This blog series is taken, more or less as is, from my latest book How The Bible Actually Works. You can read the first posts in this series here, here, here, and here. I trust no one will misunderstand my intentions. I don’t mean to compare the loss of a child to anything, let alone a […]
Old Testament
Don’t Put God in a Box, Unless You Want to Be Swallowed by a Fish
This blog series is taken, more or less as is, from my latest book How The Bible Actually Works. You can read the first posts in this serieshere and here and here. The book of Jonah tells the famous story of the prophet Jonah who wanted nothing to do with his divinely given assignment—to go to the city […]
Judaism and the Jesus Movement Were Both Solving an Old Testament Problem
Hear me out. One way (not the only way, but one way—hold your horses) of describing the Old Testament is as a story of striving for national identity. Yeah, that sounds “secular,” but it’s not. We’re in the ancient world here, folks, and there is no secular vs. sacred dichotomy when it comes to nationalism. […]
5 Old Testament Reasons Why “Original Sin” Doesn’t Work
Does the Old Testament portray Adam’s disobedience in the garden of Eden as the cause of universal human sinfulness and guilt? No it doesn’t. Not even remotely.
King David, Time Travel, and Whoa, What the Heck is Going on Here!?
It was more important to these ancient editors who produced the Old Testament to preserve conflicting traditions and put them together somehow, even if awkwardly, than to eliminate them for the sake of achieving logical coherence.
Why Abraham Pimps Out His Wife and His Wife Pimps Out Her Slave (or, This Week’s Children’s Bible story)
While I don’t think there is any intention here to present Abraham as a model of virtue, neither do I think Abraham is simply kicking into fight-or-flight reptilian brain mode.
More On What Genesis is Really About (If You Keep One Eye Focused on the Monarchy)
Let’s channel Gary Rendsburg’s article a bit more and explore a few more ways that David and the monarchy are embedded into the stories in Genesis.
What is Genesis About? The Big Idea that Cleared it Up for Me
The book of Genesis, however old the stories may be, were recast and shaped into their present form during the monarchic period for the purpose of explaining and defending the writer’s present.
Facebook Live with Pete Enns: Jesus and the Old Testament
Questions that Pete addresses in this Facebook Live video: In the Christian’s common understanding of Isaiah 52 and 53 referring to Jesus the Messiah, is that an accurate and fair application? How do I talk to friends about double predestination? Where is the line drawn between prophecy and creative use of scripture? If Adam and the Genesis […]
Brief Bible Thought: Is There Resurrection from the Dead in the Old Testament?
And that is where we find “resurrection” in the Old Testament: returning to the land, where God and his temple are, where there is peace and security, the land promised to Abraham, the land “flowing with mik and honey.”
