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Boaz and Ruth in the Time of the Judges
Today’s lectionary reading is from Ruth 1, and there is a lot going on here. I will attempt to make two separate posts, but it has been a crazy day. Notice the time period for the Book of Ruth: “In the days when the judges ruled,…” I have already posted about the pattern of the…
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I Agree with Doug and Drew – John Piper Really Blew it this Time
I hate to label someone an idiot, but John Piper (I will henceforth call him Dr. Piper because it makes me feel a bit better about not having finished my doctoral degree yet) is at the very least being idiotic. Doug Chaplin and Drew Tatusko have already gone into detail about this, and I whole-heartedly…
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The Most Unfathomable Part
This morning I posted a link to Doug Chaplin’s thoughts on today’s Old Testament lectionary reading. And, I just sat down to write my own thoughts about this strange text. As Doug has said, there is certainly a lot going on here. So, I wanted to post the reading in its entirety: The Spirit of…
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Clayboy on the Bewailing of Jephthah's Daughter
Today’s Old Testament reading is one of the most bizzarre Old Testament stories. Jephthah makes a vow to the Lord that he will sacrifice whatever (or whoever) comes out of his door first if the Lord will deliver the Ammonites into his hands. It turns out that the Lord does deliver them into his hands,…
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The Pattern of Judges
As I said, I mis-clicked on Monday and thought there was no Old Testament reading. But, there actually was one – Judges 2.11-19. Here we find the predominant pattern of the Book of Judges. The people sin (vs. 11-13) – The cycle starts with the people sinning. Usually this sin is the sin of idolatry,…
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Oh Man! I Missed a Judges Reading – What's a Biblical Judge Anyway?
Yesterday I reported that there was no Old Testament lectionary reading. I was actually incorrect. I had clicked the wrong Monday on the lectionary calendar. We actually do get some readings from Judges before the lectionary sells its soul by leaving out the Old Testament in favor of the likes of Revelation and 1 Thessalonians. …
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No Old Testament Lectionary Reading Today – How Lame is That?
Well, I think the blog title says it all. There’s no Old Testament lectionary reading today (except for the Psalm). And for that matter, there are none for a while here except on Sundays and feast days. They decided to go with that Revelation book instead. What to do? What to do? I know. I’ll…
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Clayboy on Bibliomancy
HERE is link to an interesting post on the blog Clayboy about Bibliomancy. Want to know what that is? You’ll have to read the post to find out. I’ve heard this tale before, but it ever afresh illustrates the problems with the flip your Bible open approach to reading scripture.
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James McGrath on Atheism
HERE is a thoughtful post by James McGrath on disagreeing with atheists. I think that he is right on the mark when he says: “When I disagree with atheists, it is usually because they accept premises and assumptions of religious fundamentalists that I think need to be critically examined and challenged.” In other words, atheists…
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He is a Jealous God who will not Forgive your Transgressions or your Sins
Today’s lectionary reading is again from the end of Joshua and contains one of those sayings that well-meaning people like to hang up on the walls of their homes. They may have it crocheted or artistically represented in some other manner. And, it reads something like “As for me and my house, we will serve…