*This is an updated re-post from December 2015.* When one of my boys was little he announced, ‘I know why God was mean in the Old Testament and nice in the New Testament.’ ‘Why’s that?’ I asked. ‘Because in the Old Testament, he didn’t have a mummy.’ Interesting thought… Putting aside the problematic OT/NT distinctions, […]
How to Burn Down Your House
(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 […]
On God’s Mother
When one of my boys was little he announced, ‘I know why God was mean in the Old Testament and nice in the New Testament.’ ‘Why’s that?’ I asked. ‘Because in the Old Testament, he didn’t have a mummy.’ Interesting thought… Putting aside the problematic OT/NT distinctions, and the fact that it sounds funny to […]