Speaking at a recent conference at Trinity School of Ministry in Ambridge, Pennsylvania, Michael Gorman observed that Paul’s summary of the gospel tradition follows an alternating rhythm: Paul first refers to an event in the gospel account, then cites proof of that event. Jesus died; the proof of His death is that He was buried. Jesus rose; the proof of His resurrection is that He appeared alive to many. Gorman then proceeded to lay out a neat comparison of 1... Read more
Andrew Bacevich argues that we are building a “multi-trillion dollar bridge to nowhere” in the Middle East. Coming to the Presidency as the anti-Bush, Obama will end his Presidency with America in Bushian shape throughout the world: “Like Bush, Obama will bequeath to his successor wars he failed to finish. Less remarked upon, he will also pass along to President Clinton or President Trump new wars that are his own handiwork. In Libya, Somalia, Yemen, and several other violence-wracked African... Read more
The first portion of 1 Chronicles 8 is structured roughly by two sets of five lists of the descendants of Benjamin. The first group lists the names of sons for Benjamin, and then for succeeding generations of Benjamites: 1. Sons of Benjamin, vv. 1-2 2. Sons of Bela, vv. 3-5 3. Sons of Ehud, vv. 6-7 4. Sons of Shaharaim, vv. 8-10 5. Sons of Ethpaal, vv. 12-14 After that set of lists, we have another set of five lists... Read more
The first portion of 1 Chronicles 8 is structured roughly by two sets of five lists of the descendants of Benjamin. The first group lists the names of sons for Benjamin, and then for succeeding generations of Benjamites: 1. Sons of Benjamin, vv. 1-2 2. Sons of Bela, vv. 3-5 3. Sons of Ehud, vv. 6-7 4. Sons of Shaharaim, vv. 8-10 5. Sons of Ethpaal, vv. 12-14 After that set of lists, we have another set of five lists... Read more
Darren Grem’s forthcoming The Blessings of Business is a study of the money men behind mid-20th century Evangelicalism. It’s a revealing book, once one skims off Grem’s premises, which seem to be: Evangelical ministry takes money, wealthy people provide the money. Grem seems to think this a scandal. It’s hard to spot the scandal. Evangelicals were starting colleges and magazines, planning and executing large-scale mission programs, all things that take some capital and cash, and it’s hardly surprising that they... Read more
Rod Dreher summarized several reports that many Muslim refugees have converted to Christianity when they arrived in Europe. Harriet Sherwood at The Guardian reports: “At Trinity church in the Berlin suburb of Steglitz, the congregation has grown from 150 two years ago to almost 700, swollen by Muslim converts, according to Pastor Gottfried Martens. Earlier this year, churches in Berlin and Hamburg reportedly held mass conversions for asylum seekers at municipal swimming pools.” Similar claims have emerged from Austria: “The... Read more
Rod Dreher summarized several reports that many Muslim refugees have converted to Christianity when they arrived in Europe. Harriet Sherwood at The Guardian reports: “At Trinity church in the Berlin suburb of Steglitz, the congregation has grown from 150 two years ago to almost 700, swollen by Muslim converts, according to Pastor Gottfried Martens. Earlier this year, churches in Berlin and Hamburg reportedly held mass conversions for asylum seekers at municipal swimming pools.” Similar claims have emerged from Austria: “The... Read more
Paul the apostle was a Hebrew of the Hebrews from the tribe of Benjamin. That tribal association is significant, introducing a multi-layered typology of apostolic ministry. Paul was originally Saul, the namesake of the first and fallen king of Israel. That a Benjamin Saul would become the leader of the new Israel represents the final redemption of Benjamin. Saul’s son Jonathan, of course, befriended David, and Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth was brought to David’s table. Other Benjamites, though, had a harder... Read more
Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita has an epigraph from Goethe’s Faust, and the novel is full of Faustian elements. Both involve temptation, the Satanic ball that Margarita attends resembles nothing so much as Faust’s Walpurgis night, and the romantic overlay to a story of devilish temptation is common to both. Yet, as Jan Vanhellemont argues, the two diverge, in part because of the different settings in which the devil appears. Mephistopheles comes to a Faust who ceaselessly strives for... Read more
Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita has an epigraph from Goethe’s Faust, and the novel is full of Faustian elements. Both involve temptation, the Satanic ball that Margarita attends resembles nothing so much as Faust’s Walpurgis night, and the romantic overlay to a story of devilish temptation is common to both. Yet, as Jan Vanhellemont argues, the two diverge, in part because of the different settings in which the devil appears. Mephistopheles comes to a Faust who ceaselessly strives for... Read more
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