Theology and language are inseparable. Theology is speech about God, and this speech is linguistic and therefore culturally defined. Languages, particularly those of civilizations with imperial and colonial histories, are the words of the most affluent and well-to-do. (This is why words like ‘suwanne’ and ‘purdy’ are not found in the OED). Words of conquered civilizations were often lost and replaced with cognates from the conquering language. Therefore, when humanity speaks about God, even in the...
Why is Abraham called a friend of God? Here are some ideas: Isaiah says it, and James says that “doing good” has something to do with it. (Isa. 41:8; Jas. 2:23) Augustine describes friendship as a “sharing of the counsels of the heart.” (Edward C. Sellner Like a Kindling Fire: Meanings of Friendship in the Life and Writings of St Augustine. Spirituality Today, Autumn 1991, Vol. 43, No. 3, pp. 240-257.) God asks, rhetorically, “Shall I hide from...
Reading scripture has deadly implications. “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” Hebrews 4:12-13 When we bear witness to truth and justice,...
In the Qumran text Rule of the Community it states, “They shall be judged by the first judgements in which the men of the Community began to be instructed, until the coming of the prophet and the Messiahs of Aaron and Israel” (1QS 9.10–11).1 We have here “the locus classicus for Qumran messianism.”2 Although this passage appears to be absent in the fragments of 4Q MS E (4Q259), it is nevertheless indicative of Qumran beliefs...
The Root Issue: Failure to Listen In my previous blog post, The Art of Listening, I discussed the important and wise lesson behind one of my favorite biblical versus—Proverbs 18:13: “He who gives an answer before he hears, it is folly and shame to him” (NASB). If you have not already done so, I highly recommend reading through that previous post as this topic is in many ways a continuation of that [all too common]...
My Favorite Proverb There is one particular biblical verse with which I have been infatuated for some time and which I have made a constant conscious commitment to follow. That verse goes a little something like this: “Ten cubits shall be the length of each board and one and a half cubits the width of each board…” No… no… wait. Hold on, that’s Exodus. That’s not it… let me see here… ah, yes. Okay –...
JOHNSON, Luke Timothy. The Revelatory Body: Theology as Inductive Art. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2015. pp. 256. $25.00 (Hardback). ISBN: 978-0-8028-0383-2. Luke Timothy Johnson’s The Revelatory Body offers the bold thesis that “the human body is the preeminent arena of God’s revelation in the world.”[1] While many will welcome the claim that the human body possesses divine revelatory potential, many others will likely take serious issue with the position that the human body takes preeminence...
For a flock of sheep, the shepherd is an important figure. Without a leader, the sheep would live aimlessly, only doing what is necessary for survival. This is a wonderful reflection of church structure and the necessity for not just a strong leader; but more importantly, an even greater Shepherd to guide all processes. I am glad and blessed to know that the Lord’s provision is upon our church and can’t wait to see what...
We believe what we sing, so it’s important to sing the most important doctrines of our faith. But I don’t think we give Jesus’ ascension the attention it deserves. Here is a beautiful hymn text that considers the Ascension biblically, theologically, and with implications for our lives, below with my comments: The author introduces us to the Ascended One with biblical allusions from the Psalms, most notably Psalm 24, from which Handel also helps us sing...
Question of Origins What are the origins of Christian baptism? A quick perusal of the biblical texts might leave one perplexed as to the sudden appearance of baptism in the New Testament.1 Immediately and without explanation one is confronted with the appearance of John “the Baptist” and the practice of baptizing in water (Matt 3:1ff). Everyone except the reader (i.e., the author of the text itself, the people in the accounts, and perhaps even the...
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