Peripatetic Pastor
Biblical Reflections from Clay Libolt
Picture of Mt Baker
Dear readers, the blog has morphed into four streams. I’ve recently added a page with blog posts on the book of Genesis, called “Riffs on Genesis,” a title I would like to use some day for a book. In the Riffs series, I’ve begun looking at one of the most intriguing stories in the Bible, the story of Jacob. The Jacob story is literarily brilliant, theologically powerful, and funny. I hope you will read the posts. The next page contains Biblical Reflections not focussed on Genesis. The third page has various Thoughts and Reflections not based directly on a biblical text. The fourth and last page has the posts on Human Sexuality that began this iteration of my blog. I hope in all of that you will find something that fits your fancy. Thanks for reading. (Click on the menu above to access the blog pages.)
Clay
The latest posts:
THE GOD WHO PUSHES AND THE GOD WHO PULLS: What the Bible Says about Saving the Human Race, Part 1
THE HUMAN PLIGHT Before one can be clear about a solution, one must be clear about the problem. Or, to put this in theological terms, one’s view of salvation must be closely tied to one’s view of what’s gone wrong. For the past few posts, I’ve been looking at what the Bible has to say about […]
READING PAUL: THE TWO APPROACHES OF DUNN AND WRIGHT
In the past two posts, I’ve been writing mostly about the (capital P) Problem with the human race: what’s gone wrong. The Bible has much to say about that, much that is ignored in popular theology, which tends to focus on a mistaken interpretation of the Genesis 3 narrative. The biblical idea of human evil […]
WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER: GENESIS 9 AND THE IDEA OF TOTAL DEPRAVITY
Often when truths, even great truths, biblical truths, are formulated into doctrine they lose their connection to life. They become mere beliefs—statements to which believers profess adherence but which no longer motivate their daily life and decision making. These doctrinal beliefs may come to parody the truth they were meant to embody. Total depravity is […]
Introduction
I am a retired pastor living in the Pacific Northwest (and sometimes in Arizona). Actually, I’m intermittently retired. Since my retirement, I’ve served as interim pastor four times in three churches (one twice) and once as a high school principal. I have launched this website and the accompanying blog because I love the Bible and because I believe what’s best about the Bible is often lost in the theological welter of our age. I bring to this task and to this love not only seminary training (Calvin Theological Seminary) but a Ph.D. in Ancient Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Michigan. You may at first find my approach to the Bible different from the approach you were taught–more literary, more embedded in ancient culture–but press on. There is much to be gained and little to be lost by reading the Bible in this way.
4 responses to “HOME”
Just found your blog. I’m in.
Put me onl your list of people to receive your blog.
Daniel, at the bottom of the blog page, in the middle of a lovely picture of Fairhaven harbor, there’s a place to insert your email and sign up.
Clay
Thank you for sharing your reflection on Genesis 3. It helps me understand elements of the story that have always puzzled me in typical explanations from my tradition.