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?”
Category Archives: Bible study
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”
Do you have any patience for argument?
People who believe that what became flesh in Jesus Christ was the Logos should be slow to give up on words, on speech, on patient, reasoned explanation and persuasion.
Can I trust you?
An Address by Dean Gregory Sterling of Yale Divinity School Today at the Yale Divinity School commencement exercises, Dean Gregory Sterling offered some sobering words to graduates in the class of 2018 regarding the context into which they are stepping to begin their service as ministers, scholars, workers for nonprofits. Along with his description ofContinue reading “Can I trust you?”
A leaf from the journal of a theological publisher
I guess in any line of work one invited to lead will now and then gather the team and ask: what do we imagine we are doing? If you take someone who might really rather be reading the ancients reading the Bible and put him in that position in your publishing company, you might getContinue reading “A leaf from the journal of a theological publisher”
Verba Sparsa 