Threads from Henry's Web

Author: henry

  • A Good Paraphase

    It makes a good reminder!

  • More on the Khirbet Qeiyafa Inscription

    Douglas Mangum has some important new links and notes, particularly on the tendency to try to build too much on the reconstruction of a single inscription.  The cautions that apply here could be well applied to most discoveries, and generally are not, and likely will not be.  Caution and deliberate consideration are valuable!

  • New Perspective on Paul and the Book of Hebrews

    Nijay Gupta has a short interview with Gordon Fee regarding his new commentary on Galatians (HT).  Since I have an extremely high regard for Gordon Fee’s work in general, and for his commentary on 1 Corinthians (which I cite frequently) in particular, I’m certainly planning to get my hands on a copy of his work on Galatians.

    As a completely undeveloped, unresearched, and unreconsidered thought, I wonder if anyone has written anything related to the relationship of the New Perspective on Paul to the theology and potentially even the authorship of Hebrews.  I personally find the language differences fairly compelling on the authorship of Hebrews, and have always found the argument based on theology less than compelling, but it sounds to me like the reading of Galatians based on the New Perspective is closer to the theology of Hebrews than a more traditional reading of Paul.  Specifically, in Hebrews, Jesus Christ becomes the fundamental law or the core of the Christian’s belief and action rather than the Torah.

    Now please bear with me.  I could decide in five minutes that the paragraph above is way off track, though more likely I’ll take longer than that to think about it.  But it seems that even if this did not bring one to believe Paul himself wrote the book, it might strengthen claims a Pauline genetic connection with the book and thus more strongly favor an author who sat under Paul’s teaching, as is already suggested.

    In any case, I’d be interested in any research along these lines, especially available on the internet, but also in any recent/forthcoming commentaries.  It’s about time for me to run through Hebrews again with a good commentary!

  • A New Biblioblogs Ranking Incarnation

    Jeremy Thompson has taken up the task with a script.  There immediately follows the inevitable question of just who is a biblioblogger.  I had only been on the previous list for two months when it went belly up–or not, as the case may be, so I’m not sure if I’m a “real” biblioblogger or not.

    I guess I’ll just have to be satisfied with uncertainty!

  • Your Brain on Inerrancy

    This video is cute and edgy and well-produced. It has all the characteristics that make a good YouTube video. Since I also don’t accept the doctrine of inerrancy, what is the problem?

    I think it perpetuates the equation of biblical literalism, the verbal dictation view of inspiration, and the doctrine of inerrancy.  I have a problem with the wide variety of doctrines that go by the name “inerrancy” but many of the folks with whom I work and worship do accept the doctrine of inerrancy, and the main difference between their view and mine is the word we use to label it.

    There are many people who believe in inerrancy, or who use the term inerrancy for what they believe about inspiration who do not accept verbal dictation and are not Biblical literalists.

    (HT: Ketuvim)

  • Parents are Key to Science Education

    Jonathan Smith, Vice President of Florida Citizens for Science (of which I am a board member) presents a column on science education in Florida today in the The Ledger (Lakeland, FL):

    A key quote:

    Parents are the ones who must endeavor to help shape their children’s future by guiding them down the paths of interests and provide support and encouragement. It is strikingly obvious current trends have shifted in this generation towards the pursuit of science and not for the positive. “Science is for nerds” and” real cool kids don’t study” have become serious social clichés and do have a strong influence on our children.

    Just so!

    So parents, do you care just how well your children do in their education in general? Do you care how they do in science? Jobs are going to get fewer and fewer for people without a good education.

  • Small Offense Provokes Much Violence

    Yesterday I posted an aside regarding the attempted murder of the Danish cartoonist who drew the cartoon that provoked violent responses in the Muslim world.

    Today I saw this news story regarding reactions to a Malaysian court ruling that non-Muslims could use the word Allah. Behold how much violence a small matter kindles!

    I am an advocate for courtesy in discourse as long as it comports with honesty. But I want to use this story to clarify that while I am in favor of courtesy, I oppose laws that demand it, and I do not believe laws should require it, nor do I believe that its lack can justify violence.

    Right now, a great deal of the discussion regarding offending religious people relates to Islam, though the situation in Ireland indicates it’s much broader. So just to be clear, I also oppose laws against blasphemy as defined by Christians, nor do I think there is a justification for violent anger over insults.

    If I went further, speaking as a Christian, I believe that we should handle such things graciously and honestly, rejecting any violent response, and remaining courteous even when others are not. But that courtesy should be our choice, not something imposed.

  • Oldest Hebrew Inscription Found

    The biblioblogosphere is alive with discussion of the released photo, line drawing, and preliminary translation of what appears to be the oldest example of Hebrew writing to date.  I found it originally through Evangelical Textual Criticism, but have since read quite a number of posts about it.

    I’m afraid, however, that I must be missing something here with the claim that this will change the dating of Biblical texts by hundreds of years.  Which ones and why?  I already believed some sources of the Pentateuch dated from this period, and I don’t think oral transmission would be sufficient.  In addition, following Milgrom’s dating for P & H, there is already a strong proposal that places extended texts 300-400 years later than this.

    In other words, there were serious suggestions of written texts going back this far even before this discovery.  Now it’s nice to have confirmation that such writing existed, rather than just speculation that it might/must have, at that early date, but I think it was a reasonable inference that it did.

    At the same time, knowing that such things existed in this small form doesn’t really demonstrate that the longer literary texts existed at the same time, much as I’d like it to do so.

    Perhaps I have simply always assumed written texts were quite possible substantially earlier than our earliest example of them.  The question remains quantity and quality.  Writing a small text on an ostracon and writing the final, redacted Pentateuch are substantially different things.

  • Poor Offended People Want to Murder Someone

    I agree with this note which calls this column, titled Prejudiced Danes Provoke Fanaticism, execrable. Freedom of thought requires the freedom to offend, and being offended does not justify violence.

  • The Passion in Gold and Diamonds

    I dislike criticizing ministries and their leaders for several reasons:

    1. There’s a bandwagon approach, in which everyone piles on a vulnerable leader and repeats the stories
    2. There’s a tendency to lack discernment about rumors, i.e. everyone repeats what is said about someone, especially someone who deserves criticism, but doesn’t do good fact and context checking
    3. There’s a tendency to throw the first stone without checking one’s own sins first

    In the case of Benny Hinn I would add one more. During my son James’s illness he was greatly encouraged through something that Benny Hinn said and did on his television show. James wasn’t a regular watcher, but came across it late one night when he was in distress and couldn’t sleep. It was not the false encouragement of telling him he wasn’t going to die, but the very real encouragement of knowing God was with him. It took me some time to accept this as I have numerous and profound differences with Benny Hinn in both doctrine and practice. Nonetheless I treasure every moment of encouragement that was given to James during that time.

    Having said all of that, I think the same principle applies here as I applied to prophecy in my post Say Not to Prophecy before you say Yes over on my Participatory Bible Study blog. The problem is that if we only affirm, we often so corrupt the good that we do more damage than if we simply shut everything down.

    With this, let me introduce the following video, with hat tip to The Church of Jesus Christ blog:

    There was one point in there that really blew my irony meter. It comes about 4:50 into the video when one of the medallions, which appear to me to have four figure price tags, is described as “the passion in gold and diamonds.” That is both ironic, and to me profoundly offensive. It leads me to wonder just what certain Christian leaders think before they do these things, or if they even think about the impact such actions have on the gospel.

    Yes, there are belts with a cross
    The belt with a cross on the Megabelt Book Table

    I have enough problem with gold and silver crosses. Recently my pastor came down out of the pulpit and pointed to the gold cross on the table. “The cross isn’t like this one,” he said. So true. Unfortunately, church custom insists on unrealistically beautiful crosses.

    When we were recently setting up the table for the release of Megabelt, the book by Nick May, we were looking for a good symbol. My wife asked for a large, fancy, belt buckle to use on the display. I suggested that if we could find a good looking buckle with a cross on it, it would make the point perfectly. Both my wife and daughter told me I wouldn’t find one, but I still checked the local Christian store, and sure enough, there amongst many “Christian” trinkets there was a golden belt buckle with a cross on it. I’m sorry that in order to have it as a decoration I had to encourage the designers with a sale.

    “The passion in gold and diamonds.” What has the church that claims to follow one who had no place to lay his head come to?