Stopping to Think

 Dick Lucas, commenting on Colossians 3:18,  “All this is not to say that the woman will always find the sacrificial giving of herself in loyalty to another congenial. But if we are right in seeing this entire ethical section as a sustained exposition of the rule of Christ, the significant truth about a Christian woman’s relation to her husband is that it mirrors her commitment to her Lord. What Paul is really explaining is what it means to call Christ Lord. In his concept there is no possibility of a married woman’s surrender to a heavenly Christ which is not made visible and actual by some submission to an earthly husband. To claim (as I have heard it said) that the discovery of a new loyalty to the Lord made it imperative (apart from exceptional circumstances) to be disloyal to a husband is to enter a pseudo-spiritual world of double-think.” (R. C. Lucas, Fullness & Freedom: The Message of Colossians & Philemon, The Bible Speaks Today (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press,

Photo by Samuel Martins on Unsplash A Response to “Thomas Aquinas’s Understanding of Prayer in the Light of the Doctrine of Creatio Ex Nihilo ” by Rudi te Velde Introduction In his paper, “Thomas Aquinas’s Understanding of Prayer in the Light of the Doctrine of Creatio Ex Nihilo”, Rudi te Velde begins with the premise that to pray when one believes in an omnipotent God by whom all things were created and on whom all things - including prayer - depend, creates certain practical and philosophical problems which must be remedied. To put it as he does on page 50, “What is the use of prayer if God’s causality with respect to the world is from all eternity determined and not liable in any way to change?” St. Thommy to the Rescue To help walk through this issue, te Velde interacts with the thinking of Thomas Aquinas, particularly his work Summa contra Gentiles. Here Thomas distinguishes between primary and secondary causes. God is the only being or reality who exists outside of the created r

  Photo by Trevin Rudy on Unsplash An (appreciative) Response to Michael W Martin and Bryan A Nash Introduction In their paper, “Philippians 2:6-11 as Subversive Hymnos” , Michael W. Martin and Bryan A. Nash argue that, though contested of late, the categorization of Philippians 2:6-11 as a hymn is correct. They do this by comparing the ancient rhetorical theory of hymnos with the text in question, and then looking at the key difference: Christ is praised for some most unusual reasons. The Marks of a Hymn Examining ancient textbooks which address the genre of hymnos, Martin and Nash first point to four markers which allow the identification of the hymnos genre (95-109). Species of rhetoric. There is a close relation between genres of hymnos and encomion , thus hymnos is set apart by the next three markers. Subject. Whereas encomion takes as its subject man, hymnos is dedicated to a god.  Length. Here both hymnos and encomion share length, as opposed to epainos , which are brief. For

 This article over at National Review is more than worth your time. Moving, clear, profound.

 The following post is adapted from a Communion Meditation given at Remsen Bible Fellowship on 11/7/2021. Remembrance In Luke 22:19, Jesus tells us that when we come to the communion table we are to do so, "in remembrance of me." In this post, I want us to fix our minds on, to remember, one particular passage . Let's examine the words of Jesus in John 19:28-29.   "28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” 29 A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth." (ESV) As we briefly consider these verses, I want to organize our thoughts under two headings, plan and pain. Plan First, plan. Note in verse 28, John tells us that Jesus spoke. His words were not mere incoherent cries., they were words intended to bring a particular result - the fulfillment of Scripture. Psalm 69:21 says,   "for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drin