Paul is not ashamed of the gospel (Romans 1:16). We psychologize: Some might be embarrassed to preach a crucified Christ, but not Paul. He glories in the shame. That’s true enough, but Paul’s emphasis lies elsewhere, according to Neil Elliott ( The Arrogance of Nations: Reading Romans . . . . Continue Reading »
Until the Reformation, virtually all translations of the New Testament translated the Pauline phrase pistis Christou as “the faith of Christ,” that is, the father exercised by Christ (a “subjective” genitive), rather than “faith in Christ” (an . . . . Continue Reading »
The table of nations (Genesis 10) initially lists Noah’s sons in the common order: Shem, Ham, Japheth. In the body of the list, however, the order is reversed: First descendants of Japheth, then Ham, then Shem. In the history of Israel, the list is reversed again. Israel begins in subjection . . . . Continue Reading »
Perriman offers a careful assessment of the “faith of Jesus” question. He notes the differences between the verb pisteuo and the noun pistis , notes as well the differences between Habakkuk’s use of the word and the use of the verb in Genesis 15, and concludes: “The verb . . . . Continue Reading »
Perriman’s subtitle is “Reading Romans Before and After Western Christendom.” The before and after are important. If Paul’s gospel in Romans is an announcement about God’s wrath against the oikoumene and the vindication of those who trust Jesus, then it is fulfilled in . . . . Continue Reading »
Andrew Perriman’s The Future of the People of God: Reading Romans Before and After Western Christendom offers a highly stimulating re-reading of Paul and of Romans in particular. Perriman argues that Romans, like the prophetic books of the Old Testament, is directed at a specific historical . . . . Continue Reading »
Stewart Clem has this to say about The Tree of Life : Malick’s film “looks unflinchingly at life’s greatest mysteries – love, loss, alienation, and suffering – without a hint of cynicism. It’s a feat that’s rarely even attempted.” It “not only . . . . Continue Reading »
The New Yorker reviewer of A World on Fire: Britain’s Crucial Role in the American Civil War notes that the Civil War was the American war that fundamentally changed American consciousness, and America’s place in the world: “More than our War of Independence, which we grandly . . . . Continue Reading »
A report in the current New Yorker on the Murdoch scandal explains how reporters are in the scandal-laundering business: “Bradley Manning is a traitor, but Nick Davies, of the Guardian (who received Manning’s ‘war logs’ from WikiLeaks), is a patriot, and Julian Assange . . . . Continue Reading »
Josh Gibbs demurs on my endorsement of Tree of Life : “I found much to like in The Tree of Life , but a few things stick in my craw. First and foremost the fact that Zbigniew Preisner’s “Lacrimosa” plays over images of the cosmos beginning. What is a song from a requiem . . . . Continue Reading »
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