Blessed is the man ESV retains the traditional masculine singular because unlike pluralized rewordings it preserves the possibility of figural reading as referring to Jesus Christ as the ideal human who fits the description given. And I guess somehow “Blessed is the human” or “the person” doesn’t quite have the same poetic resonance. Some ofContinue reading “Psalm 1 again: verses 1 through 3”
Category Archives: Bible study
What the Lord does
Christians who do not think that their mission as Christians entails social and political work have not read the Bible, or have read it strangely. Psalm 146, one of the great psalms of praise that conclude the Psalter begins with “Praise Yah!” It ends with “Praise Yah!” (“Yah” being a shorter form of the divineContinue reading “What the Lord does”
How to read the Bible
The prophet who wrote the apocalypse (revelation) that became the last book in our Christian Bible opened it with a blessing and closed it with a curse. Today I am reading the opening blessing as a word about how to read the Bible in general as Scripture. One way of reading the Bible would beContinue reading “How to read the Bible”
Think on these things
I took yesterday afternoon and evening off. My wife and I reconnected with old college friends of hers, more recent friends of mine. We spent hours talking. We were with them on a Chris-Craft boat that has been in his family since his grandfather bought in the year when he was three years old (=Continue reading “Think on these things”
What to do about disagreements between Christians?
“If anyone thinks otherwise” (a phrase from Philippians 3:15) . . . what then? What to do about disagreements? A lot depends on whether or not there is a context of mutual trust and affection. Within the New Testament, if you were to read Paul’s letter to the Galatians side-by-side with Paul’s letter to theContinue reading “What to do about disagreements between Christians?”
Psalm 55:6: Wings like a—pigeon?
And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove!for then would I fly away, and be at rest. King James Version I said, “If only I had wings;like a pigeon I could fly and dwell somewhere.” Goldingay, The First Testament My first reaction: Gak, a pigeon? “Dwell somewhere”? Rat with wings. Mismatched diction.Continue reading “Psalm 55:6: Wings like a—pigeon?”
Who is the fool who has said in his heart, there is no God?
The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.God looked down from heaven upon the children of men,to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God.Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none thatContinue reading “Who is the fool who has said in his heart, there is no God?”
It’s not always about John Calvin; or, What’s God got to do, got to do with it?
There’s a lot of anti-Calvinism out there. I guess there’s also a lot of Calvinism. People love bashing predestination. Or other Calvinist expressions of the essential importance of the sovereignty of God. And other people like promoting those things. Closely related: there is much controversy over universalism—the idea that in the end, all will beContinue reading “It’s not always about John Calvin; or, What’s God got to do, got to do with it?”
God gets refractory, haughty brought down
I really admire people who are always on an even keel, don’t you? They are grounded, centered. They know who they are, which means they know where they stand vis-à-vis God: lower, but accepted and loved. They tend to know, as well as any of us can, where they stand with other people, and theyContinue reading “God gets refractory, haughty brought down”
Peace, peace: Nice prophets and slight healing
Of all the biblical prophets, the one who received the most hostile reception was . . . well, I was going to say Jeremiah, but actually it would have to be Jesus, wouldn’t it? We so easily and persistently forget that when the moment of truth arrived, nearly all his followers abandoned him. Some ofContinue reading “Peace, peace: Nice prophets and slight healing”
Verba Sparsa 