We ask this question: If it is the case that American military personnel tortured those in GTMO, and this piece from The Washington Post shows that torture occurred, what can we do? To whom do we write? The Obama Administration will be challenged both to acknowledge such cases and respond to the justice issues. The top Bush administration official in charge of deciding whether to bring Guantanamo Bay detainees to trial has concluded that the U.S. military tortured a Saudi... Read more
Take your lunch break with us today and contemplate the meaning of the word gospel. If Ephesians emphasized the word “peace,” Philippians emphasizes “Christ.” These are not alternatives but different ways of saying the same thing: the “peace” of Ephesians is the union of Jews and Gentiles in Christ and the “Christ” of Philippians is the one who brings both Gentiles and Jews into fellowship. Another text in Philippians is found at 1:27: 27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner... Read more
Karl Giberson in his recent book Saving Darwin: How to Be a Christian and Believe in Evolution has devoted several chapters to discussion of Darwin’s dark companions and to the history that has led to the culture war we find today. This discussion is particularly relevant in light of Ben Stein’s recent exposé Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. Stein has crafted a film that connects Darwinian evolution by natural selection with elitism, eugenics, soviet militarism, and Hitler’s concentration camps – sometimes... Read more
George Eliot was Mary Ann Evans (1819-1880), and a famous novelist. She is the subject of David Hempton’s first study in how artists struggle with the evangelical faith ( Evangelical Disenchantment: Nine Portraits of Faith and Doubt ). Eliot’s most famous novels were Adam Bede, Silas Marner, and MIddlemarch. Hempton focuses on two major writing events in Eliot’s career, one of which is considered “one of the finest pieces of polemical prose in the English language” and is called “Evangelical... Read more
Just saw this … what do you think? Any responses? Forget about cutting back on cable and pricey cappuccinos. For some couples, a shaky economy means putting plans to grow or start a family on hold. The economy is a leading source of worry for many Americans, with 80 percent saying they feel stress about their personal finances, according to an annual survey released recently by the American Psychological Association. With rising job cuts and home foreclosures, many financially crunched... Read more
Our next two references to “gospel” in Philippians are found at 1:12 and 1:16. Here they are in context: 12 Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. 13 As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 14 Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word... Read more
I have a number of favorite Jewish writers, including may favorite essayist Joseph Epstein. When it comes to the depths of spirituality, very few plumb the depths in their own way like Abraham Joshua Heschel and his two-volume set The Prophets has no rival. As a seminary student I was stunned into thoughts and ponderings by the philosopher Martin Buber by reading I and Thou. Biblical specialists all know of Michael Fishbane’s unsurpassable Biblical Interpretation in Ancient Israel, a landmark... Read more
Are there any good reasons, and what might they be, for a 55 year old like me to begin watching 24? What is the big idea of 24? What are your favorite features of 24? What kinds of conversations does 24 create for you? Read more
Victor Davis Hanson, a philosopher of international relations from a neoconservative viewpoints, queries if the optimism about Obama and international relations is more hooplah and than reality. Here is an excerpt of his piece: There is great hope that President-elect Obama will change the course of U.S. foreign policy, create far greater goodwill toward America, and thereby ease world tensions. Such optimism is not based on former Sen. Obama’s foreign-policy experience. In essence, he has none. Nor does improvement hinge... Read more
Of the prison epistles Paul writes, Philippians has the most references to “gospel.” It is one of the central themes that hold this letter together. 1:3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until... Read more
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