Poem: “The Graced Land”
Spring is not cruel but Heaven sent — Comes fresh and quiet as a mint. No poem makes the land seem new The way the rhododendra do.
A Brief Note on the Song of Songs
The takeaway here is that the heterosexual love between a married couple is a divine gift and to be treasured. It’s a straightforward book. Some other, random and unprofound, thoughts: This book is also called the “Song of Solomon”; note the third-party reference to King Solomon in 3:9. In addition to hot passages (see, e.g., … [Read more…]
Lessons from Jude
God cares about our physical actions (including sexual perversions). He wants us to help one another and obey Him: Hate the sin, but rescue/show mercy on the sinners. God loves us. We are to be servants/slaves of Christ. Those who act immorally will be punished (in this life or the next). Don’t brag, grumble, or … [Read more…]
Lessons from Ruth and Esther
These are the two books in the Bible named after women. There’s an obvious message here (whether or not the titles were themselves inspired by God): Not only men are worthy in God’s eyes. The eponymous women are admirable in many ways, including their being bold and brave and smart, but it’s interesting that both … [Read more…]
Lessons from the Minor Prophets
This post will try to distill from each minor prophet’s book what he says God wants us to do or not do. This unsubtle approach can be taken with any book of the Bible, but seems particularly appropriate for these fellows, who were by and large pretty straightforward in what they wanted to communicate and … [Read more…]
Robert Alter, “The David Story: A Translation with Commentary of I and II Samuel”
This is another fine translation by Professor Alter, about whom I wrote on this site in posts of his Psalms and Wisdom books translations. With regard to I and II Samuel, he thinks they shared a common author, who was a genius and who gives an unflinching portrait of a complex David (ruthless, shrewd, self-possessed). … [Read more…]
Robert Alter, “The Wisdom Books: Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes”
I have an (also favorable) post on this author’s translation of the Psalms, the relevant part of which post reads: The secondary title is “A Translation with Commentary,” and that’s what it is: You read the translated psalm, and then the author’s footnotes explicate the psalm and also explain some of his translation decisions. The … [Read more…]
John Polkinghorne, “The Faith of a Physicist”
The author is a former Cambridge professor of mathematical physics and a Fellow of the Royal Society, as well as an ordained priest and member of the General Synod of the Church of England. The book is pretty dense in spots, and he does not believe that Scripture is inerrant (8, 119), but it’s worthwhile. … [Read more…]
Jeffery L. Sheler, “Is the Bible True?: How Modern Debates and Discoveries Affirm the Essence of Scripture”
The author is a journalist (U.S. News & World Report, PBS) and a Christian (apparently Protestant, see page 3). The book has a 1999 copyright and no index. The only part of the book I just skimmed was part V, “The Bible Code and Prophecy,” since of course that is silly (I wonder if the … [Read more…]
Lee Strobel, “The Case for the Real Jesus: A Journalist Investigates Current Attacks on the Identity of Christ”
This book takes the usual Lee Strobel approach — which I find very persuasive — of him interviewing a series of experts, in this case to refute the various, most prominent objections to Christianity lately, namely that it was copied from pagan religions, that the early church tampered with texts or rejected texts that were … [Read more…]