Category Archives: Uncategorized

The Gospel of Matthew alludes to the Old Testament several hundred times. Jesus is indeed the fulfillment of what is cited, although not directly. Much of what Mathew references was not intended as a cosmic prophecy for several generations in the future. For example, the Gospel of Matthew quotes the words of Hosea “Out ofContinue reading “March 3”

God condemns the people of Israel because they do not trust Him and are ungrateful. At every difficulty, they grumble against the Lord and want to give up. After learning the land they wish to inhabit is populated by many strong tribes, they immediately lose all faith and beg to return to Egypt. In NumbersContinue reading “Feb 20”

Purity and impurity are not just related to physical hygiene, but rather mean living in harmony or opposition to God. Purity means being free from immorality and contamination. Living in a state of impurity is not permanent, rather the rituals provide the means to gain forgiveness for sins and regain a state of purity. MaryContinue reading “Feb 18”

God is a paradox. Ratzinger classifies the biblical depiction of God into two components: the personal and the ultimate. Continuously we see a contrast between a God bound to us, and a God bound to nothing. Ratzinger writes that Scripture depicts a “personal and person-centered God, who is to be thought of and found onContinue reading “Feb 11”

When the silver cup is found in Benjamin’s bag, the situation that arises immediately reminds the reader of the beginning of the story of Joseph. Once again, Joseph’s brothers are presented with a moral dilemma. Joseph planted the cup in Benjamin’s bag because he wanted to give them the opportunity to redeem themselves and earnContinue reading “Feb 6”

Jacob’s wrestling opponent is widely viewed as an angel or another form of divine intervention, if not God Himself. The text refers to Jacob’s opponent as a man, but it is not clear whether Jacob sees through this disguise to begin with. However, it seems that he realizes that he is wrestling more than aContinue reading “Feb 4”

Religion is of course impossible to find an all encompassing but simultaneously specific definition for, as Cavanaugh established in “Violence, Religion, and the State.” Cavanaugh points out that many ideologies, such as nationalism, capitalism, or liberalism, have the characteristics of religion but are not defined as such. It is true that these political and economicContinue reading “Jan 30”

It is a frequent misconception that religious faith and reason are mutually exclusive, that to commit to one requires the surrender of the other. To illustrate the unavoidable nature of faith, Wilken uses the example of when Augustine was a follower of the Manichees. Augustine is intrigued by their claims of being able to “putContinue reading “Jan 28”

Abraham does not simply agree to the requests made of him by God, but does not even question them in the slightest. Firstly, in The Call of Abram in Genesis 12, Abram does not even know it is God that speaks to him but he still agrees. He agrees because as Kass writes, “the promiseContinue reading “Jan 23”

Perhaps the greatest overarching theme between Genesis 3 and the story of Noah is the acceptance of mortality. Because of Adam and Eve’s disobedience, mortality has become synonymous with the human condition. Noah is the first man born after the death of Adam, and thus the first man born into a world where death isContinue reading “Jan 21”