binding (2020/01/12)

binding (2020/01/12)

ethics, form criticism, hermeneutics, podcast, reading, socio-rhetorical interpretation, wisdom

Well, this week's episode started out as a short look at Genesis 22 and the Binding of Isaac, known in Jewish tradition as the "Akedah" ("binding", from Genesis 22:9). It kind of grew legs, though, and it turns out to be an incredible passage to talk about some really important stuff when it comes to biblical narrative and interpretation.

Transcript coming soon!

oath and wisdom (2019/03/24)

oath and wisdom (2019/03/24)

law, podcast, priesthood, rabbinic judaism, second temple judaism, sexuality, social justice, socio-rhetorical interpretation, wisdom

Lady Wisdom and Madam Folly are introduced at the start of Proverbs, and it's appropriate as we look for wisdom in the Law and the Gospel this week. It's hard to know where to go with either, but there are some story anchors that we can drop to get started.

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politics of resistance (2019/02/03)

politics of resistance (2019/02/03)

christian life, literary theory, podcast, politics, social justice, socio-rhetorical interpretation

Bit of a different format this week, as we spend (almost) the entire, shorter episode on Romans 13. If we put ourselves in the shoes of an oppressed and colonised people, we find a very different perspective on government emerge from this text than the one typically heard in affluent, Western democracies. Guided by Sung Uk Lim's 2015 paper, A double-voiced reading of Romans 13:1-7 in light of the imperial cult, we venture into the world of 1st century Roman politics and religion, and ask what we can bring back to our own place and time.

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faith and fire (2018/07/29)

faith and fire (2018/07/29)

gospel, history, monarchy, podcast, prophecy, socio-rhetorical interpretation

Well, for a 'shorter summer episode' this one turned out to have legs. The King David narrative has reached Absalom's rebellion in 2 Samuel, which really brings up questions about how David's reign got to the point of a coup; and in Romans, Paul is giving it some welly. (Jeremiah is pretty horrific, actually, but that brings its own questions to the fore.)

knowing and being known (2018/05/13)

knowing and being known (2018/05/13)

gospel, law, podcast, prophecy, socio-rhetorical interpretation

I've just about talked myself into doing a weekly Torah slot, because this is the last week in Torah on the Bible Companion for this year! This week, the end of Deuteronomy is our springboard for considering how we as Christians approach the Law of Moses and the wider Hebrew Bible. We're also starting the rest of our year with the Hebrew prophets (up first: Isaiah until July) and finishing Acts all over again (with a literary twist, this time around).