Theology That Bites Back
The main category for book reviews and cultural interaction.
My selection for February’s book of the month is a most satisfactory book. Really good. And, not to keep you in suspense, I am talking about My Dear Hemlock by Tilly Dillehay. The very first thing to address has to do with the central conceit of the book. It is structured in the same way …
“When the first missionaries got to Hawaii, they were not welcomed by a committee of Swedes, Jews, and Eskimos. The message of Pentecost does not reduce to a spiritual quota system. But at the same time, we need to recognize that the Holy of Holies is now everywhere (1 Cor. 3:16). The sanctuary has not been decentralized, but rather pancentralized.”
American Milk and Honey, p. 111
“Stand in the pass behind us, we pray,
And lower Your spear against their pursuit.
Turn them all back from their wicked attacks.
Rout them, we pray, and scatter them all.
Chase them like chaff in a hard and stiff wind.”
21 Prayers, p. 26
“You chastise us, Father, for all of our sins,
But that is not why the evil attack us—
They attack because we love what is good,
And because at the bottom our trust is in You.”
21 Prayers, p. 25
“His adultery with Bathsheba, and his murder of Uriah, were the two great twin sins of his life, but one of the things that made the murder of Uriah so grotesque was the fact that Uriah was Hittite, doggedly loyal to David. Even when David got him drunk to help cover up his sin, Uriah stayed true to his cause—and in that moment, better to be Uriah drunk than David sober.”
American Milk and Honey, pp. 104-105
“Not only would we be saved from their treachery
And from all of their lies and crafty deceits,
But we also ask You to be gracious to them,
Saving them from their treachery, lies, and deceit.”
21 Prayers, p. 22
“The single biggest controversy in the New Testament church was over whether a person could become a Christian without becoming a Jew first, and so the first great ecumenical council was held to respond to the question.”
American Milk and Honey, p. 101
Introduction: This image is real, and not Grok related. And as one of my grandsons put it, "Words cannot describe how much I love American politics." So what are we to make of the first week ...
“Antisemitism is abut the most anti-gospel frame of mind that can be imagined. And among professed worshipers of Jesus ben David, it is also the silliest. Christ is the Lord of Israel, and this is why He is the Lord of the new Israel as well.”
American Milk and Honey, p. 99
