Socrates, Jesus, Amos and Us

Basically, as I see it, in the Christian view of things this world is decidedly not as it’s supposed to be. Predation, sickness, violence, death, racism, bigotry of all types etc., etc., are not what God desires for humanity. But sin enters the world, when humans live in their own private universes—we make ourselves into gods, and don’t give two damns about the rest of the Creation. We become “kings of our little skull-sized kingdoms” as David Foster Wallace would say. Sinners. And think of sin not just as wrongdoing, but as a kind of cosmic disorderliness (the “worm at the heart of goodness” if you will). Yet God doesn’t let go. He chooses to enter into a treaty-relationship with a tribe of slaves, brings them out of slavery, and lays before them a law (His Torah), a new way of living in the world which can be summarized as: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.” He brings this tribe to Ca...

Okay, people, got your pitchforks ready? Right then... I'm pretty sure God appreciates the theological diversity within scripture, or He wouldn't have put it there. Over the past couple of months, I've come to see the Bible as a kind of rowdy family reunion: you have your elderly aunt types that walk in the door and the room almost visibly brightens (1st John), your strict logicians (Leviticus), your conspiracy theorist uncles (Nahum) your unapologetic aesthetes (Song of Songs) your disabused (Ecclesiastes), every type you can imagine, and they're all in the family. So, I read the Bible in the way I'd approach conversation: what does the world look like through this writer's eyes? And what can I learn about following God from him or her? One can learn from every writer in the canon, even those one disagrees with (yes, Haggai and Anonymous Bloke Responsible for the Pastoral Epistles, I'm looking at you guys). And oddly, in some ways I learn more from the w...

Below you'll find a link to a series 5 presentations on Romans that have been helpful to me. I don't agree with Douglas Campbell's take on Romans (which Hardin draws on heavily) but it's an interesting series of presentations nonetheless. Enjoy! *grins* https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtnCDfWuFb3uDHjekTh4xllnzQoO1O-sN

A while back, I entered a discussion with a Baptist acquaintance online about whether Leviticus forbids homosexuality. Motivated by our conversations, I decided to take a thorough look at the the chapters where the Levitical "clobber passages" occur. The results are below. Hope they're useful!

Um...hi. Daniel here. Who am I? Nobody special. Just an Episcopalian want-to-be follower of a perpetually troublesome Galilean, trying to make sense of what he reads in Scripture. This will be a place to post  Bible studies, philosophical and theological reflections, plus occasionally other things as the mood strikes me. By the way:  if this site had a warning label, it might say "HERESY INSIDE! HANDLE WITH CAUTION!" ... Are all the Perfectly Orthodox gone now? Good! *sigh of relief* Anyway, if you're still around, happy reading, and I hope you find something in my ramblings that helps you on your own faith and life journey. Shalom.