Christ, Christians, And Migrants at the Gates…

‘When the Son of man comes in his glory, escorted by all the angels, then he will take his seat on his throne of glory.  All nations will be assembled before him and he will separate people one from another as the shepherd separates sheep from goats.  He will place the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left.

Then the King will say to those on his right hand, “Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take as your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you made me welcome, lacking clothes and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to see me.” Then the upright will say to him in reply, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and make you welcome, lacking clothes and clothe you? When did we find you sick or in prison and go to see you?” And the King will answer, “In truth I tell you, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me.”

Then he will say to those on his left hand, “Go away from me, with your curse upon you, to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you never gave me food, I was thirsty and you never gave me anything to drink, I was a stranger and you never made me welcome, lacking clothes and you never clothed me, sick and in prison and you never visited me.”  Then it will be their turn to ask, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty, a stranger or lacking clothes, sick or in prison, and did not come to your help?” Then he will answer, “In truth I tell you, in so far as you neglected to do this to one of the least of these, you neglected to do it to me.”  And they will go away to eternal punishment, and the upright to eternal life.’  (Matt. 25:31-46)

Truth

You have seduced me, Yahweh, and I have let myself be seduced; you have overpowered me: you were the stronger. I am a laughing-stock all day long, they all make fun of me. For whenever I speak, I have to howl and proclaim, ‘Violence and ruin!’ For me, Yahweh’s word has been the cause of insult and derision all day long. I would say to myself, ‘I will not think about him, I will not speak in his name any more,’ but then there seemed to be a fire burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones. The effort to restrain it wearied me, I could not do it. I heard so many disparaging me, ‘Terror on every side! Denounce him! Let us denounce him!’ All those who were on good terms with me watched for my downfall, ‘Perhaps he will be seduced into error. Then we shall get the better of him and take our revenge!’
…

A curse on the day when I was born! May the day my mother bore me be unblessed! A curse on the man who brought my father the news, ‘A son, a boy has been born to you!’ making him overjoyed.  May this man be like the towns that Yahweh overthrew without mercy; may he hear the warning-cry at dawn and the shout of battle at high noon, for not killing me in the womb; my mother would have been my grave and her womb pregnant for ever. Why ever did I come out of the womb to see toil and sorrow and end my days in shame?  (Jer. 20:7-18)

Konrad Schmid: Gerhard von Rad’s Interpretation of Genesis 22

Since it’s still von Rad’s birthday I’ll remind you that Konrad uploaded his 2008 Interpretation essay to Academia.edu some time back. Here. It’s still very much worth reading.

From the perspective of Heilsgeschichte, Gerhard von Rad saw clearly that Genesis 22 deals with the possible annihilation of the covenant promise. A fresh approach to Genesis corroborates this view and demonstrates that innerbiblical exegesis has shaped the message of Genesis 22.

 

The Metamorphosis of Law into Gospel: Gerhard von Rad’s Attempt to Reclaim the Old Testament for the Church

That’s the title of an essay by Bernard Levinson available online.  Must reading.

Still True

‘So always treat others as you would like them to treat you; that is the Law and the Prophets. ‘Enter by the narrow gate, since the road that leads to destruction is wide and spacious, and many take it; but it is a narrow gate and a hard road that leads to life, and only a few find it. (Matt. 7:12-14)

A Stern Warning, Not to the Pagans, But to God’s Disobedient People…

`I will hide My face from them, I will see what their end will be, For they are a perverse generation, Children in whom is no faith. They have provoked Me to jealousy by what is not God; They have moved Me to anger by their foolish idols. But I will provoke them to jealousy by those who are not a nation; I will move them to anger by a foolish nation. 

For a fire is kindled by my anger, And shall burn to the lowest hell; It shall consume the earth with her increase, And set on fire the foundations of the mountains. `I will heap disasters on them; I will spend My arrows on them.  They shall be wasted with hunger, Devoured by pestilence and bitter destruction; I will also send against them the teeth of beasts, With the poison of serpents of the dust. The sword shall destroy outside; There shall be terror within For the young man and virgin, The nursing child with the man of gray hairs. (Deut. 32:20-25)

Let those who have ears to hear, hear.

You Need a Commentary

Everyone needs a commentary on the Bible that they can understand and that answers their questions about the meaning of the text.  So I wrote one for lay people on the whole Bible.

So if you or someone you know has wanted to get a copy of the collection in PDF format, you can do so from yours truly for $75 by clicking my PayPal Link.  Leave your email in your paypal payment note so I can send it to you right away.

Hey There, Psalmist, Cheer Me Up!

Yahweh, do I not hate those who hate you, and loathe those who defy you?  My hate for them has no limits, I regard them as my own enemies. (Ps. 139:21-22)

That’s the ticket.  Thankya!

The Only Thing Barth Got Right Was the Hermeneutical Circle

Which he got right from Paul-

The natural person has no room for the gifts of God’s Spirit; to him they are folly; he cannot recognise them, because their value can be assessed only in the Spirit. The spiritual person, on the other hand, can assess the value of everything, and that person’s value cannot be assessed by anybody else. For: who has ever known the mind of the Lord? Who has ever been his adviser? But we are those who have the mind of Christ.  (1 Cor. 2:14-16)

Like it or not, Paul’s assertion that only those gifted with the Spirit understand the gifts of the Spirit is true.  Dwelling outside the hermeneutical circle doesn’t mean one is a bad historian.  But it does mean one is a terrible theologian and a worse exegete.  All protestations to the contrary notwithstanding.

Truth

The faithful man has perished from the earth, And there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; Every man hunts his brother with a net.  That they may successfully do evil with both hands– The prince asks for gifts, The judge seeks a bribe, And the great man utters his evil desire; So they scheme together.  The best of them is like a brier; The most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge. (Mic. 7:2-4)

What the Bible Says About Wealth

No one who loves money ever has enough, no one who loves luxury has any income; this, too, is futile.  Where goods abound, parasites abound: where is the owner’s profit, apart from feasting his eyes? The labourer’s sleep is sweet, whether he has eaten little or much, but the surfeit of the rich will not let him sleep at all.  

Something grossly unjust I observe under the sun: riches stored and turning to loss for their owner.  An unlucky venture, and those riches are lost; a son is born to him, and he has nothing to leave him.  Naked from his mother’s womb he came; as naked as he came will he depart; not one of his achievements can he take with him.  And something else grossly unjust: that as he came, so must he go; what profit can he show after toiling to earn the wind, as he spends the rest of his days in darkness, mourning, many sorrows, sickness and exasperation. 

So my conclusion is this: true happiness lies in eating and drinking and enjoying whatever has been achieved under the sun, throughout the life given by God: for this is the lot of humanity.  And whenever God gives someone riches and property, with the ability to enjoy them and to find contentment in work, this is a gift from God. For such a person will hardly notice the passing of time, so long as God keeps his heart occupied with joy.  (Eccl. 5:9-19)

Perhaps wealth is really a curse and God gives it to those whom he wishes to punish.

Today…

“Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness,  Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, And saw My works forty years.  Therefore I was angry with that generation, And said,`They always go astray in their heart, And they have not known My ways.’  So I swore in My wrath,`They shall not enter My rest.'”  Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God;  but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. — (Heb. 3:7-13)

Wisdom

There was once a small town, with only a few inhabitants; a mighty king made war on it, laying siege to it and building great siege-works round it.  But there was in that town a poverty-stricken sage who by his wisdom saved the town. No one remembered this poor man afterwards.  So I say: Wisdom is more effective than brute force, but the wisdom of a poor man is not valued: no one listens to what he has to say.  The calm words of the wise make themselves heard above the shouts of someone commanding an army of fools.  Wisdom is worth more than weapons of war, but a single sin undoes a deal of good. — (Eccl. 9:14-18)

The Vulgate Has Finally Been Translated, Into German

Erstmals wurde die komplette lateinische Bibel des Kirchenvaters Hieronymus, die so genannte «Vulgata» auf Deutsch übersetzt. Am 23. Oktober wird das 5000-seitige Werk an der Theologischen Hochschule Chur (THC) der Öffentlichkeit vorgestellt, teilte der Vulgata Verein diese Woche mit.

Bei der Vulgata (Lateinisch für «die Volkstümliche») handelt es sich um die seit der Spätantike am weitesten verbreitete lateinische Übersetzung der Bibel, heisst es auf der Website der THC. Sie sei um 380 bis 400 nach Christus zum grössten Teil von Hieronymus (347 bis ca. 420) erstellt und revidiert worden. Die Vulgata weiche in entscheidenden Teilen von den Originalbibeltexten ab. Aus diesem Grund biete sie einen wichtigen Einblick in die christliche Theologie der Spätantike und des Mittelalters. Zu dieser Zeit sei die Vulgata – vor der Neuübersetzung durch Martin Luther – als eine Hauptquelle benutzt worden.

Sieben Jahre – vierzig Übersetzer.  Nun liegt laut den Initianten erstmals eine zweisprachige Ausgabe der kompletten Vulgata mit deutscher Übersetzung vor. 40 Übersetzerinnen und Übersetzer haben während sieben Jahren daran mitgearbeitet. Entstanden ist laut Mitteilung ein fünfbändiges Werk von über 5000 Seiten.

Etc. And how interesting.

Truth

Smooth lips with an evil heart are like glaze on an earthen vessel.  A hateful person disguises himself with his speech and harbors deceit within.  When he speaks graciously, don’t believe him, for there are seven detestable things in his heart.  Though his hatred is concealed by deception, his evil will be revealed in the assembly.  The one who digs a pit will fall into it, and whoever rolls a stone– it will come back on him.  A lying tongue hates those it crushes, and a flattering mouth causes ruin. (Prov. 26:23-28)

It’s Foolish to Place your Hope in Politicians…

Do not trust in nobles, in a son of man, who cannot save. When his breath leaves him, he returns to the ground; on that day his plans die.  

Happy is the one whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God,  the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them. He remains faithful forever, executing justice for the exploited and giving food to the hungry.

The LORD frees prisoners.  The LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD raises up those who are oppressed. The LORD loves the righteous.  The LORD protects resident aliens and helps the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.  — (Ps. 146:3-9)

People Prefer The Lie

Before God and before Christ Jesus who is to be judge of the living and the dead, I charge you, in the name of his appearing and of his kingdom:  proclaim the message and, welcome or unwelcome, insist on it. Refute falsehood, correct error, give encouragement — but do all with patience and with care to instruct.

The time is sure to come when people will not accept sound teaching, but their ears will be itching for anything new and they will collect themselves a whole series of teachers according to their own tastes; and then they will shut their ears to the truth and will turn to myths.  But you must keep steady all the time; put up with suffering; do the work of preaching the gospel; fulfil the service asked of you. (2 Tim. 4:1-5)

Remember…

“My kingdom is not of this world,” said Jesus. (Jn. 18:36)

Lukas Bormann’s New Testament Theology

V&R have it–

Lukas Bormann arbeitet in Auseinandersetzung mit herausragenden Beiträgen der internationalen Forschung die Grundlinien der Theologie des Neuen Testaments heraus. 

Die Theologie des Neuen Testaments hat die Aufgabe, die Gedanken, Begriffe und überzeugungen, die in den neutestamentlichen Schriften ausgedrückt werden, in ihrem sachlichen und historischen Zusammenhang darzustellen. Im 21. Jahrhundert hat ein solches Vorhaben eine Vielfalt von Fragestellungen und Forschungsperspektiven zu berücksichtigen. Der Gegenstand einer Theologie des Neuen Testaments kann nicht mehr allein als die systematische Verhältnisbestimmung von Gott, Welt und Mensch definiert werden. Bormann berücksichtigt in seiner Darstellung daher vielfältige Impulse zum religiösen Symbolsystem des frühen Christentums.

A review copy has been provided.  More anon.

New from TVZ

Ein Dutzend «normale» Frauen und Männer, jüngere und ältere, kirchennahe und kirchenferne, Katholik/-innen und Protestant/-innen, haben zusammen mit dem bekannten Schweizer Neutestamentler Ulrich Luz das Neue Testament gelesen und ihre kritischen Fragen und Einwände an seine Textentwürfe gestellt.

Entstanden ist ein originelles, «leser-geprüftes» Büchlein: Es informiert Nicht-Theologinnen und Nicht-Theologen in verständlicher Sprache über Jesus, das frühe Christentum und die Schriften des Neuen Testaments.