Last time, I wrote about the “new exodus,” describing it as a way of speaking of the ending of the Jewish exile while investing it with the epochal significance of replacing the Exodus as the defining event in Israel’s history and their revelation of God. I then described reasons for believing that theologically, the Jewish [...]
I realize that this is the third post thus far entitled “new exodus” and I have as of yet mentioned neither what the New Exodus in fact is nor its significance. Instead, I have given thoughts on the divine name revealed to Moses in the Exodus event and the meaning of that name. This lead [...]
In response to my previous posts on “Reading the Bible in the Right Direction,” one reader asked, “so where does one begin on this journey of rediscovering the full context of the bible through the old testament?” I think this is a great question. So in departure from my standard conceptual model of discussion, I [...]
In the last post, I proposed that the revelation of the divine name “Yahweh” to Moses at the burning bush is better translated “I will be” rather than “I AM.” Instead of relating to static categories of existence or other such metaphysical qualities Greek philosophers were interested in, it pertains to the future of God’s [...]
A friend recently asked me to condense some thoughts on the concept of “new exodus.” Surprisingly, especially if such a concept is new to you, I believe that “new exodus” is one of the primary interpretive frameworks for understanding the New Testament. This is an additional example of how biblical interpretation must move in the [...]
In my last post I proposed a manner of biblical interpretation in which the ideas, concepts, world-view, etc. of the Old Testament must be the foundation for understanding the New Testament, rather than vice versa. The thought must flow from an informed Old Testament understanding into the New Testament, rather than reinterpreting the Old [...]
Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son… (Romans 1:1-3)
Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the [...]
The Biblical discussion of the concepts of “flesh” and “spirit” are highly problematic for several reasons. “Flesh” is one of the grand enemies of the Christian, along with the “world” (another problematic term) and the “devil” (yet another problematic term…). Hence the Christian must “war against the flesh.” As long as this remains theoretical, no [...]
A practice I have been enjoying as of late is following the course of Scripture readings in the Daily Office Lectionary in the Book of Common Prayer (BCP). The Daily Office refers to four daily prayer services (morning, noon, evening, night) the Book of Common Prayer lays out. Within those services, readings according to a [...]
Last night, I read an article in which the author asserted the notion that all suffering in the world has a divine purpose. This is not in the sense that God works good in all things (Rom. 8:28), but that God specifically plans and ordains all evil events as good, so far as to [...]
