Sins of the Fathers

That the sins of the fathers are “imputed” to sons is, Grotius thinks, a clear teaching of Scripture ( Defensio Fidei Catholoicae: De Satisfactione Christi Adversus Faustum Socinum Senensem (1.25). But why? Grotius gives this intriguing answer, reflecting on Jeremiah’s use of the . . . . Continue Reading »

Is Grotius a Grotian?

It’s one of the fun questions of theology: Was Nestorius a Nestorian, Pelagius a Pelagian, Calvin a five-point Calvinist? Etc. Now, was Grotius a Grotian? Not if “Grotian” means “one wno denies penal substitution in favor of a governmental view.” Consider this summary . . . . Continue Reading »

Sociology of atonement

The atonement doesn’t take place “above the heads” of the participants - Jews, disciples, Pilate, Jesus - but in and through their concrete actions and reactions. There can be no sociology of atonement unless the atonement is understood as an inherently social and political event. . . . . Continue Reading »

Sacrificed servant

Isaiah 53 is not just about the trials and death of the Messiah. It’s also about the exaltation/vindication of the Messiah and the contrite acknowledgment of the Messiah by the people who had rejected Him. It’s not just about the cross but about the resurrection and ascension, and about . . . . Continue Reading »

Marred

The Hebrew word for “marred” occurs in only two places in the Old Testament: It describes the Suffering Servant (Isaiah 52:14) and it is used to refer to disfigurements that disqualify a descendant of Aaron from being priest (Leviticus 22:25). The connection doesn’t seem . . . . Continue Reading »

Religion of the Word

In the NYRB, Edward Mendelson suggests that there is a little zone of Protestant freedom within the controlled Papal structures of Apple: “AppleScript is protestant with a lower-case ‘p,’ as iOS and much of OS X is catholic with a lower-case ‘c.’ Like the Protestantism . . . . Continue Reading »

Structure of Isaiah 49-54

The “sixth day” section of Isaiah is arranged as a five-point chiasm, organized around the exhortation to Zion to awake from her drunken stupor, her death in the dust, to greet her returning husband, Yahweh: a. Zion’s complaint, 49:1-26 (v. 14) b. Obedient Servant, 50:1-51:11 c. . . . . Continue Reading »

Romanticizing Satan

Blake’s comment that Milton was of the devil’s party without knowing it is well-known. Louis Markos shows in his survey of Western poetic views of the afterlife ( Heaven and Hell: Visions of the Afterlife in the Western Poetic Tradition ) that Blake’s view of Milton’s Satan . . . . Continue Reading »

Welcoming little strangers

Christopher Ash argues in Married for God: Making Your Marriage the Best it Can be (57-8) that it is a “false choice” to ask whether we serve God or have children: “We serve God by having children.” For most moms, “what they do as parents will prove more significant in . . . . Continue Reading »