I was struck by a comment made by David W. Baker in his commentary on Leviticus (Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy [Cornerstone Biblical Commentary]), p. 194-195: … Protection of life and dignity through a shared distribution of wealth was also known and practiced in the early church at Jerusalem (Acts 2:44-45), though not in relation to any…
No, that’s not a misspelling. @worldprayr is an international prayer organization started on Twitter. Since many of us have been following this organization for some time on Twitter, we’re used to calling it by it’s twitter ID. I wrote a post for the World Prayer Blog which was published today. It is titled Looking the…
… Byu inculcating worship patterns that emphasize mind over body, word over deed, and rational thought over “merely” reflexive sacramental systems, all legacies of the Protestant Reformation, religious communities learn to be at home in the cognitive, typically abstract world of theological ideas. Ritual invites something different: the active participation in “embodied” theological reflection. Both…
I get into more trouble with the word “rebuke” than with just about any other. Perhaps I could find a bit less loaded of an English word to translate this concept, but it’s an important one. I mentioned teaching about “the skills of rebuking and being rebuked.” This tends to disturb people. Why? I think…
In a comment to a previous post, Kris asks whether Christians are required to tithe. That was one of two questions and I divided them into two posts to allow for separate discussions of the question. I don’t find tithing in the New Testament. Now I’m not a purely “New Testament” believer. I believe that…
Advent Week 3 in The Mosaic Bible includes 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24, which is a wonderful passage to use with regard to to prophecy. For those who may be following my use of The Mosaic Bible with the Revised Common Lectionary let me note that two passages, Zephaniah 3:14-20 and Luke 3:7-20 either are the same…
With a recent flurry of posts regarding the way in which the Old Testament is used in the New, at least peripherally, I wanted to call attention to one written from a different perspective. The post is Isaiah 7, Nativity, and the Theotokos, written by Mark Olson, who speaks from an Orthodox perspective. He discusses…
From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian church via Hebrews: Ancient Christian commentary on Scripture, New Testament X, commenting on Hebrews 9:15-17. How did he become mediator? He brought words from God and brought them to us, conveying what came from the Father and adding his own death. We had offended; we ought to…
From Hebrews: Ancient Christian commentary on Scripture, New Testament X, p. 116, (with translation taken from A Collection of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church), commenting on Hebrews 7: Was the law then of no use? It was indeed of use and of great use, but to make humans perfect it was…
I found this in my reading of the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, Volume X, Hebrews, this morning. Since the translation used there is under copyright, and this is an extended quote, I’m getting the material from sacredtexts.com: As often as God’s mercy deigns to bring round the day of His gifts to us, there…
