Defilement of the sanctuary in Ezekiel and Hebrews
Problem: how does defilement of the sanctuary described in Ezekiel 5 occur based on defilement outside of the sanctuary as catalogued in Ezekiel 6?
Isaiah 25, the Sheet, and the cleansing of the Nations
Isaiah speaks also of a sheet that covers the nations that will be removed when God conquers death, wipes away tears, and removes disgrace. The removal of “disgrace” or shame is connected with impurity, those ways in which we have been defiled by our own impurity or by the impure acts of others.
The Problem with the Lectionary No One is Talking About
A friend of mine, years ago told me, “We always go to a liturgical worship service when we travel because regardless of anything else in the service, we can at least know that we will hear readings from the Bible.” My friend offered sage advice, and yet I have a serious problem with the Christian […]
Arid and Dry
Sandmel responding the 19-20th century portrayals of 1st Century Judaism quips, “it is always called ‘arid and dry’ never one or the other, always both ‘arid and dry’. Bible scholarship has tended to lean on the words of Jesus and the words of Paul to develop a picture of 1st Century Judaism. The resulting portrayal […]
Torah and Natural Law
God’s interest in justice flows out of His interest in and love for His Creation. This is at the core of the uniqueness of God’s revelation to the Jewish people. The Greco-Roman world pictured justice as a blind-folded maiden with a scale and a sword. The Torah presents Justice as emanating from an All-Seeing God with a Heart of Compassion.
The Law in a world of Laws
In The Mind of the Maker, Dorothy Sayers makes some clarifying distinctions about “law” and “laws”. She speaks of laws that are based on consensus, contrasted with laws rooted in nature of things . The second are generally learned by observation and subject to the test of an if/then clause. If an apple is released […]
Jesus’ Teaching, Jesus’ Atoning Death- Which is Most Important?
What people have called for 200 years “Liberal” and “Conservative” theology, then, are not extreme ends of a pole, but two variations of the same heresy, that stand apart from and against an orthodoxy that holds the Cross of Christ and the Teaching of Christ in balance and in tension with each other.
The Torah, Foe or Friend?
As Paul spoke to the Romans about sin in the life of humans, he did so using the effect of Torah to illustrate the issue. In making this illustration he was careful to say that the Law is holy (Romans 7:12), the Law is Spiritual (Romans 7:14), and the Law is good (Romans 7:16)) and […]
The Law’s Liberating Impulse
Passover teaches us that the Torah is rooted in a liberating event and in the movement from Egypt to Sinai we are given the pattern for keeping the freedom which we were given. When we see Torah in light of this liberating impulse, we understand better what the Spirit of the Law is, and what […]
The Cost of Mis-Reading VI Insisting on the Inconsistent or Why Are We Compelled to Mis-read?
We all have a tendency to see in the Bible text what is in ourselves. If we have a prejudice for or against the text, we will find reasons for our preference in the text. Some readers find errors and contradictions in the Bible. Others find truth and consistency in the Bible. Whatever we find, […]