When Scripture deconstructs a human proposition by forcing an opposing position (which we have repeatedly described as functional judgment, meaning Scripture has no stake in the argument itself, only in opposing the human being), it is only natural to argue for or against the point in question. Do you agree or disagree? Be careful. It’s…
Category: The Bible as Literature
Nothing Good Comes From Us
What does the destruction of the Temple mean? What does it mean not to be anything? Not to have an identity? Not to be a part of anything? Not to believe in anything? No bumper stickers.No slogans.No rousing speeches.There is no applause–no trust in anything or anyone other than what Luke has written out in…
The Jerusalem Above Is Free
Time and again, we have explained the tension in Scripture between the things human beings construct, which cannot create life, and a mother’s natural womb–the grammatical and factual expression of God’s life-giving mercy in the Bible. Now, in the opening verses of Luke, we find Herod’s building project in Jerusalem totally defunct and sterilizing, even…
You Are Not Doing Anything
The novelty of Scripture lies in its multi-faceted handling of anthropocentrism. It deconstructs and breaks apart our institutions and smashes our egos, re-positing us as individuals set free to hear and do the commandments of God. In no uncertain terms, the Apostle Paul proclaims: “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore, keep…
The Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness
The power of Semitic poetry stems, literally, from the functionality of its consonantal roots. With but three consonants, a long series of words, used in a specific way, set in a specific pattern, according to an ordained order and rhythm, can be carefully arranged so that even the sound of the words can be manipulated…
The Kingdom Under the Heavens
When Christians talk about evangelization, they do so along the lines of the historical King Herod, who twisted biblical circumcision into a trademark of the temple cult, a stigma with which to brand people living outside of Judea as Jews, in order to extract wealth from them in the name of scripture—you guessed it—to build…
It’s Ok to Laugh
The behavior of the chief priests after the resurrection of Jesus in Matthew 28 is so cynical, so unredeemable, and so pathetic that the only bearable quality of the story is that in the victory of Jesus, the author gives us a little space to laugh. But here’s the rub, if you’ve been listening carefully,…
Break it Up
In Genesis, God is interested in the oneness of humans in the land, so much so that from a modern perspective, you might say that the Scriptural God is not only anti-institution but anti-family values. Not only Jerusalem, not only the Temple, not only Religious leaders and government, but even Jesus’ family is broken up…
Jesus Has Left the Building
Human institutions operate under the assumption that they are justified. I was going to say human communities, but let’s be honest, we no longer have communities. We have institutions. Thanks to Plato (and the US Supreme court), there is even such a thing as “corporate personhood.” So, according to American law, institutions are people too….
The Liberation of the Gospel
When we approach Scripture with human presuppositions, we inevitably and systematically mishear the topic of a given book, dislocating God’s agency in the story and silencing his voice in our ears. If your premise is you, the tale distorts and twists itself into a parable about you. If your premise is your king (in the…