Are all the moral commands of the Bible meant to be obeyed exactly for all time, or are there some that need to be adapted for our modern world? In Moral Questions of the Bible, David Instone-Brewer helps answer this question by showing how the Bible’s moral commands were understood in their ancient cultural context.
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What is a Sound Literary Approach to Scripture?
The Western world has changed dramatically during the latter half of the twentieth century. Biblical interpretation has not avoided these major changes, though the affects have been largely overlooked. According to Douglas Estes in Literary Approaches to the Bible, “the interpretation of the Bible underwent a notable shift such as has happened only occasionally over
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The God of Pathos
Probably more than in most other biblical books, Jeremiah presents God as one having deep feelings, emotions, and passions (pathos). Yahweh shows his love and affection for Israel and the peoples of the earth, but he also shows his deep anger and wrath for all the moral degradation and flaunting of his law. This is
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What Makes a Disciple? A Biblical Definition of Discipleship
Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him (Matthew 5:1). Matthew is an orderly writer, so it is important to note carefully how he begins his account of Jesus’ ministry. He tells us that after John the Baptizer has been arrested, Jesus begins to
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Is the Book of Hebrews Still Relevant Today?
The Book of Hebrews is a strange book. Hebrews has intimidated readers over the centuries. It expects a knowledge of the Old Testament that many do not have. It seems to have a negative view of the Old Testament (see Heb 10). It gives six terrifying warnings that seem to indicate believers can lose their
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The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament: Creation, Community, and Consummation
Is God?s Spirit a minor character until the New Testament? This is a common misconception. Myk Habets in The Progressive Mystery insists that the Spirit is highly active in the Old Testament. Yes, there is a ?fuller revelation of his identity in the New Testament,? but the Spirit ?is a person, fully at work, and
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What the Book of Ruth Teaches us About Self-Sacrifical Love
Hesed is a power word in the Bible and the most important word in the book of Ruth. It shows up three times, but the concept runs through the whole story and ultimately drives the action. Naomi says it first when she attempts to part from her daughters-in-law. ?May the Lord show [hesed] to you,
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Building a Joyful Spirit
Joy is important and valuable, so everyone wants more joy. Everyone is looking for happiness. Where do we find it? People look for joy in material things, in human relationships, in exotic experiences. We?ll look at some New Testament verses that express some practical ways we develop joy. Joy is Important to God God is
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Why Is It so Hard to Appreciate Proverbs?
One of the changes I can chart over the course of my career in the Bible as literature is a growing appreciation for the proverb as literary genre. Implicit in that statement is that I began with an undervaluing of proverbs as a form of literature. I want to reach back to my earlier years
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Four Common Misconceptions You Might Believe About the Gospels
The Gospels are difficult books to fully understand. Faced with the difficulties, interpreters have come up with false claims about them. Here are four common misconceptions of the Gospels that are the source of some of these difficulties. Story not Sayings The primary form of the Gospels is not the sermon or saying. The view
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