Link: Interview with Brent A Strawn
This interview is excellent, though in some ways frightening, and in all ways challenging.
Starting Leviticus
I mentioned in my post about completing the study of Romans that our next book was Leviticus. This was by choice of the group, but it is surely driven somewhat by the number of references I have made to Leviticus. While I experienced Leviticus as a child, going to a Christian school where we read—really…
What Does It Mean to Call Jesus Lord
A commentator noted that I was not all that helpful in my post yesterday, since I hadn’t made any effort to say just what it would mean to have Jesus as the center of a doctrine, nor what it means to call Jesus Lord. In response, I obviously had to create a new, more ambitious…
Evaluating Doctrines regarding the Holy Spirit (Pneumatology)
I have encountered a few questions lately regarding the work of the Holy Spirit, particularly the manifestation(s) and gifts of the Holy Spirit as they may be observed in a church setting. There is always a problem with evaluating theology based on the visible actions of God, because this gets confused with identifying God’s actions….
Of Isaiah 40 and Grasshoppers
Last night in our Tuesday night group we discussed this rather interesting chapter, one that I believe expresses the basics of the gospel message well. Now I don’t mean by this that it mentions the name of Jesus or even directly predicts anything about his ministry. There is some material here that is used of…
A Different View on Hezekiah
I will now do on my blog what I did last night for my Tuesday night group. Contradict my previous post. Here’s the idea in a Monty Python sketch: What I did was quote a scholar whom I respect, and in fact who has been my companion through much of my study of the book…
Hezekiah’s Horrible Prayer
We’ll be continuing our discussion of Isaiah 36-39 tonight in my Tuesday night group, hopefully finishing that section. Last week, we looked at Hezekiah’s prayer for healing. For those who may not remember, it’s a short one: “Remember now, O LORD, I implore you, how I have walked before you in faithfulness with a whole…
But Did God Approve of That?
Last night in my Tuesday night group we were discussing the story of Hezekiah in Isaiah 36 & 37, in which King Sennacherib of Assyria attacks Judah, and things get pretty dire. Following a sneering message from the Assyrian king, Hezekiah, at the beginning of chapter 37, tears his clothes, puts on sackcloth, and goes…
The Danger in Appealing to the Miraculous
A friend’s post on Facebook got me thinking about this verse: I said to them, “If anyone has items made of gold, bring them. And they gave them to me, and I threw them in the fire, and out came this calf.” (Exodus 32:24, my translation from the LXX) I can’t help but think that…
Symbols, Actions, and Idolatry
I encountered a question recently that I’d like to explore a bit. The question comes in three parts, or perhaps with three perspectives. When God commanded the Israelites to look to the bronze serpent to be healed, was God commanding idolatry? Why would God give this command? Was this a good command? It’s easy to…