Archive for the ‘Writings’ Category

  • God the Midwife

    Aug 16, 15 • Gender, Genesis, Jeremiah, Job, OT, Psalms, TheologyComments Off on God the Midwife
    God the Midwife

    Here’s an old post, with now a screencast format and somewhat cleaned up audio. I briefly remind you of some of the passages that picture God as a midwife. The Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) regularly pictures Yahweh as intimately associated with forming in the womb and with birthing. In view of “his” role as midwife [&hellip...

  • Land of the Bible: Wadi Qelt: the road from Jerusalem to Jericho

    Mar 17, 15 • Geography, Luke, Psalms2 Comments
    Land of the Bible: Wadi Qelt: the road from Jerusalem to Jericho

    In this video we visit the Wadi Qelt, the gorge that cuts down into the steep Judean Hills and so provided a passable route in ancient times between Jericho (in the Jordan Valley and Jerusalem in the hills). We’ll begin near the Ein Prat (Prat Spring) and passing the monastery head down towards the opening [&hellip...

  • Eliphaz: Truth into lies

    Eliphaz: Truth into lies

    It’s easy to preach lies from the book of  Job. It won’t be as obvious as preaching Atheism from Psalms (see Ps 10:4; 14:1; 53:1). All you have to do is take a passage from the speeches by his friends. Of course God tells us at the end of the book that they “have not spoken what [&hellip...

  • Universalism, or Not? Part Two: Psalm 69

    Apr 24, 14 • Psalms, UniversalismComments Off on Universalism, or Not? Part Two: Psalm 69
    Universalism, or Not? Part Two: Psalm 69

    As a counterbalance to Jonah I’ll take Psalm 69. I’m considering it as typifying many Bible passages where people pray imprecation on evil people (usually their own enemies, but sometimes the enemies of others). Something deep in us wants to believe that God is just. Such prayers appeal to this...

  • E100-45: Proverbs 16:1 – 18:24: What are proverbs or what is Proverbs?

    Feb 25, 14 • E100, ProverbsComments Off on E100-45: Proverbs 16:1 – 18:24: What are proverbs or what is Proverbs?
    E100-45: Proverbs 16:1 – 18:24: What are proverbs or what is Proverbs?

    Proverbs are pithy sayings. Short, thought-provoking, often using vivid imagery proverbs work by making you think. But they are often used as a source of quick simple answers. The book of Proverbs is a collkection of loads of such sayings with a long preface and short epilogue that encourage young men to meditate on this [&hellip...

  • Genres of Poetry in Scripture

    Sep 25, 13 • 1 Samuel, Deuteronomy, Ecclesiastes/Qohelet, Genesis, Genre, Isaiah, Job, Judges, Numbers, Prophets, ProverbsComments Off on Genres of Poetry in Scripture
    Genres of Poetry in Scripture

    This podcast may benefit from a set of notes, either as an alternative to the audio/screencast or as a reminder (since has a high information content). It is also longer and less fun than most, so if you like miss it out unless later in the series you need to come back to it for [&hellip...

  • Genres in the Bible: part 2: Prose and Poetry

    Sep 4, 13 • Genre, Psalms2 Comments
    Genres in the Bible: part 2: Prose and Poetry

    The distinction between prose and poetry is probably the most useful way of grouping all Bible texts into just two sorts (though as we’ll see this binary classification is an over simplification). For this brief look at the two sorts (genres) of writing we will ask: What is poetry? With a bonus extra “big word” [&hellip...

  • Atheists, Fundamentalists and the Bible: Using Scripture

    Atheists, Fundamentalists and the Bible: Using Scripture

    I’ve been puzzled and frustrated recently in several conversations by the way in which both some Fundamentalists and some Atheists seem to (mis)use Scripture in similar ways. This is the first of a series on this, it focuses on how this way of using Scripture is wrong...

  • Complaint Psalms: Part Two

    Complaint Psalms: Part Two

    This second look at the complaint psalms continues to focus on Psalm 22. Part three will return to Jeremiah&#...

  • Complaint Psalms: Part One

    May 11, 13 • Arguing with God, Complaint, Job, PsalmsComments Off on Complaint Psalms: Part One
    Complaint Psalms: Part One

    This post starts to talk about Psalm 22, mentioning Job 10 on the way, we will examine these passages as a way into understanding “complaint psalms”. Complaints are the commonest type of psalm in the book of psalms. You might like to listen to my earlier post “Arguing with God: Jer 12:1-4” first, it sets the [&hellip...