Joel Green at ETS challenged historical-critical scholarship on the basis that the community addressed originally by Scripture is the same as the community now addressed by Scripture. We can distinguish between what it meant and what it means, but even when we do that, Green said, “we are not reading someone else’s mail.” Read more
I believe I first ran across Victor Zuckerkandl’s name in some of Colin Gunton’s work, and Jeremy Begbie makes significant use of Zuckerkandl in his book on theology and music. I’ve posted on Zuckerkandl before, but having now had a chance to read more of his book, Sound and Symbol , I’m all the more impressed with what he is doing. Essentially, he is challenging a host of basic modern philosophical and theological notions through a close analysis of the... Read more
Exhortation for November 16: We often read Scripture with far too little attention. At times, the stories are so familiar that they just glide past us without our really hearing what is said or read. At other times, the stories are so bizarre that we have a hard time beginning to grasp what is going on. At still other times, Scripture appears to be little more than a grab-bag of randomly organized events. But we must read with attention, and... Read more
Communion meditation for November 16: At one point in our sermon text, Jesus is asked about how many people are being saved, and Jesus immediately begins to speak about doors being closed. It’s clear from what follows that the doors are the doors of a banquet hall, and that Jesus is talking about guests being admitted and refused. Now, we might want to say, Jesus, you’ve missed the question. We asked you about salvation, and you start talking about a... Read more
I’m not sure that I made my point clear in an earlier post about “justified” in Rom 2:13: I was hinting and gesturing toward the conclusion that “justified” here must include the notion of “rescue,” and not merely a judicial sentence. Because “justified” is structurally opposed to “perish,” it must include the notion of “rescue from death.” That is forensic because it involves God passing judgment in favor of the one who does the Torah. But it is more than... Read more
I’m not sure that I made my point clear in an earlier post about “justified” in Rom 2:13: I was hinting and gesturing toward the conclusion that “justified” here must include the notion of “rescue,” and not merely a judicial sentence. Because “justified” is structurally opposed to “perish,” it must include the notion of “rescue from death.” That is forensic because it involves God passing judgment in favor of the one who does the Torah. But it is more than... Read more
“Day of wrath” in Romans 2:5: This is universally (so far as I know) taken as a reference to the final day of judgment. But a) is there any other passage in Scripture that uses this phrase to refer to the final judgment? and b) is the final day of judgment accurately described as a “day of wrath”? I am not denying a final judgment; that is taught in Revelation 20:11-15, a description of a post-millennial judgment. But this is... Read more
“Day of wrath” in Romans 2:5: This is universally (so far as I know) taken as a reference to the final day of judgment. But a) is there any other passage in Scripture that uses this phrase to refer to the final judgment? and b) is the final day of judgment accurately described as a “day of wrath”? I am not denying a final judgment; that is taught in Revelation 20:11-15, a description of a post-millennial judgment. But this is... Read more
There’s a pretty devastating review of A.S. Byatt’s latest novel in the current issue of The New Republic . I’ve not kept pace with Byatt since I read Possession years ago, but I remember being impressed with Byatt’s erudition and range as a writer. The TNR reviewer, though, suggests that Byatt uses erudition and a trendy post-modern pastische of styles to mask the fact that she’s got no characters and no real plots. He charges that she is not really... Read more
Strive to Enter, Luke 12:54-13:35 INTRODUCTION Jesus said that blasphemy against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but that blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven (Luke 12:10). The contrast has to do with different periods of Jesus’ work. He came as “Son of Man,” warning the Jews that their time is nearly expired; but the Jews will be given one more chance, when God sends Spirit-filled apostles and prophets (11:49-51; cf. Acts). The door of opportunity for... Read more
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