Anyone who has made a serious effort to teach from the Gospel of John has likely experienced the difficulty of giving people a clear picture of the connections between various parts of the book, not to mention the frequent allusions to passages in the Hebrew scriptures. One can easily run out of fingers to “hold…
No, not the authors of the biblical text, though that’s an interesting topic. I’m talking about disagreeing with a study guide author, in this case a study guide author I chose both to publish and then to use in my Sunday School class. One class member was surprised—not shocked, annoyed, or disturbed, but just surprised—that…
David Allen has an excellent series of posts on this passage (HT: David Alan Black), which I think is the key to the entire book. I am, of course, especially impressed with the fact that much of what he says is compatible with the way I believe the passage should be interpreted! Agree or disagree,…
James McGrath makes a connection here that I had never thought of, comparing a mythicist hypothesis that this refers to suffering outside the gate of heaven (for which we have have what evidence?) as opposed to a common belief at the time that Jesus suffered outside the gate of Jerusalem, for which we do have…
The Pentateuch is one key source for Christian debates about the treatment of aliens (especially illegal aliens) here in the United States. There are a number of commands that might apply, and they are interpreted differently, or perhaps seen as applicable or inapplicable, by the different sides in fairly predictable ways. For example, Leviticus 19:34…
Yesterday I was recommending the chapters in Numbers, starting around 11, as “thinking fodder” regarding the way God works with people. But there’s some really good stuff there about how people deal with people as well. Even though many won’t remember that it comes from Numbers 13, the most famous line from the chapter is…
For those who are not familiar with it, impartation, at least in charismatic circles refers to passing on a gift, or even on occasion a calling or anointing when one person or persons lays hands on another. I’m not going to try to summarize the various views on this. First, I’m not fully acquainted with…
I ran headlong into my lack of explicit theological training today while studying Hebrews. (Yes, I’m still working on my revised study guide.) Now I’m certain that I’ve run into the word “piacular” before. The reason I can be so certain is that this is the second time I’m reading James Moffatt’s commentary on Hebrews…
I found Hebrews 1:1-4: A Study in Discourse Analysis via Dave Black Online today. Many elements here are not new, but this is the best concise presentation of these four important verses that I’ve found. Some may think that 19 pages on four verses isn’t concise, but considering the possibilities, I find it quite compact!…
There’s a thought provoking post by Morgan Guyton (Mercy not Sacrifice) discussing this issue. While I have some problems with the interpretations proposed when considered from an historical point of view, as Christian application of scripture, I think this is a good thing. We should not forget, however, that the scriptures came to violent people…