Isaiah begins with the charge that Yahweh’s “sons,” the people of Judah, have “rebelled” against Him. The word is frequently used of political insurrection (1 Kings 12:19; 2 Kings 1:1; 3:5, 7; 8:20). Judah has become a nation of insurrectionists against her divine King. Isaiah ends on the same note, with a vision of what will happen to the insurrectionists in Judah. The very last verse tells us that all flesh will “go forth and look on the corpses of... Read more
Isaiah opens his prophecy with a call to heaven and earth to bear witness as Yahweh presents His case against Israel (1:2). Heaven is called to “hear” and earth to “give ear,” a testimony of two witnesses. The same words in different combinations are found at the beginning of the song of Moses in Deuteronomy 32. Moses calls on the heavens to “give ear” and the earth to “hear.” The parallels at the beginning set up one template for the... Read more
Ruth Benedict gave classic formulation to the contrast of shame and guilt cultures: “True shame cultures rely on external sanctions for good behavior, not, as true guilt cultures do, on an internalized conviction of sin. Shame is a reaction to other people’s criticism. A man is shamed either by being openly ridiculed and rejected or by fantasying to himself that he has been made ridiculous. In either case it is a potent sanction. But it requires an audience or at... Read more
In the Greek honor system, men prove themselves honorable and virtuous by defending women. Explaining Achilles’ reaction to Agamemnon, Peter Walcot writes that “The law of reciprocity applies: when insulted or injured the man of honour must retaliate in at least equal measure if his personal prestige is to be upheld, and the man of honour is at his most sensitive when a woman from within the family group is in any way threatened. Athenian law, for example, regarded homicide... Read more
As you’ll notice on the right of the page, my survey of the gospels, a sequel of sorts to House for My Name , will be available in November. You can check out the Amazon page by clicking on the cover icon. Read more
Gregory ( Against Eunomius , 3.3) insists that only a Trinitarian theology can truly affirm the goodness of God. He assumes the Scriptural titles for the Son – light, truth, life, glory – and asks whether the Father could ever have been without these goods. If He was once without the Son, then He was once without these goods. God is good because God is Triune. What is God? he asks. And he answers: “Well, God is a Father. It follows that... Read more
Gregory of Nyssa ( Against Eunomius , 1.15) attacks the notion that the Father has priority in time, and therefore in being, to the Son and Spirit. Of course, Gregory eventually says that intervals of time have no application to God’s life, but before that he challenges the notion that temporal priority implies superiority in being. Being doesn’t leak out as time passes. The dead don’t have any more claim to being than the living. Gregory puts it this way:... Read more
Evelyn Waugh’s Helena (Loyola Classics) doesn’t get Constantine quite right, but he has some very sharp observations on other fourth-century personalities and events. His description of the effect of Constantine’s conversion on Lactantius captures the euphoria of the moment: “in that unique springtide there was no escape from change, not even in Treves, most polite of cities, not even for Helena, most excluded of women. The huge boredom, which from its dead center in Diocletian’s heart had saddened and demented... Read more
Evelyn Waugh’s Helena (Loyola Classics) doesn’t get Constantine quite right, but he has some very sharp observations on other fourth-century personalities and events. His description of the effect of Constantine’s conversion on Lactantius captures the euphoria of the moment: “in that unique springtide there was no escape from change, not even in Treves, most polite of cities, not even for Helena, most excluded of women. The huge boredom, which from its dead center in Diocletian’s heart had saddened and demented... Read more
In the first volume of Jenson and Braaten’s Christian Dogmatics 2 Vol Set , Jenson highlights five features of Hellenistic religion, which he says also characterizes Greek philosophy. Of course, for Jenson, the central issue is time. First, the crucial question is, “Can it be that all things pass?” The myths (Hesiod) told of Chronos devouring his children, but the myths told of the overthrow of Chronos by later gods, ultimately by Zeus who establishes justice, order, fixity. “Their religion... Read more
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