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The Covenant of Works (part 2)
I want to expand on my first post, which you can find here. I am addressing the charge that since there is no explicit covenant-making in Genesis 1-3, the Reformed concept of the Covenant of Works is not present there. I used to think that way. Not any more. Some exegetically-driven reasons to believe in Continue reading
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O God of Earth and Altar: a poem by G. K. Chesterton
O God of earth and altar, Bow down and hear our cry, Our earthly rulers falter, Our people drift and die; The walls of gold entomb us, The swords of scorn divide, Take not thy thunder from us, But take away our pride. From all that terror teaches, From lies of tongue and pen, From Continue reading
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Big ministries, big plans, big problems.
Welp. As Queen once put it . . . another one bites the dust. Philip Yancey, famous American Christian author, has recently stepped away from writing and speaking engagements over revelations that he had an 8-year extramarital affair with a married woman. Think about that. Eight years. That’s a lot of time spent with another Continue reading
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The Covenant of Works (part 1)
Introduction Years ago when someone would mention a ‘covenant of works’ I used to almost blush. The idea that any thinking Christian could read Genesis 1-3 and coming away believing in an Edenic covenant boggled my mind. I mean, firstly, the word ‘covenant’ isn’t there. There’s no (obvious) blood shedding. There are no oaths taken. Continue reading
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What’s the deal with Old Testament slavery? (part 4)
Slavery in the Old Testament has been a contentious subject for a very long time. The historical and biblical evidence regarding slavery is complex, and discussions about it have been emotionally-charged when they have not been much worse. Questions about Old Testament slavery arise immediately and regularly: “Why doesn’t God explicitly forbid slavery in the Continue reading
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Back in business
It’s me again . . . the sole contributor to the world’s least read theological blog. I’ve been busy studying, working (a LOT), and generally trying to get by. But I’ve finished my Master’s, and now I have a little more time to read and write about various theological and cultural topics. I am not Continue reading
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Taking Physical Bibles to Church
If your church doesn’t have readily available ‘pew Bibles’ to use when you arrive, what should you do when you go to church? Should you take a physical Bible with you, or just use a Bible app on your phone? I’ve heard of a number of churches strongly urging their congregation members to bring their Continue reading
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What’s the deal with Old Testament slavery? (part 3)
In my previous two posts (which you can find here and here), I have been exploring the issue of slavery in the ancient Near East (ANE). The point of these somewhat scattered thoughts is to think about Old Testament slavery laws in a broader context. Now I’ve explored some of those background issues, I move Continue reading
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What the deal with Old Testament slavery? (part 2)
SLAVERY – A HUMAN ‘INSTITUTION’ IN A HARD WORLD In my first post on slavery in the Old Testament I pointed out that slavery – particularly in the ancient Near East (ANE) – has been around for a very long time. It was essentially a human ‘institution’, predating written human records [13]. Africa and Mesopotamia Continue reading
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What’s the deal with Old Testament slavery? (part 1)
I recently stuck my oversized nose into the comments section of a Facebook post by historian and social commentator Stephen Chavura. He had reposted an article about ‘wokeism’ from a Christian perspective, and it drew the following response from a chap named Marcus: According to Marcus, both “Wokeism” and Christianity are inconsistent, incoherent, and unfit Continue reading
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