David Nye points to the fact that experiences of the sublime are not confined to the grand vistas of nature, but are also found in technological and urban civilization. “A city sounds much different at the top of a skyscraper than on the streets below. The wind makes on feel more vulnerable out on the open span of a long bridge. The steam locomotive shook the ground and filled the air with an alien smell of steam, smoke, and sparks;... Read more
Arnold Pacey argues that the meaning of a particular technology or skill depends not only on conformity with rules but on sensation and on social meaning. For instance, “A cook who does not enjoy the colors, textures, and scents of food in different stages of preparation never becomes skilled at the job. But the cook is also motivated by awareness of the social purpose and context of the meals he or she prepares. Similarly, inventors, engineers, and artisans may have... Read more
Grant poses some challenging questions for those who argue that technology is neutral in the sense that it does not impose on us how it should be used. He points to the automobile: Weren’t we free to use it in any old way, or refuse? Grant finds that kind of naivete delusional, and characteristically modern, in the sense that it assumes the utter freedom of the human will. He applies a similar line of thinking to the computer: “‘The computer... Read more
George Grant argued that “Modern technology is not simply an extension of human making through the power of a perfected science, but a new account of what it is to know and to make in which both activities are changed by their co-penetration. We hide the difficulty of thinking that novelty, because in our implied ‘histories’ it is assumed that we can understand the novelty only from within its own account of knowing, which has itself become a kind of... Read more
John describes the Father as the “I am” but gives that Hebrew name a twist (Revelation 1:3). God is not the timelessly present One, but the one who is now and always, but who also was and who will be. In John’s rendering, “Yahweh” encompasses and identifies Himself with present, past and future. But as the God of the future, He is not waiting quietly for us to catch up with Him. As John describes it, the God of the... Read more
In a revealing article tracing the Domitianic date of Revelation back to JB Lightfoot (who, ironically, agreed with the 19th-century consensus that the book was written before 70), Christian Wilson notes that confidence in a date in the 90s increased after the first generation of English commentators adopted it at the beginning of the 20th century (Charles, Swete, Beckwith especially). Wilson observes: “Confidence could still be seen in a commentary such as that of G.R. Beasley-Murray in 1974, who argues... Read more
Adela Yabro Collins ( Biblical Research , 1981) notes that the identification of Rome as “Babylon” was not the only or the most obvious identification available to John. It appears in Jewish writing in 4 Ezra, the Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch, and the fifth book of the Sibylline Oracles. Collins notes, “In each case where it occurs in these three works, the context makes it abundantly clear why the name Babylon was chosen. Rome is called Babylon because her forces,... Read more
In a 2000 article in CBQ , Francois Bovon applies French literary critical studies of autobiography to the self-presentation of John in Revealtion. He points out that John’s self-identification in Revelation 1:9-10 tells us nothing about John’s distant past, age, education, or future. “The narrator is a person of the present and a person of a recent and narrowly defined past.” This makes John’s identification an example of what French critics have called a “low degree homodiégétique” narrative. Here, the... Read more
In a 2000 article in CBQ , Francois Bovon applies French literary critical studies of autobiography to the self-presentation of John in Revealtion. He points out that John’s self-identification in Revelation 1:9-10 tells us nothing about John’s distant past, age, education, or future. “The narrator is a person of the present and a person of a recent and narrowly defined past.” This makes John’s identification an example of what French critics have called a “low degree homodiégétique” narrative. Here, the... Read more
In an older article in CBQ , Elisabeth Fiorenza argues from Revelation 1:5f and 5:9f that “the author of the Apoc conceives of redemption and salvation in political-social categories and that he underlines the significance of the eschatological reservation for the sake of preventing salvation from becoming an illusion.” The two passages share a number of themes. Both are triadically structured, both refer to the work of Christ (His “love” and His being “slain” respectively), both combine priest and king.... Read more
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