Barth argues that the Third Article of the Creed had to be finished before the church could truly wrestle with the doctrine of grace: ?It is logical that this doctrine [of the Spirit] had to be the last stage in the development of the trinitarian dogma. It had to be reached before the doctrine of grace, which then became the distinctive theme of the Western Church, could become a problem, before the struggle and victory of Augustine over Pelatius could... Read more
1 Kings 15-16 are a schoolboy’s nightmare. A king rises, a king reigns, a king sins, a king dies. Then his son rises, his son reigns, his son sins, and his son dies. And so on and on, indistinguishable kings with nearly indistinguishable reigns. Baasha’s dynasty repeats Jeroboam’s. And it’s all written in the repetitive style of an incantation. We learn that kings battled, but never see the battle; learn that they sinned, but never have our lurid imaginations satisfied... Read more
Adherents to some form of the New Perspective on Paul are notorious for saying that the Catholic opponents of the Reformers were significantly different from the Jewish opponents of Paul, and that the issues Paul dealt with were not those of the Protestant Reformation. Reformers, on this view, addressed works righteousness, while Paul dealt with Jew-Gentile issues and the sin of Jewish exclusivism and national pride. Suppose the NPP is right about Paul’s obsessions. If so, perhaps a “new perspective... Read more
Russ McDonald has this shrewd comment about the combination of slapstick comedy and satisfied resolution in MSND : “Even as we anticipate a happy ending, we take pleasure in watching shenanigans, pretension, and the well-aimed custard pie. This tension amounts to a contest between the end and the middle: The resolution provokes the laughter of satisfaction; the comic conflict, the laughter of scorn.” This, I think, is a wonderful way to describe the difference between the old comedy of Aristophanes... Read more
Marjorie Garber on Midsummer Night?s Dream . 1) She begins by explaining the various connections between MSND and Romeo & Juliet , suggesting that MSND is a comic version of R&J . In both, an authority figure stands between the lovers; in both they seek satisfaction by escape; in both, the disobedient girl is threatened with confinement to a nunnery; and both employ similar images of night/day, the nightingale and the lark. This point is strengthened all the more by... Read more
Marjorie Garber on Midsummer Night?s Dream . 1) She begins by explaining the various connections between MSND and Romeo & Juliet , suggesting that MSND is a comic version of R&J . In both, an authority figure stands between the lovers; in both they seek satisfaction by escape; in both, the disobedient girl is threatened with confinement to a nunnery; and both employ similar images of night/day, the nightingale and the lark. This point is strengthened all the more by... Read more
Leave it to Barth to cut through a lot of confusion and clarify the theological necessity for an eschatological conception of salvation: “The New Testament speaks eschatologically when it speaks of man’s being called, reconciled, justified, sanctified and redeemed. In speaking thus it speaks really and properly. One has to realise that God is the measure of all that is real and proper, that eternity comes first and then time, and therefore the future comes first and then the present,... Read more
Now in the 18th year to king Yarav?am, son of Nebat Reigned-as-king ?Aviyyam over Yehudah. Three years he reigned-as-king in Yerushalaim Now the name of his mother [was] Ma?akah daughter of Aviyshalom. And he walked in all the sins of his father which he did before him. But his heart was not complete with Yahweh his God as the heart of David his father. For on account of David gave Yahweh his go to him a lamp in Yerushalaim To... Read more
INTRODUCTION Judah?s beginning is no better than Israel?s, but for David?s sake Yahweh keeps a light lit in Jerusalem (15:4) and sends a reforming king to turn back the evils of Rehoboam. Meanwhile, Israel dissolves into political chaos, and becomes a veritable Africa of revolving door regimes, conspiracy, and assassination. THE TEXT ?In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam the son of Nebat, Abijam became king over Judah. He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother?s name was Maachah the... Read more
Below are some notes for an introductory lecture on Christology. INTRODUCTION Christology is frequently divided into two sections, the first dealing with the person of Christ and the second dealing with the work of Christ. That division is far from sharp; Jesus?Ework depends on Jesus?Eidentity. But I will accept this division for the moment to simplify the presentation. Later, I hope to complexify things again. In this lecture, I’ll concentrate on the Person of Christ. PERSON OF CHRIST There are... Read more
Leithart
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