Jean-Pierre Torrel writes of Thomas: “The Eastern Christians like to say of theology that it is doxology; Thomas would add some further clarifications to that, but he would not reject the intention: the joy of the Friend who is contemplated is completed in song.” Read more
I am convinced by N. T. Wright and others that Jesus is not attacking the temple for financial impropriety. At the same time, economic abuses are certainly part of the evil that Jesus condemns. Jesus final scenes in the temple in Mark are framed by His condemnation of the temple as a “den of brigands” (11:17) and the widow putting her two coins in the temple treasury (12:41-44). Jesus leaves the temple in 13:1, never to return, and describes its... Read more
The following is drawn largely from David Garland’s commentary on Mark. Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem changes everything in His ministry. He has been moving about in secret, teaching in private, refusing to draw attention to Himself, speaking in coded parables. He cleanses a leper but then sternly warns him, “See that you say nothing to anyone” (1:44). He raises a little girl from the dead, but then “gave them strict orders that no one should know about this” (5:43). He... Read more
Mark 11:9-10: Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “ Hosanna! ‘ Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” As Jesus arrives in Jerusalem, the crowds acclaim Him as the Davidic king, come to claim his throne in the name of the Lord. Jesus arrives with an entourage that precedes and... Read more
The story of Palm Sunday is oddly anticlimatic. Jesus enters Jerusalem surrounded by an enthusiastic crowd that acclaims Him as the Son of David. We expect something to happen. Jesus will perform some stunning miracle that will finally convince His enemies. He will defeat them in debate and they will slink back to the holes they came from. He will take over the temple and turn it into a house of prayer for all nations. Instead, He enters the temple,... Read more
A reader, Dan Glover, responds to my comments about Milbank’s take on the faith-seeking-understanding motto. He’s more correcting my presentation of Milbank than Milbank himself: ” I think that . . . he is wrong to say that ‘this is fundamentally an eschatological rather than an epistemological point.’ I think he is pulling an either/or distinction when it ought to be seen as within the realms of both/and. In the same way that he is rejecting the dualism in the... Read more
Brink Lindsey of the CATO Institute writes in the March 12 TNR that the key to success is, surprise, hard work and parental involvement. A couple of quotations: A study led by Florida State psychologist Anders Ericsson found that a “common denominator” in their study of top performers in various fields: “practice. Chess grandmasters, concert pianists, and other superstars are distinguished from less-accomplished performers by two main things: starting their chosen fields earlier in life, and logging more hours per... Read more
In an article in Religion Compass , David Janzen challenges Milgrom’s understanding of sacrifice as “purgation” and his claims about the effects of sacrifice. Rather than purging, sacrifice emphasizes Yahweh’s difference from Israel, the requirement of Israel’s obedience, and the consequences of her failure to obey. He concludes: “But the sacrificial rendering unto God what is God’s is . . . a public demonstration of Israel’s feudal relationship to the divine. In P’s narrative, sacrifice is largely about distinction and... Read more
In his NIV Application commentary on Mark, David Garland interprets Jesus’ statement about the temple as a “house of prayer for all nations” as a condemnation of the separation of Gentiles in the temple: “During his entire ministry Jesus has been gathering in the impure outcasts and the physically maimed, and has even reached out to the Gentiles. He expects the temple to embody this inclusive love. The various purity barriers in the temple, however, have been preventing that. Gentiles... Read more
In the introduction to his contribution to the Oxford History of the United States ( What Hath God Wrought , 2007), Daniel Walker Howe quotes an 1850 Methodist women’s magazine’s ecstasies over the telegraph: “This noble invention is to be the means of extending civilization, republicanism, and Christianity over the earth. It must and will be extended to nations half-civilized, and thence to those now savage and barbarous. Our government will be the grand center of this might influence .... Read more
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