In his The Mind of Egypt: History and Meaning in the Time of the Pharaohs , Jan Assmann notes the two purposes of rituals that mimicked “cosmic life and the cyclical recurrence of its natural phenomenon: day and night, summer and winter, the motions of the stars, the inundations of the Nile, . . . . Continue Reading »
In his Thomas Aquinas: Theologian of the Christian Life (Great Theologians Series) , Nicholas Healy challenges Jean-Pierre Torrell’s claim that the Summa provides the only possible organization for theology. He challenges Torrell in the name of Thomas: “On my view, the ST has a . . . . Continue Reading »
All the fullness ( pleroma ) of God ( theotes ) dwells somatikos , “bodily,” in the incarnate Son. His body is the temple, filled with all the fullness of God (Colossians 2:9). Paul immediately follows this declaration of Christ’s full deity with this: “and in Him you . . . . Continue Reading »
“See to it that no one takes you captive [plunder you] through philosophy and empty deception,” Paul warns in Colossians 2:8. Who might try to capture through “philosophy”? Paul punningly hints at the identity of the spoilers by using the verb sylagogeo , which pretty . . . . Continue Reading »
Joseph Blenkinsopp ( Isaiah 1-39 (The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries) ) suggests that the Hebrew canon arranges the prophetic books to correspond to the patriarchal history. After the four former prophets (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings) come four later prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, The . . . . Continue Reading »
We all realize that seeing the future requires prophetic inspiration. But we think that the past will be accessible to us if we can accumulate sufficient evidence. Some of the ancients knew better. Josephus wrote that “the prophets alone had this privilege [writing history], . . . . Continue Reading »
INTRODUCTION Because it contains so many Messianic passages (e.g., 7:1-14; 9:1-7; 11:1-10; 42:1-4; 53:1-12), Christians have long regarded the book of Isaiah the prophet (so called in Isaiah 37:2; 38:1; 39:3) as a kind of “fifth gospel.” This week, we begin our study in the book by . . . . Continue Reading »
Exodus 8:22-23: in that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, in order that you may know that I am the LORD in the midst of the land. I will make a difference between My people and your people. Tomorrow . . . . Continue Reading »
For the Egyptians, frogs are symbols of fertility. Heqet, the Egyptian goddess of childbirth, has a frog’s head. When frogs start breeding in the Nile, it’s a sign that the divine Nile’s generosity. But there can be too much of a good thing. Fecundity is good . . . . Continue Reading »
Thomas Oord, whose Defining Love I briefly and sharply criticized here yesterday, writes to tell me that his forthcoming book will fill in some of the gaps I complained about in his book. He writes, “You may like to know that the book was published in the same month and year as my other . . . . Continue Reading »
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