(on fixing the problems of violence and wrath in the Bible) When preparing to teach on violence in the Old Testament recently I was reminded of a book review I once read. The reviewer recounted his neighbour’s efforts to remove a grease stain from his garage floor. The neighbour dumped a few gallons of gasoline […]
Sibling Rivalry and Reconciliation in Jonathan Sacks’ ‘Not in God’s Name’
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks has a truly ambitious vision of interfaith respect, peace, and mutual blessing in his recent book Not in God’s Name: Confronting Religious Violence. I don’t wish here to give an overview or critical review of his book, but instead, I want to share an important and tantalizingly provocative theme he explores […]
Advent and the Incarnational God
The incarnation forms the climactic turning point of sacred history. The high point in the grand biblical drama of redemption involved the self-emptying descent of God in Jesus. For many, the incarnation may seem like a 33-year anomaly in the life of God. The God who is otherwise transcendent or at least invisible became visible, […]
The Problem of Divine Mercy in the Bible
When I applied for my visa to work in the UK, I happened to speak with one lively consular officer working in Philadelphia. When he heard that I was moving to teach Old Testament at a theological college, he became audibly ecstatic (or agitated, I couldn’t tell which) and exclaimed: ‘The Old Testament! God of […]
Jesus and Old Testament ‘Vengeance’
In my earlier post, I discussed ways that Jesus’ teachings on loving enemies were rooted in the Old Testament. I suggested that Jesus is not subverting the Old Testament in the Sermon on the Mount, but instead, that he relies on it. But what about Jesus’ command not to take an ‘eye for an eye’? […]