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Oscar Buzz

From First Thoughts

I meet people occasionally who think motion pictures, the product Hollywood makes, is merely entertainment, has nothing to do with education. That’s one of the darndest fool fantasies that is current . . . . Anything that brings you to tears by way of drama does something to the deepest roots . . . . Continue Reading »

Barred from the promised land

From First Thoughts

I have been sojourning with the Israelites in the Book of Numbers. The twentieth chapter contains an enigmatic story. At Kadesh, on the borders of Edom, Moses displeased the Lord and was not permitted to enter the promised land. What is the nature of the sin and does it warrant the extreme . . . . Continue Reading »

A Note on Idolatry

From First Thoughts

To follow-up on my blog post “Sunday of Orthodoxy: Or, When Schisms Are Functionally Irrelevant,” the excerpt below has helped me to understand John Calvin’s treatment of idolatry. Understanding must precede criticism.From Charles Partee, The Theology of John Calvin (Louisville: . . . . Continue Reading »

Who’s Ya Mama?

From First Thoughts

Have you ever conceived of God as mother? Moses did.Tonight my paternalistic view of God was challenged in the Book of Numbers. Just as a hungry baby turns to his mother, so did the sojourning Israelite.Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann has a special gift for opening eyes to biblical texts . . . . Continue Reading »

The Beauty of God

From First Thoughts

The excerpt below is from the introduction of a book that I highly recommend. Evangel readers will be treated to a concise survey of how beauty declined in modern religious thought and how it is slowly being reclaimed. The authors evaluate the gains and costs associated with contemporary theological . . . . Continue Reading »