Greetings from Tucson!
Note the new posts and the new organization for the website. The posts on Genesis have been moved to the Riffs on Genesis page. The latest posts feature the Jacob story. For those click on Riffs on Genesis in the menu at the top of this page.
The posts I’ve collected here are reflections on biblical themes and materials that are not based on Genesis. These studies are eclectic, ranging across the Old Testament and the New. I hope that they will together point to ways of approaching the Bible that illuminate not only the biblical text but life itself, which is is what any good biblical reflection should do.
Posts:
- REFLECTING ON CHURCH IN TRIESTE, ITALYTHE LIMITS OF THEOLOGY We’ve been traveling. You may have noticed the radio silence from me. Or not. I had almost forgotten it was Sunday. Easy to do when you are traveling, nine time zones from home. We were wandering the streets of Trieste, Italy, the lovely town on the shores of the Adriatic. We… Read more: REFLECTING ON CHURCH IN TRIESTE, ITALY
- TAKING EVIL SERIOUSLYRETRIEVING A BIBLICAL VIEW OF EVIL We who grew Reformed pride ourselves in taking evil seriously. Total depravity, and all that. The doctrine of total depravity does make us wary of anyone who claims too much righteousness. We were taught that pious talk often serves as a cover for dishonorable motives. We expect people, religious… Read more: TAKING EVIL SERIOUSLY
- Begin with BelongingRetrieving Election Begin with belonging. Churches (not just churches but many religious groups, regardless of the faith they espouse) begin from the opposite direction: they tell you that you don’t belong, that you will belong only if you believe what they believe, if you take the membership class, if you say the prayer, if you… Read more: Begin with Belonging
- THE HISTORICAL ADAM AND OTHER MYTHS: MEDITATIONS ON THE PAST, PART 3The importance of the past In his introduction to Athanasius’s On Incarnation, C. S. Lewis suggested that one should read at least one old book for every new one. By old, he had in mind books from the previous century and beyond. He mentions in a single breath St. Luke, St. Paul, St. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas,… Read more: THE HISTORICAL ADAM AND OTHER MYTHS: MEDITATIONS ON THE PAST, PART 3
- RESURRECTING THE PAST: MEDITATIONS ON THE PAST, PART 2“‘There is a Party slogan dealing with the control of the past,’ [O’Brien] said. ‘Repeat it, if you please.’ ‘Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past,’ repeated Winston obediently. ‘Who controls the present controls the past,’ said O’Brien, nodding his head with slow approval. ‘Is it your opinion,… Read more: RESURRECTING THE PAST: MEDITATIONS ON THE PAST, PART 2
- REMEMBERING: MEDITATIONS ON THE PAST 1REMEMBERING Meditations on the Past, Part 1 Adria and I are recently returned from time in Europe. We visited among other places Berlin, Prague, and Vienna. In these places we were confronted with the remnants of the still close past, the history of Naziism and of Soviet era communism. In thinking about this history, I’ve… Read more: REMEMBERING: MEDITATIONS ON THE PAST 1
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