Ancient worshipers inspected entrails to see if their sacrifices had been accepted. Israel apparently never did so. There was nothing visible to tell them that Yahweh received them. Only His word: “that he may be accepted.” In this as in other ways, sacrifice was a pedagogy in faith and humility before a sovereign Lord. But Jesus is the haruspex of the church in Revelation 2: He examines the kidneys (nephros) and hearts (kardia) of those in Thyatira (2:23). They are... Read more
What do we think with? wonders Craig Keen in After Crucifixion(xii). We think we think with the brain, that “elongated sphere suspended on a thin neck between the brilliant, ethereal blue sky far above to which it is drawn, and the thick, heavy torso with its stabilizing limbs held by the force of gravity to the green, brown earth below.” Hebrews thought differently: “We think, they believed, with our hearts, that organ in the middle of the chest, in the middle of... Read more
Near the end of his The Great Degeneration, Niall Ferguson quotes Geoffrey West’s analysis of the increasing economies of scale that come with urbanization. West argues, “the bigger the city, the more wages you can expect, the more educational institutions in principle, [the] more cultural events, [the] more patents are produced . . . . all to the same degree. . . . If you double the size of a city from 50,000 to a hundred thousand, a million to two... Read more
Near the end of his The Great Degeneration, Niall Ferguson quotes Geoffrey West’s analysis of the increasing economies of scale that come with urbanization. West argues, “the bigger the city, the more wages you can expect, the more educational institutions in principle, [the] more cultural events, [the] more patents are produced . . . . all to the same degree. . . . If you double the size of a city from 50,000 to a hundred thousand, a million to two... Read more
William Broad reports in the New York Timesthat budget cuts in federal science programs have created a crisis in research. Billionaires have stepped into the gap to fund projects that they deem important. This disturbs the scientific establishment,. Steven Edwards of the American Association for the Advancement of Science worries that “science in the 21st century is becoming shaped less by national priorities or by peer-review groups and more by the particular preferences of individuals with huge amounts of money.” Broad... Read more
William Broad reports in the New York Timesthat budget cuts in federal science programs have created a crisis in research. Billionaires have stepped into the gap to fund projects that they deem important. This disturbs the scientific establishment,. Steven Edwards of the American Association for the Advancement of Science worries that “science in the 21st century is becoming shaped less by national priorities or by peer-review groups and more by the particular preferences of individuals with huge amounts of money.” Broad... Read more
Noah Smith thinks that drones are the new gunpowder. Guns and gunpowder revolutionized warfare. A barely trained peasant could take down a proud knight from a distance. Smith argues that the drone is about to replace the gunman. That means an upheaval in warfare. The Age of the Gun, he argues, was also the “age of People Power.” Robots and remove-controlled drones are replacing people. People become obsolete, their guns useless, and the one who rules is the one who controls the... Read more
With cynicism about politics widespread, it’s good to have James Skillen’s seasoned, balanced reminder of The Good of Politics. A few excerpts. At the outset, Skillen questions the common separation of politics and culture: “can political really be distinguished as a realm separate from culture? Isn’t political life one of many dimensions of culture? If there is reason to distinguish the two, is the same thing true of business and commerce, science and education? Are they also distinct from culture?... Read more
Jesus appears with fiery eyes, more specifically with eyes that are “flame(s) of fire” (Gr. hos phlox/phloga puros, 1:15; 2:18). The phrase has Old Testament roots. Moses sees the angel of the Lord en phlogi puros on Sinai (Exodus 3:2; LXX), and in the plague of hail fire is seen flashing (phlogizon) within the hail (Exodus 9:24). Yahweh’s voice splits fire into flame, phloga puros (Psalm 28:7 [29:7]), and Love flashes with puros phloges (Song of Songs 8:6).When Yahweh shows... Read more
Jezebel’s appearance in 1-2 Kings is part of a continuing story of Israel’s relationship with Tyre and Sidon. During the days of David and Solomon, Hiram king of Tyre was an ally of Israel. This is the ideal relationship between Jew and Gentiles, Israel and the nations. Jezebel represents an inversion of that. As I argue in my 1-2 Kings, Ahab is an anti-Solomon, a Solomon without a period of faithfulness. He is the son of a David-like king Omri, builds... Read more
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