Jun
27
2013
So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. (Romans 7:21-23)
Interpreters debate the meaning of Paul’s words in Romans 7:14-25. Are we to apply these statements to a Christian or a non-Christian? Could a Christian utter these words? Perhaps a better question is, are these the words of an unregenerate man?
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Comments Off | tags: Numbers, Paul, Romans | posted in Biblical Theology, Christian Life, Ethics, The Last Days
Jun
26
2013
“Smooth narrative” is one of the arguments against the inclusion of the final verses of the Gospel of Mark. The Bible isn’t known for its smooth narrative, anyway, but the ending does seem to pick up the speed suddenly. Is there anything in the text that might point in the other direction? How about literary structure?
Mark follows a convention found throughout all the Bible’s texts, based upon the Creation Week and the Levitical Feasts (Leviticus 23). The gospel has a number of “Covenant-shaped” cycles, and the entire book is itself “Covenant-shaped.” This final cycle is left incomplete if the gospel ends at 16:8 (see below). The question is, does this “clockwork” internal textual evidence outweigh the shabby history of the manuscripts? Continue reading
Comments Off | tags: Literary Structure, Mark | posted in Bible Matrix, Biblical Theology, Totus Christus
Jun
25
2013
Comments Off | posted in Biblical Theology
Jun
24
2013
or Who Is The Real Jericho?
Atheists love to embarrass Christians with a snide reference to the story of Elisha setting two bears upon some helpless children. What nobody, even Christians, seem to get is the “Covenant significance” of all the players in the story, harking back to Moses. The prophets were, after all, God’s “repo men.” [1]
[This post has been refined and included in Sweet Counsel: Essays to Brighten the Eyes.]
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Comments Off | tags: AD70, Covenant curse, Covenant Theology, Egypt, Elisha, Feasts, Herod, Jericho, Jezebel, Kings, Leviticus, Peter Leithart, Pharaoh, Revelation | posted in Apologetics, Bible Matrix, Biblical Theology, The Last Days
Jun
22
2013
“The reason literature, like art, has no hard-and-fast rules, is because authors and artists confer meaning upon things as they go.”
Recently on the hermeneutics exchange, Monica Cellio (one of the bright lights, whose eyes are like lasers) asked,
Do any principles commonly used in the field of hermeneutics have any counterparts in scientific principles? Is there a corollary in hermeneutics to the requirements that science demands as far as the reproducibility of experiments, peer review of results, etc?
This is a fantastic question, not because it will lead us towards a better understanding of the Bible, but because it exposes the reason why modern academics have such a problem with understanding and teaching the Bible.
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3 comments | tags: Hermeneutics, James Jordan | posted in Biblical Theology, Quotes, Reading the Bible in 3D
Jun
20
2013
The intro to the Reading the Bible in 3D seminar mentions the “jokes” in the Bible. In his book Deep Exegesis, Peter Leithart gives us a rundown on what a joke is to justify using the word to describe some of the allusions in Scripture. One of the reasons jokes are funny is their reliance on inside information.
Here’s my all-time favourite joke in the Bible.
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Comments Off | tags: Covenant Theology, Daniel, Esther, Genesis, James Jordan, Joseph, Mordecai, Peter Leithart, Revelation, Typology | posted in Bible Matrix, Biblical Theology, Reading the Bible in 3D
Jun
14
2013
[ Click to enlarge]
For most people, reading the Bible is like watching a foreign film with no subtitles. Yet the keys to the entire book have been hidden in plain sight…
These five presentations have been carefully prepared so that each builds upon the preceding one. Doug Haley will lead you into the realm of biblical images, Mike Bull will then explain how the Bible, the world and history are constructed, and Pastor Albert Garlando will share his experiences in how all this plays out in Christian ministry.
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2 comments | posted in Reading the Bible in 3D
Jun
13
2013
or “Nothing to see here, citizens. Go to your homes.”
Emeth Hesed blogged recently about “heads of households” meetings…
Since moving to the Land of the Free, I have enjoyed how well women are treated here. I can see that America really is a country with a Christian heritage even if it’s not a Christian nation anymore. But attending the church where my husband grew up, I have never felt so disenfranchised in my life. I have never felt so cut off from the covenant I was baptized into, from the rightful inheritance God has promised me.
Emeth makes some great points but the thing that strikes me about these “intramural” Presbyterian debates is the failure to identify the real villain.
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4 comments | tags: Baptism, Covenant Theology, Ecclesiology, Federal Vision | posted in Biblical Theology
Jun
5
2013
A recent post by P. Andrew Sandlin:
I learned a long time ago as a Christian minister that I can’t hope to out-cool our apostate culture, and if I try, I’ll gradually create followers who crave coolness and will gravitate to a “community” cooler than mine.
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1 comment | tags: Ecclesiology, P. Andrew Sandlin, Worship | posted in Christian Life, Quotes