dramatically (see chapter three of my BBRS volume). Ephesiaca was instrumental in helping me suggest that the prohibited hairstyle may point to the coiffure that all young ladies were expected to wear to exhibit their piety to the goddess Artemis. This hairstyle was coupled with sumptuous adornment in Ephesiaca revealing that the counter-cultural... Read more

Q2.BEN: From the outset of your study, you seem concerned to take the old Dibelius and Conzelmann claim about the supposed ‘bourgeois ethics’ of the Pastoral Epistles to task. They seem to have assumed the ethics in the Pastorals were at odds with the eschatological ethics of other parts of the NT, and reflected a capitulation to or accommodation with the cultural norms of the day. By contrast, you suggest that the Pastorals reflect something of a counter-cultural ethic. In... Read more

On Valentine’s weekend we were privileged to be invited to come see American Pharoah at Ashford Stud, in Versailles. The ole boy has put on 120 lbs. since he won the Breeder’s Cup and looks good. As of Valentine’s Day he is officially out to stud, price tag $200,000 a pop. Here are some of our best shots of the 2015 athlete of the year, who won both the Breeder’s Cup and the Triple Crown— never done before, and he’s... Read more

THE ALCOVE A niche, A hideaway A retreat A sanctuary For prayer Communion Contact Reunion Like the horns on the altar Like the hem of his robe Like the songs in the psalter Like his hand on the globe Like a vault for safekeeping Like a treasury found Like a library of answers Like a truth that’s profound One God One sinner One entreaty One answer Forgiveness For peace For wisdom Release A secret space A closet A meeting place... Read more

In working on the Hebrew text of Isaiah, for my forthcoming book, Isaiah Old and New one of the things that has certainly struck me is how often bad theology happens as a result of a mistranslation or misreading of a translation of a text, usually an OT text. One excellent example of this is what happens sometimes with Isaiah 45.7. Vs. 7 has sometimes, mistakenly been taken to mean that Yahweh is the author of everything, good and evil... Read more

There are many things that one could put on the desideratum list when it comes to swords and sandals cinematic epics involving the story of Jesus. At the top of the list would be— ‘Please dear God, let them get the story right this time’. Despite some reviews already out, it is not entirely correct to say ‘they got the story right this time’. For one thing they indulged the medieval legend that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. Nope. To... Read more