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Creation

Maker of Heaven and Earth, (Part 4)

In my previous two posts, I looked at aspects of Psalms 93, 95, 96 and 98 that declare Yahweh, the divine King, to be the world’s own Creator. In my next post, I plan to argue that the creation theology of the sub-section constituted by Psalms 93-100 contributes to the…

by Stephen LongApril 23, 2015
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Otherness

Sexual Difference, Liberal and Christian

Ethika Politika has published a fascinating interview within which the French Catholic philosopher Fabrice Hadjadj discusses his recent work on the subject of sexuality. While there are many points where our lines of reasoning as Protestants will sharply diverge from Hadjadj’s, there is also much that is deeply perceptive in…

by Alastair RobertsApril 21, 2015
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Literature

Macbeth and the Fall of Adam

For anyone in Shakespeare’s audience who knew the real story of Macbeth, his play must have been surprising. Shakespeare changed so many important details of the historical Macbeth’s life that had Raphael Holinshed, the main author of the most popular history of the British Isles in Shakespeare’s day — Holinshed…

by Ralph Allan SmithApril 16, 2015
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Creation

Maker of Heaven and Earth, (Part 3)

I started looking at a sequence of psalms on divine Kingship (Psalms 93-100) in my last post, part of a series looking at the Old Testament’s witness to Yahweh’s exercise of absolute mastery over his cosmos. I am not trying to “prove” a doctrine of creation ex nihilo directly from…

by Stephen LongApril 14, 2015
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Anxiety

(Un)Holy Fear

Most of the time I believe that dread is wise, anxiety righteous, fear a holy thing. It sounds ridiculous, but bear with me. There are days when fear seems to be not only a rational response to my circumstances, but a moral duty. After all, being a grown-up means responsibility.…

by Leta SundetApril 11, 2015
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Psalms

Psalm 36 Commentary

Get the Psalm 36 Translation here Psalm 36 begins with several translation problems. First, the first word in the actual psalm, as it is found in the English text, is the word "oracle." This word also begins the second verse in the medieval Massoretic Hebrew text, which is our basic…

by James B. JordanApril 10, 2015

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Babylon the Great

Four times Babylon is called “Babylon the great” ( Babulon he megale ) in Revelation, and the uses of the phrase form a simple chiasm: A. Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, 14:8 B. Babylon the great is remembered before God, 16:19 B'. “Babylon the Great” on forehead of harlot,…

July 14, 2015

The Religious and the Cosmopolitan

Stan Van Hooft's Cosmopolitanism pays closer attention to religion themes than many works on this theme. He clearly recognizes the role that religion plays in human life, and criticizes Martha Nussbaum for her avoidance of the point: Despite basing her description on an analysis of the cultural productions and literatures…

July 14, 2015

Parochial Structuralism

Paul-Francois Tremlett ( Levi-Strauss on Religion ) provides this neat precis of the central claim of Levi-Straussian structuralism: “new way of thinking about questions of culture and cultural difference. Language had been seen as a transparent medium for expressing thoughts and for describing or re-presenting objects. In structuralist thought, however,…

July 14, 2015

Type v. Rights

When Paul lived among the Thessalonians, he wasn't a layabout and didn't ask them for any necessities. He paid for everything he got (2 Thessalonians 3:7-8). Paul did have the right ( exousia ) to ask for food and shelter. He brought spiritual gifts, and could have expected material gifts…

July 14, 2015

Abraham Myth Revisited

It took a parody. I devoted a section of a chapter in Deep Exegesis to Peter Enns’s work, I’ve critiqued him on my blog here and here and here , as well as the similar work of John Walton, here and here . To my knowledge, neither Enns nor Walton…

July 14, 2015

Down from Heaven

The verb “descend” ( katabaino ) is used ten times in Revelation, and the uses form a neat pattern: A. Jerusalem (3:12) B. Angel in cloud with book (10:1) C. Devil (12:12) D. Fire of false prophet (13:13) E. Hailstones (16:21) B'. Angel with glory (18:1) C'. Angel to bind…

July 13, 2015

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