But He says to the Son, “Your throne, God, is eternal, and the staff of uprightness is the staff of Your kingdom! You loved justice and hated lawlessness: it is for this reason that God, Your God, anointed You with the oil of gladness over and above Your fellows.” πρὸς δὲ τὸν υἱόν, Ὁ θρόνος…
Author: andrew
On Self-love in Media and Christianity
“You are enough,” or something like it is a proclamation which I am sure you have heard before, if not often. In our individualistic, Western society, this sort of messaging that we are “good enough” or we are “worthy,” permeates our media: whether it be in cinema, where the protagonist needs to learn to “believe…
On Quotes of the Old Testament within the New (Mk. 1:2-3)
Ἀρχὴ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ υἱοῦ θεοῦ.Καθὼς γέγραπται ἐν τῷ Ἠσαΐᾳ τῷ προφήτῃ, Ἰδοὺ ἀποστέλλω τὸν ἄγγελόν μου πρὸ προσώπου σου, ὃς κατασκευάσει τὴν ὁδόν σου· φωνὴ βοῶντος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, Ἑτοιμάσατε τὴν ὁδὸν κυρίου, εὐθείας ποιεῖτε τὰς τρίβους αὐτοῦ, ἐγένετο Ἰωάννης βαπτίζων ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ καὶ κηρύσσων βάπτισμα μετανοίας εἰς ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν. The beginning…
A Thought on the Massacre of the Innocents in History
Τότε Ἡρῴδης ἰδὼν ὅτι ἐνεπαίχθη ὑπὸ τῶν μάγων ἐθυμώθη λίαν, καὶ ἀποστείλας ἀνεῖλεν πάντας τοὺς παῖδας τοὺς ἐν Βηθλέεμ καὶ ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ὁρίοις αὐτῆς ἀπὸ διετοῦς καὶ κατωτέρω, κατὰ τὸν χρόνον ὃν ἠκρίβωσεν παρὰ τῶν μάγων. τότε ἐπληρώθη τὸ ῥηθὲν διὰ Ἰερεμίου τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος, Φωνὴ ἐν Ῥαμὰ ἠκούσθη, κλαυθμὸς καὶ ὀδυρμὸς πολύς· Ῥαχὴλ…
On the Genre of Genesis 1
At least among popular level discussion, the question of genre for the first chapter of Genesis is quite a charged one. Surely, depending on the reader’s background, he already has in his mind a forceful answer to this question: “it’s obviously history!” “it’s obviously poetry!” …or something else. Stepping back for a moment, doesn’t that…
On the Authorship of Hebrews
The idea that Paul wrote Hebrews is an unpopular one today, but throughout most of Christian history it was simply a given. Early on, the Church Father Origen famously and memorably put it this way: τίς δὲ ὁ γράψας τὴν ἐπιστολήν, τὸ μὲν ἀληθὲς θεὸς οἶδεν. But as for who wrote this letter, truly God…
Advent Hymns: Of the Father’s Love Begotten
It’s now the second week of Advent, and, as promised, I have another hymn to reflect upon. This hymn in particular, I must admit that I was initially put off by a tune I initially found odd, but after being drawn in by the lyrics, which constitute truly deep Christology, I learned to love it…
Hymns for Advent: “What Child is This?”
As of writing, this week, the first in December, marks the beginning of the Advent season. To Christians the world over, this is a time of expectation and meditation. Most obviously, this expectation builds unto the Christmas holiday at the end of Advent, and leading on into Epiphany. But more than just the expectation for…
The Shepherd of Hermas Vision 2.4 and the Papacy
The Good Shephedrd Mosaic, from the museum of Galla Placidia. If you have interacted with Roman Catholic pop-apologetics much, you will know that the claim that “all the fathers believed ‘X’” is not uncommon as a defense for certain Roman doctrines. Such claims are particularly leveled against Protestants, who at a popular level tend not…
My Favorite Textual Variant in the New Testament — Revelation 21.4
Codex Sinaiticus, Revelation 21.4 Most people wouldn’t know, but the above screenshot is actually really funny. This is the cool thing about knowing ancient, dead languages: I’m in on the joke, but you aren’t, and I know that it’s funny. It’s a sophisticated form of gatekeeping, like when scholars include lengthy citations in German or…