Bill Cavanaugh has argued that the early modern “wars of religion” were not really conflicts about religion but rather conflicts that created the modern notion of religion. Something similar can be said about the war between Scripture and science in the early modern period. In fact, these were both the same war, a war to corral religion and keep it safe. Arguing with Thomas Kuhn, Richard Rorty offers this account: “The crucial consideration is whether we know how to draw... Read more
Wim JC Weren proposes a “macrostructure” for Matthew in a 2006 article in Biblica. His scheme is not convincing, but along the way he makes some helpful observations. 1) He suggests that there’s a topographical thread running through the gospel, marked by various recurrent refrains. From the beginning of the gospel to 15:21, the verb ANAXOREO is used in some 8 passages to describe “leaving” or “withdrawal,” in several cases the withdrawal of Jesus (12:15; 14:13; 15:21). In chapter 16,... Read more
Christina Hoff Sommers and Sally Satel, One Nation Under Therapy: How the Helping Culture is Eroding Self-Reliance . New York: St. Martin’s, 2005. 310 pp. PE classes are dangerous places. Dodge ball might leave nasty bruises, and, worse, the frustrations of competition and failure permanently destroy a kid’s psyche. Non-competitive activities like juggling or learning to use a wheel-chair are possible alternatives, but anyone who’s tried juggling knows how psychologically destructive that can be. One expert helpfully suggests juggling silk... Read more
Jeffrey Geoghegan examines the OT events that take place during sheep-shearing festivals in an article in Biblica . He tries to discern the common themes in the four passages set during sheep-shearing: Gen 31, 38; 1 Sam 25; 2 Sam 13. He argues that sheep-shearing was a “significant celebration, characterized by feasting, drunkenness and the settling of old scores.” It thus serves as an “ideal backdrop” for the Davidic dynasty; David and Absalom both “took advantage of sheephearing” to settle... Read more
When Jesus promises to send the Spirit, he describes the Spirit as the “Paraclete.” This word is often translated as “Comforter,” but the Greek word has a legal connotation and is actually closer to “Advocate” or even “Defense Attorney.” A Paraclete doesn’t “soothe” so much as “defend.” That’s a good thing, because everyone who receives the Spirit in Scripture needs a good bit of defending. The Spirit clothes judges like Gideon and Samson so they can slaughter Midianites and Philistines.... Read more
1 Samuel 16:2-3: But Samuel said, How can I go? When Saul hears of it, he will kill me. And the Lord said, Take a heifer with you, and say, I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. And you shall invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for Me the one whom I designate to you. In context, this is something of a ruse. Samuel uses the sacrifice... Read more
Samuel anointed David with oil to designate him as the crown-prince, the successor of Saul. But why oil? Oil is food. It is one of the main ingredients of bread in Scripture, and a food in its own right. With grapes and grain, oil is one of the main products of the promised land. Oil is the fat of the land. By his anointing, David is designated as the one who will lead Israel from Philistine threat to a land... Read more
Walter Burkert has spent a good bit of his life tracing Greek art, mythology, language, and social practices to ANE origins. In his 2004 Babylon, Memphis, Persepolis he analyzes the passage from the Iliad where Hera deceptively tells Zeus she is going to Oceanus, whom she calls “origin of the gods,” and to Tethys, the “mother.” The references are known from Hesiod, but this kind of cosmology is unparalleled in Homer. Burkert suggests that Hera’s speech finds a close parallel... Read more
Was Augustine, as Charles Taylor and others have said, the inventor of Western interiority? Perhaps, but only because Augustine was misread. Matthew Maguire offers this summary of the the effects of Arnauld d’Andilly’s 1649 French translation of Augustine’s Confessions: “Although d’Andilly faithfully renders memory’s opening unto the infinite – and thus its power remaining beyond human comprehension – his translation reveals a persistent tendency to endow memory and nature with a comprehensible order and to make memory a more purely... Read more
It’s an old story now, but I just came across it. In a 2002 editorial on the paedophilia/homosexuality crisis in the Catholic church, Charles Krauthammer recounted a story about a priest in Hobart, Australia. Many years ago, a rapist entered the church hoping for protection from the authorities. When the priest heard his story, he knocked the rapist out with a punch to the nose and then called the cops. I think that’s how cities of refuge were supposed to... Read more
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