Welcome to my digest of Christian comment.
For Biblical commentary, use the Bible Study Notes menu above, and for topical comments, use the categories list on the right.
Jonathan
Inspired in the smallest detail
Although we do not deny that the Holy Spirit, in his inspiration of Scripture, is often happy to give us approximations and generalisations, where necessary he calls our attention to the smallest detail of grammar.
Consider:
Hebrews 12:27 ‘The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.’
The argument turns on one phrase – ‘once more’.
Galatians 4:9 ‘But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces[a]?…
Five types of gossiper
From Paul Tautges (summarising part of Resisting Gossip, by Matt Mitchell):
#1: The Spy – In Proverbs 11:13, the Hebrew word translated “gossip” means “‘a peddler (of secrets), a huckster/hawker, deceiver, or spy.’ The English Standard Version uses the phrase ‘whoever goes about slandering’….We might use the word ‘informer’….Spies know how to wheedle a story out of us.”
#2: The Grumbler – Another Hebrew word commonly translated “gossip” refers to a whisperer. The Hebrew dictionaries say that this “is one who is ‘murmuring about another person behind their back rather than openly complaining about their behavior.’”
#3: The Backstabber – “Backstabbing gossip overflows from a heart bent on revenge, retaliation and real malice.…
May we refer to God as ‘she’?
Clearly, God is not ‘male’. So should we not stop referring to God exclusively (or predominantly) as ‘he’?
The argument is that to refer to God with masculine language is to demean the dignity of women, to imply that they are less ‘godlike’ than men, and to perpetuate their subservient positions.
The solutions would be either to refer to God in both masculine and feminine language (in roughly equal proportions), or to use gender-neutral language when referring to the deity. …
‘It’s never going to happen. And when it does…’
Rod Dreher’s ‘Law Of Merited Impossibility‘ is an epistemological construct governing the paradoxical way overclass opinion makers frame the discourse about the clash between religious liberty and gay civil rights. It is best summed up by the phrase, “It’s a complete absurdity to believe that Christians will suffer a single thing from the expansion of gay rights, and boy, do they deserve what they’re going to get.”’
Or, put more simply: ‘It’s never going to happen. …
A biblical critique of slavery
It is often supposed that the Bible accepts without question the institution of slavery. The implication is, of course, that the Bible is wrong, and that we now know better.
But does the Bible itself contain a critique of slavery? Ian Paul thinks so, and offers the following texts for consideration:
Creation
Genesis 1:26f – God created human beings in his own image. ‘In contrast to other ANE texts, there is a universality here to the image of God in humanity; it is not confined to one sector or class of humanity…This foundational text…offers a critique of any system which seeks to divide different groups of humanity into fundamentally distinct categories.’
God’s ownership
Lev 25:23; Psa 24:1 – All things belong to the Lord; human ownership is always provisional. …
How important is the gospel?
It may be that evangelicals suffer from (or think they suffer from) ‘gospel fatigue’. When everything is claimed to be ‘gospel-centred’ and ‘gospel-driven’, there is a danger of thinking (if not actually saying), “Oh, not again! Give us a break!!” Indeed, I have heard people urge that Christian ministry must move beyond the gospel and deal more with its practical outworkings.
Sam Storms invites us to listen to Scripture. What follows is based on this article.…
Does God hate the wicked?
You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil;
with you the wicked cannot dwell.
the arrogant cannot stand in your presence;
you hate all who do wrong.
(Psalm 5:5)
The Lord examines the righteous,
but the wicked and those who love violence his soul hates.
(Psalm 11:5)
Writing in Hard Sayings of the Bible, Old Testament scholar Walter Kaiser comments:
‘Our problem with any description of God’s displeasure with sin, unrighteousness or wickedness is that we define all anger as Aristotle defined it: “the desire for retaliation.” With such a definition of anger goes the concept of anger and hatred of sin as a “brief madness” or “an uneasiness or discomposure of the mind, upon receipt of an injury, with the purpose of revenge.” All such notions of hatred, anger and displeasure in the divine being are wide of the mark and fail to address the issues involved.…
Introduction to the Wisdom books
We’re including under this heading: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon
Warm-up
The books of the Old Testament, set to a possibly recognisable tune!!
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers,
Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges and Ruth,
Samuel, Samuel, Kings, Kings and Chronicles,
Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther.
Job, Psalms and Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, The Song of Solomon,
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel,
Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk,
Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi.
Proverbs – everyday wisdom
What is a proverb?…