Cooling Twilight

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  • Eunuchs For The Sake Of The Kingdom Of Heaven

    “For there are some eunuchs who were that way from birth, and some who were made eunuchs by others, and some who became eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who is able to accept this should accept it.” Matthew 19.12

    I’ve always assumed that “made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven” was metaphorical rather than literal language and that Origen was sadly misguided in his understanding of that text. But just because we don’t want something to be literal doesn’t mean we should just assume it isn’t. Throughout history there have always been some Christians who understood this text as a literal command to physically castrate themselves — is there a possibility that they’ve been right? (more…)

  • All You Need Is Love

    One criticism that I’ve heard leveled against progressive (liberal!) Christians is that they have an “all you need is love” theology — that they essentially neglect the Gospel, overlook sin and ignore God in favor of vague platitudes that advocate peace and love at the expense of Christian orthodoxy.

    If one understands this position as strictly reductive (i.e. you need nothing other than love), then yes, such a statement is indeed problematic. (more…)

  • Why Not Vine’s?

    I regularly encounter citations of outdated Biblical reference material: a friend recently sent me an article that referenced definitions from Grimm’s Greek-English Lexicon, another friend has cited entries from Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words and Strong’s Concordance is frequently used in sermons to give us the meaning of the original languages.

    So what’s wrong with these sources? Using biblical reference works of the past is like seeking medical advice from a 19th century medical dictionary. Would you feel comfortable if your doctor flipped open the 1858 edition of Gray’s Anatomy while he poked and prodded you? (more…)

  • Sunday Cat Picture: 10/21/2012

  • Why Is Life Worth Living? (according to Woody Allen)

    In his 1978 movie Manhattan, Woody Allen’s character offers these thoughts on life:

    Why is life worth living? That’s a very good question. Well, there are certain things I guess that make it worthwhile. Like what? Okay, for me, I would say, Groucho Marx, to name one thing and Willie Mays, and the second movement of the Jupiter Symphony, and Louie Armstrong’s recording of “Potato Head Blues,” Swedish movies, naturally, “Sentimental Education” by Flaubert, Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra, those incredible apples and pears by Cézanne, the crabs at Sam Wo’s, Tracy’s face …

    This quote often comes to mind when I contemplate art, beauty and the meaning of life. Although it’s an idiosyncratic list, I think it offers a meaningful cross-section of aesthetically significant human experiences. It’s not a definitive statement on beauty and life, but many of the items resonate within me as being, in one way or another, truly important. So, here they are, for you enjoyment and contemplation: (more…)

  • Review: A Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans

    Following closely in the footsteps of A.J. Jacobs’ 2007 book The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible, blogger and writer Rachel Held Evans offers her own contribution to the genre of reality-show inspired memoirs in the unimaginatively titled A Year of Biblical Womanhood: How a Liberated Woman Found Herself Sitting on Her Roof, Covering Her Head, and Calling Her Husband “Master.”

    Based upon Evans’ year-long exploration of what it means — and doesn’t mean — to be a “biblical” woman, A Year of Biblical Womanhood provides a powerful polemic against prevailing views of gender roles within the evangelical subculture. (more…)

  • Ode On An Objectively Beautiful Grecian Urn

    One of the standard arguments for the existence of God is the Moral Argument. It can be formulated like this:

    1. If God does not exist, objective moral values do not exist.
    2. Objective moral values do exist.
    3. Therefore, God exists.

    There’s a similar argument for God that can be made in terms of objective beauty, or objective aesthetic values. Such an argument runs thusly:

    1. If God does not exist, objective aesthetic values do not exist.
    2. Objective aesthetic values do exist.
    3. Therefore, God exists. (more…)

  • Review: The Lost World of Genesis One by John Walton

    Walton, John H. (2009). The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press.

    Walton lays out his reading of Genesis 1 in a clear and accessible manner, arguing persuasively that Genesis 1 is a functional, rather than a material, account of creation that describes the inauguration of a cosmic temple. He also discusses how this reading impacts the creation vs. evolution debate, the ongoing conflict of faith vs. science, the intelligent design movement and public science education. Walton is acutely aware of the variety of Christian beliefs on these topics and discusses them with sensitivity. This book stands in stark contrast to the naïve Biblicism of Kurt Wise’s Faith, Form and Time; Walton’s exegesis is the antidote to Young Earth Creationist claims to a “literal” reading of Genesis. The Lost World of Genesis One should be required reading for every Christian.

  • Why I’m Not A Red Letter Christian

    I’m not a Red Letter Christian. By this I don’t mean I’m opposed to Tony Campolo’s and Jim Wallis’ Christians-for-social-justice movement. I mean it in a very literal sense: I don’t like red text in my Bible.

    Red letter Bibles print the words of Jesus in red, presumably so that we can better focus on his very important teachings . It’s the theological equivalent of underlining important passages in a textbook so that you can go back and quickly study them before an exam. (more…)

  • Sunday Cat Picture: 10/14/2012