One reason that Paul may have spent what seems to us to have been an inordinate amount of time discussing God’s power is because his audience included so many pagans or former pagans. Consider, for example, his speech on the Areopagus to the Athenians (Acts 17:24-29), or the assertion in his letter to the Ephesians … [Read more…]
I am a fan of Richard Bauckham — I discuss two of his other books here and here on this blogsite — and so I sought out this book. I’m glad that I did; while it did not dazzle me as much as his other books, that is owing in part to Revelation’s genre being … [Read more…]
Leo Strauss — the great German-American political philosopher renowned for his close readings of classic texts — set great store on what was written in the precise center of ancient works. Now, it turns out that, in the Bible that we Protestants use, the Old Testament and New Testament each have an odd number of … [Read more…]
Here’s the famous Jesus-walks-on-water passage from chapter 14 of Matthew: 22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd.23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, 24 and the … [Read more…]
This post will look at the salutations and valedictions in the New Testament epistles. It’s easy to skip over them when reading the letters, and my thought was that a more careful reading — and some comparison — might provide some insights. *** A couple of caveats: I’ll acknowledge at the outset that it is … [Read more…]
In this post I’ll share some thoughts on one of my favorite poems, T.S. Eliot’s “Journey of the Magi.” Today is Mr. Eliot’s birthday, and here’s the poem’s text: “A cold coming we had of it,Just the worst time of the yearFor a journey, and such a long journey:The ways deep and the weather sharp,The … [Read more…]
We are fortunate to have in Scripture what amounts to farewells from Peter and from Paul, the two greatest figures in the New Testament, with of course the obvious exception of Jesus Christ Himself. This blogpost will discuss those farewells — from Paul in II Timothy, and from Peter in II Peter. Paul wrote his … [Read more…]
When you think about it, Peter’s speech in Acts 2 at Pentecost is worth a close read. It was, after all, the first sermon by a Christian after the Holy Spirit had been poured forth on them; indeed, it is the first post-Resurrection sermon, and I suppose the first evangelical sermon we have, period, by … [Read more…]
As I’ve noted in a different post on this blogsite, there are five one-chapter books in the Bible. There are also seven three-chapter books and six four-chapter books. But there is only one two-chapter book, namely the Book of Haggai. *** It’s the second shortest book in the Old Testament. It is quoted once in … [Read more…]
It’s September and, with Election Day only two months hence, it’s the height of the political season. I try to eschew partisan politics on this blogsite, but I’d like to share one thought and, as it turns out, it doesn’t exactly champion one party or the other. So here’s the thought: Our two major political … [Read more…]