Romans 2:1 forms a rather neat chiasm, particularly if we follow the Greek word order: Therefore, you are without excuse O man everyone who judges for in that you judge (KRINO) the other yourself you condemn (KATAKRINO) for the same things you practice one who judges The exchange at the center is quite revealing. The judgment rendered on the other reverses and comes back on the one who is judging. This is, of course, the opposite effect to what the... Read more
Jouette Bassler’s article on “Divine Impartiality in Romans” (NovT, 1984) also includes a neat discussion of the structure of Romans 2:12-29. She points out the sequence of terms as Paul introduces the issues of law (NOMOS) and circumcision (PERITOME). “Law” first becomes an issue in v 12, in the negative form “without law” (ANOMOS), then Paul discusses the condition of Jew and Gentile with respect to the NOMOS. In verse 25, the binary of NOMOS/ANOMOS is overtaken by another binary... Read more
Thinking is an odd sort of enterprise. It is spaceless, yet it has certain features of spatiality. For instance: I puzzle over an issue for weeks, making virtually no progress, and then read a billboard or see a preview on a video I’ve rented, and suddenly things fall into place. I feel as if I’ve reached a peak, and can see the valley and horizon beyond that has been hidden from me. All of a sudden, things move pretty rapidly,... Read more
In many respects, the issues in the current “Auburn Avenue” debate are not at all new to the Reformed world. There have been differences concerning sacramental efficacy, apostasy, antinomian/neonomianism, and other related issues. What reasons do we have to hope that this time things will be more fully resolved this time around? The main one I see is this: The Auburn Avenue debate comes at a time of larger cultural transition. However much postmodernism is in continuity with modernism (and... Read more
Perhaps Sigurd, like Orestes, marks the beginning of a new order. Before Sigurd, the only absolute loyalties in the world of the Volsungs were family loyalties, loyalties of blood. Signy has no loyalty to her husband and encourages Sigmund to kill her sons. But Sigurd seems as loyal to his wife and his love for Brunhyld. Maybe. Also, note the analogies between the Danish prince Hamlet and the Volsungs: Each Volsung hero begins his heroic life by avenging his father’s... Read more
Perhaps Sigurd, like Orestes, marks the beginning of a new order. Before Sigurd, the only absolute loyalties in the world of the Volsungs were family loyalties, loyalties of blood. Signy has no loyalty to her husband and encourages Sigmund to kill her sons. But Sigurd seems as loyal to his wife and his love for Brunhyld. Maybe. Also, note the analogies between the Danish prince Hamlet and the Volsungs: Each Volsung hero begins his heroic life by avenging his father’s... Read more
In Italy, there is a raging debate over a judge’s ruling that crucifixes need to be removed from schools. Seems that Europe, where religion (or religions) is still often a part of government education and where state churches still exist, is beginning to play catch up with American secularism. Read more
In the introduction to his translation of the Volsung Saga, Jesse Byock points out that the scene of Sigurd slaying the dragon was employed on numerous churches throughout Scandinavian countries. The Christological dimensions of a dragon-slayer are obvious, but there is even more going on with Sigurd: He not only kills the dragon and gains the treasure, but also, by eating the heart of the dragon, is able to understand bird speech. In short, he becomes something more than a... Read more
In an essay on “The Hermeneutics of Difference” in a volume edited by Merold Westphal, Garrett Green offers this helpful summary of Derrida’s conception of supplement: “The fundamental hermeneutical situation in which we all find ourselves as users of signs, which Derrida indicates by the word DIFFERANCE, means that no text can ever be complete or self-sufficient, which in turn implies that every text stands in need of a supplement. For a supplement expresses what CANNOT be said in the... Read more
From Dr. Johnson’s dictionary, a definition of “Oats”: “A grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people.” Read more
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