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Religion, Race, & Whiteness in New Testament Scholarship with Professor David Horrell (Podcast)
Read more: Religion, Race, & Whiteness in New Testament Scholarship with Professor David Horrell (Podcast)In this penultimate episode in our cultural identity series we discuss the role of whiteness in New Testament scholarship with Prof. David Horrell, who is Professor of New Testament Studies and the Director of the Center for Biblical Studies at the University of Exeter (England), and the author of Solidarity and Difference: A Contemporary Reading…
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Minding God’s Narrative
Read more: Minding God’s NarrativeThroughout this summer I’ve been noticing various social media posts that attempt to describe Jesus as transcending all nationalities and ethnicities. I’m guessing the point of these posts is that Jesus ought to be acknowledged as ‘above’ our current racial tensions. In these posts, Jesus is defined as a pan-global figure and therefore beyond any…
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Haggai and the Expectation of the Experience of God’s Presence: Part 2
Read more: Haggai and the Expectation of the Experience of God’s Presence: Part 2In a previous blog post on Haggai, I discussed one of the expectations the people of Israel held concerning Yahweh’s (the personal name of God) powerful action on their behalf, an expectation that included their current state of economic affairs. Upon the obedience of his command to rebuild the Temple, they expected to participate, once again,…
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Review of Apocalypse against Empire by Anathea E. Portier-Young
Read more: Review of Apocalypse against Empire by Anathea E. Portier-YoungAnathea E. Portier-Young. Apocalypse against Empire: Theologies of Resistance in Early Judaism. Eerdmans, 2014. 462 pgs. $35 (Paperback). ISBN 978-0-8028-7083-4. Anathea E. Portier-Young’s Apocalypse against Empire (originally release in 2011) comprises, to quote John Collins from the book’s foreword, “an important contribution to the study of Judea under Seleucid rule and to the social context…
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Natalie Portman, Idolatry, and Ancient Judaism
Read more: Natalie Portman, Idolatry, and Ancient JudaismHave you seen this recent report about Natalie Portman and her Oscar trophy? Apparently, she thinks of it as something of an idol. Here are her thoughts: “I don’t know where it is,” Portman told The Hollywood Reporter when asked about where she keeps the Best Actress Oscar she won in 2010 for her role…
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Esther & Covenant?
Read more: Esther & Covenant?[Update (2/14/2014)—My new book Esther and Her Elusive God: How A Secular Story Functions As Scripture is now available. My posts on this site represent stages in the development of my thinking about Esther. For the full argument check out the book]. Over the last two weeks I’ve discussed the enigmatic nature of the book of Esther….
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Esther & Compromise?
Read more: Esther & Compromise?[Update (2/14/2014)—My new book Esther and Her Elusive God: How A Secular Story Functions As Scripture is now available. My posts on this site represent stages in the development of my thinking about Esther. For the full argument check out the book]. Last week I wrote briefly about whether Esther belongs in the canon of Christian scripture….