Archive for the ‘Psalms’ 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...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • Not Only a Father: Knowing the unknowable

    Apr 30, 13 • God as mother, Matthew, Numbers, PsalmsComments Off on Not Only a Father: Knowing the unknowable
    Not Only a Father: Knowing the unknowable

    The final podcast in a series written as guest posts for Sacraparental that express the key ideas of Not Only a Father briefly and simply. This one explores a few ways to experience God as motherly. Looks at Psalm 131 and Jesus teaching in Matthew 5 & 6 as well as Numbers 11. For more [&hellip...

  • Being Ideal Readers: 1 in which we discover the importance of a Psalm

    Mar 25, 13 • Ephesians, Psalms, Reading2 Comments
    Being Ideal Readers: 1 in which we discover the importance of a Psalm

    In this podcast we’ll begin to grapple with a complicated idea, but quite simply begin to discover how to become (more) ideal readers. We’ll be looking at Eph 4 , and you will also need a bookmark in Ps 68 . This is a podcast in two parts (otherwise I’d have to change the name [&hellip...

  • A Text without contexts is dumb! 2: Text without cotext is dumb

    Feb 11, 13 • Context, Ephesians, Psalms1 Comment
    A Text without contexts is dumb! 2: Text without cotext is dumb

    For the second part of this “A text without contexts is dumb” series we’ll think about cotext, the text that surrounds a text, providing context. The biblical examples come from Psalms and Ephesians. You might want to listen to Part 1 here first 😉  ...