Any contemporary reader who picks up the Bible will be struck by the seeming divide between the God of Jesus Christ and the God who commands the destruction of whole nations and the obliteration of Canaanites during Israel’s conquest of the Promised Land. And while many Christians simply don’t think about the possible difficulties ofContinue reading “Book Review: Did God Really Command Genocide? (Copan and Flannagan)”
Tag Archives: Violence
Book Review: Fields of Blood (Armstrong)
For many people living in the West, an assumption exists that religion is inherently violent. After all, they say, just look at the evidence: religion has caused wars, the Crusades, terrorism, religion has made people hate and kill others for nothing more than the ideas that were in their heads. According to this view, religionsContinue reading “Book Review: Fields of Blood (Armstrong)”
Reflections on Suffering (Part I)
This article originally appeared at Conciliar Post. Why do we suffer? This is a question which, unfortunately, we all must ask at some point in our lives. The 2011-2012 academic year was a year in which this question took on a special relevance in my own life, first in a theology class devoted to wrestlingContinue reading “Reflections on Suffering (Part I)”
Rethinking Vinegrowers and Violence (Part Two)
Having examined Schottroff’s interpretive concerns in yesterday’s post, we now turn to her reinterpretation of the Parable of the Vinegrowers in The Parables of Jesus (Trans. Linda M. Maloney. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2006.), in which she critiques a traditional allegorical interpretation of the parable, and reconsiders its meaning for today’s context. The crux of herContinue reading “Rethinking Vinegrowers and Violence (Part Two)”
Rethinking Vinegrowers and Violence (Part One)
Luise Schottroff, in her work The Parables of Jesus (Trans. Linda M. Maloney. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2006.) writes that the parables of Jesus of Nazareth contain a wealth of information concerning the meaning of his proclamation and vision, information that has historically been both influential and misunderstood (1). In as much as there are asContinue reading “Rethinking Vinegrowers and Violence (Part One)”