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Canaanite Religion in the Bible
Various gods and goddesses of Canaan make their appearance in the Hebrew Bible. It is easy to get confused. In Judges 2:13, for instance, the Israelites serve “the Baals and the Ashtaroth”; in Judges 3:7,…
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Toledot in Genesis – What Are They and Why Do They Matter?
To define the structure of a book, we may have more than one valid option. Sometimes, a different way of looking at it opens new insights into meaning and message. This is certainly true for…
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A Pilgrimage through the Gospel of John: Grace and Truth
As explained in the previous issue, my pilgrimage through Italy on the Via di Francesco turned into a pilgrimage through the gospel of John, using something akin to the Ignatian approach to Bible meditation. Jesus…
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A Pilgrimage through the Gospel of John: How I Got There
The key to understanding the gospel of John is not studying but meditation. At least for me it turned out to be that way. I have always had a hard time getting into this book.…
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The Atonement 3: Back to the Church Fathers
Does Christus Victor trump penal substitution? In two previous issues, I began to present images, models, and explanations of the atonement. I have two more models to discuss (first and foremost Christus Victor). I will…
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The Atonement 2: Models and Explanations
In the previous issue, I looked at terminology and I introduced five (or six) groups of images or metaphors that illustrate the atonement. It is now time to attempt a more thorough explanation. This is…
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The Atonement 1: Introduction
The atonement: what is it, and how does it ‘work’? This is a big – and beautiful – question, touching on the very heart of salvation: why did Christ die on a Roman cross?
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Redefinitions II: The Righteousness of God
In the previous issue, I wrestled with objective and subjective genitives and whether the phrase “faith of/in Christ” needs reinterpretation. This month, I do the same with a different phrase, one that is perhaps of…
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Redefinitions I: Faith or Faithfulness?
I am gearing up to write on models of the atonement: different ways to explain what Christ accomplished by dying on the cross. This is a big topic, and a contested one. Traditional understandings get…
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The Image of God: Much More Than a Pious Idea
As a phrase, “the image of God” appears only once in the Bible, in Genesis 1:27. In the OT, the idea is also referred to in Genesis 5:1 and 9:6. That is not much. As…
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The Structure of the Book of Psalms and Its Message 2
It is often held that the book of Psalms is the biblical version of a hymn book, with little or no structure. (I used to believe this myself until quite recently.) But there is more…
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The Structure of the Book of Psalms and Its Message 1
It is often held that the book of Psalms is the biblical version of a hymn book, with little or no structure. (I used to believe this myself until quite recently.) But there is more…