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Lenten Reflections 2010
Last night I started a series of Lenten Reflections in my church parish. These are intended for lay people in my parish, so hopefully they are free from academic jargon. If you are in a tradition that celebrates Lent, or even if you are not, you might want to give them a listen. There will…
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Don't Blame Me Moses … That Calf Just Came Out
I was listening to Exodus today and 32:24 sounded a bit funny. So, I looked at the Hebrew and compared a few translations. Sure enough … Aaron sounds like a weasel. Moses comes down from the mountain and finds the people with their golden calf. And, here is Aaron’s response (translation comparison a cut and…
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War in the Bible & Terrorism in the Twenty-First Century Review
My friend Karyn has written a very thorough review of the book War in the Bible and Terrorism in the Twenty-First Century. It is in three parts here: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. Violence in scripture is a topic that preoccupies my mind a great deal as I am sure that it does…
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Game Theorist Interpretation of Genesis 2
I’ve been reading The Art of Strategy by Dixit and Nalebuff mainly because I have a side interest in Game Theory. I just think it’s fascinating, especially some of the examples from the field of study. Anyway, I’m reading along and then they discuss in a very short manner Genesis 2. The context is a…
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Biblical Studies Courses on Sale
I noticed today the Teaching Company has a lot of their Biblical (and Religious) Studies courses on sale. I don’t think they normally have this many on sale, and I’m not sure how long it lasts but here’s a list: Beginnings of Judaism Between Cross and Crescent: Jewish Civilization from Mohammed to Spinoza Biblical Wisdom…
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The Pride of Naram-Sin
I was reading this morning in Ancient Near East: Historical Sources in Translation and found this section from Chapter 2 interesting. King Naram-Sin says: Thus I said to myself, thus indeed I spoke: “What lion practiced divination? What wolf inquired of an interpreter of dreams? Let me go like a bandit, following the counsel of…
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Claude Mariottini on Roman Catholic Womenpriests
Dr. Claude Mariottini has recently linked to an interesting article on Roman Catholic Womenpriests. Go over to his blog to check it out. But, also to add a bit to the discussion, lay people are often somewhat surprised when I inform them that women were allowed to take the Nazirite vow in the Old Testament. …
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Psalm 72 – The King Worthy of Homage
I wrote yesterday about how the lectionary obliterated a bit of beautiful imagery. It doesn’t do a great job with today’s response either, which is the middle-latter portion of Psalm 72. The focus of this part of the Psalm is upon the king who is worthy of homage and dominion in verses 8-11. Psalm 72:8-11…
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Kill Them All – Man, Woman & Child … But, Not Really
Okay, I’m being a little facetious with the title to this post. But, it’s so hard to write good title lines without doing that from time to time. At any rate, Matt over at MandM has recently written on the “commands to commit genocide” in the Book of Joshua. One matter he brings up is…
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Psalm 72 – Shame on the Lectionary
Psalm 72 is the responsorial for today and the lectionary successfully obliterates the imagery of verses 6 and 7. Here’s how the lectionary reading looks online. Psalm 72 in the Lectionary Responsorial Psalm 72:1-2, 3-4, 7-8 R. (see 11) Lord, every nation on earth will adore you. O God, with your judgment endow the king,…