According to most ancient myths, the origin of the creation is violent violent. It must be so. Reality as we know it is in constant motion, a realm of constant change. But antique religions are quests for a place of stability. To get to that “rock of ages,” change has to be arrested. The living world has to be killed. Time has to die if there is going to be fixity. Chronos has to die if Zeus is going to... Read more
In his outline of theology proper in Christian Dogmatics, Volume 1 , Jenson describes the “usual god” of ancient religion: “The usual God, whose eternity is persistence of the beginning, has as his very honor among us that in him we are secure against the threats of the future. Ancient imperial peoples poignantly experienced the fragility of their achievement . . . . (more…) Read more
In their classic study of The Cuisine of Sacrifice Among the Greeks (13), Detienne and Vernant describe how the distribution of meat from a sacrificed animal traces the boundaries and ranks of a social order: “The commensal meal begins with division. Two systems seem to compete, both in the carving of the meat and its distribution. The first is centered on privilege, the geras, the meat privilege. The choice pieces – thigh, hindquarter, shoulder, and tongue – are given to... Read more
When an Athenian father introduced his child to the phratry, the child had to go through a purification rite. In various occasions, places also had to be purified. Robert Parker describes the purification rites ( On Greek Religion (Cornell Studies in Classical Philology) , 158-9): “Purification was performed with the blood of a small animal, a piglet, lamb, or puppy (or occasionally a bird). To purify a place such as a temple or the Athenian assembly, the bleeding corpse of... Read more
Romans 12:20: If you enemy is hungry, feed him, if he is thirsty, give him a drink. For in so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head. As Pastor Appel has pointed out this morning, food and feasting are weapons of God’s kingdom. Jesus undermines Pharisaical boundary markers by eating and drinking with prostitutes and sinners. He battles the evils of the Jews and forms a new table fellowship from the rejects of Jewish society. Building on Jesus’... Read more
After further delays and snags, this week we received the deed to our new building. Soon we will mark this milestone ritually by publicly immersing Dr Atwood in Gatorade. As we have said and will continue to say, this is a tremendous gift from God, and we should be very thankful for it. In Scripture, thankfulness is not merely a feeling. It is not merely a verbal “Thank you.” We show thankfulness for the Lord’s gifts by using them faithfully... Read more
The Bride moves from speaking of Dodi as an “apple tree” with delightful fruit and shade to entering Dodi’s “house of wine.” The “house of wine” is a variation of the image of the tree. The apple tree is a place of fruit and shade, a house of fruit. The house of wine is a glorified tree: A tree is transformed into a house, and the fruit of a plant is transformed into wine. The house of wine is a... Read more
Some reflection on preachers and preaching today at http://www.firstthings.com/ this morning. Read more
The word “shade” is first used in Genesis 19:8, where Lot says that the angels have come under the “shadow” of his roof. The shadow of Yahweh’s wings welcomes, protects, cools those who draw near to his house. To come into shade is to come out of the sun, out of danger, into protection, into hospitality. And then the Bride says that Dodi is like a shady apple tree where she can sit and rest (SoS 2:3). Dodi is her... Read more
The opening statement of Song of Songs 2 is spoken by the Bride, but the Bridegroom chimes in with an enhancement. This is the liturgical structure of conversation, and of life, and of love. When Adam named the animals, he found no one to share in His priestly task in the garden-sanctuary of God. He is not looking first of all for a sexual partner, or even a friend, but for a liturgical partner. He needs someone who will speak... Read more
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