As the one Gentile author in the Bible, Luke alone came from a background in which the very concept of Scripture was, presumably, unfamiliar. Yet, as a new Christian, he was quite aware of the Holy Spirit. So was he conscious of being inspired to write God’s word in Acts even if, beforehand, such writing … [Read more…]
Two random notes from the Sermon on the Mount: Matthew 7:1 is sometimes triumphantly quoted by anti-Christians: “Judge not lest ye be judged.” Along the same lines, so is Jesus’ injunction in John 8:7, “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.” But the passage in Matthew and the incident of the rescued … [Read more…]
The Old Testament volume here was highly recommended by a very good friend who knows his Bible, and I then discovered that there was a New Testament volume following the same approach, so I checked them both out on interlibrary loan. Good move on my part! I think these would be excellent reference books for … [Read more…]
I’m a lawyer, and this short post makes a few points about how interpreting the Bible is like and unlike what lawyers do. *** Among the major similarities are these: Two major lawyer activities are interpreting texts and making arguments (including counterarguments) about what texts mean. The latter skills, significantly, require you to learn to … [Read more…]
The more complicated theological questions raised in the Bible are also less important — of an intricacy disproportionate to their interest. Professional theologians instinctively and understandably will not want to concede this. But, indeed, the really important question is, What does God want us to do? And the answer to that is not complicated or … [Read more…]
This post argues that (1) there are sound bases for believing that Scripture is true — and (2) I give some particular attention to the first eleven chapters of Genesis, which in my opinion belong to a unique Bible genre — and that (3) Christians should strive to interpret Scripture so that it is consistent … [Read more…]
Colin J. Hemer’s book The Book of Acts in the Setting of Hellenistic History prompted me to think about why Luke wrote Acts. The beloved physician tells us he wrote his Gospel for the “most excellent Theophilus” (Luke 1:1-4), who is likewise mentioned in its sequel Acts (1:1), but the point of the writing and then … [Read more…]
Genesis 3 is the chapter about Adam, Eve, and the apple. It’s an essentially self-contained narrative (although the last verse of chapter 2 foreshadows it and the first verse of chapter 4 rather logically follows it — and, for that matter, the murder recounted in chapter 4 sadly and inevitably comes next). Its 24 verses … [Read more…]
This post, presented as a dialogue, addresses what I think are some basic issues raised by Christians’ recognition and use of Scripture. What do you mean by Scripture? Most dictionary definitions say simply it is writing that a particular religion holds to be “sacred” or “holy.” So it is writing that is God-related, but of … [Read more…]
The Old Testament Books — in Fifteen Couplets Creation of all, and Jews starting: That’s Genesis. In Exodus, Moses is Pharaoh’s arch nemesis. Leviticus is “legal”; for Numbers, think “census.” Deuteronomy doubles what we have for lenses. — The twelve books that follow are all Jewish hist’ry. They show that God’s frequent dismay is no … [Read more…]