According to Google, to rationalize is to “attempt to explain or justify (one’s own or another’s behavior or attitude) with logical, plausible reasons, even if these are not true or appropriate.” According to Mark, people do this all the time. Is Jesus helping someone out at your expense? Explain, with logical, plausible arguments, that he…
Category: The Bible as Literature
Bread and Circuses
Human beings make decisions and take actions based on assumptions. We do so because without assumptions, we are paralyzed by complexity. In some cases, an assumption is based on data, but almost always, our presuppositions stem from innate selfishness. As Julius Caesar once said, “Men are nearly always willing to believe what they wish.” Caesar…
Jesus Proclaimed the Letter of the Law
We’ve all heard it. On every corner. In every school. At every church. There is always somebody spouting platitudes about the “dangers” of taking the Bible literally. This is usually the same person who explains that “religion is the cause of all wars,” conveniently ignoring the bloodshed of the last century committed in the name…
Step Forward or Step Aside
Have you ever had a ton of work to do, only to be pulled into long meetings with people who talk endlessly to avoid action? You know that feeling when you have a simple question for customer service, but the automated attendant makes you answer fifteen pointless questions, and then, when you get to a…
Don’t Be Fooled by the Crowds
People deal with the miracles and parables of Jesus as biblical vignettes that can be extracted from the gospels and presented on their own. Biblical scholars refer to these vignettes as “pericopes,” literally, a section of the Bible that has been cut out and extracted from the narrative. The problem, of course, is that a…
Do Not Be Amazed, Be Obedient
The fallacy of the Messianic Secret is based on a presupposition that openly contradicts the teaching of Mark’s Gospel. While scholars assume that Jesus is preoccupied with his identity and secrecy, in the text of Mark, Jesus is in a big rush to preach to as many people as possible in as many places as…
A New Teaching?
Teaching is tedious work. No matter how many times you explain something, for every one person who doesn’t get it, there are a thousand people you can’t get to. It’s even harder when the teaching itself is so counterintuitive that even people who think they get it have to keep relearning it. It’s no wonder…
Pleased With Himself
Ancient religions stood on a simple premise: find a way to please the gods or face their wrath. Are you afraid of bad weather? Make a sacrifice. Worried about your family? Make a sacrifice. Afraid of impending war or plague? Make a sacrifice. Like all people in power, the ancient gods lived off the backs…
A Path in the Wilderness?
The first few verses of Mark’s gospel are packed with prophetic imagery. From the impossible concept of a path in the wilderness to the Baptist’s position outside Jerusalem, the Markan prologue heralds the victory of the Prophets’ teaching against human cities and the imminent inclusion of those beyond the Jordan in God’s city. Richard and…
Eye of the Needle Jokes
The biblical system proposes hyperbole, scandal, and logical contradiction as a means to disassemble the statues and false gods we construct in our minds. At the same time, hearers of the Bible tend to rationalize these tensions away, explaining to themselves and others what Jesus “really” meant. Yes, the Bible is a language of metaphor,…