It is probably not wise to interpret the book of Job until one has clawed his way to sympathy for Job’s companions. Contrary to much glib exposition, they are not straw men. If, in the end, they turn out to be fools, it is not because they did not have their claws into worthy wisdom [...]
Archive for June, 2008
bitter exchange: Job 13-15
Posted in textures, tagged biblical reflection, Job, textures on June 28, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
common knowledge: Job 10-12
Posted in textures, tagged biblical reflection, Job, textures on June 27, 2008 | 1 Comment »
The symmetrical certainties of Job’s companions sound merely insipid in the light of the man’s unexplainable pain. Job recognizes the tattered, commonplace worthlessness of their regurgitated wisdom: Who does not know such things as these? It seems that Job does not so much question the validity of received wisdom as he does its absolute utility. [...]
things on their head: Job 7-9
Posted in textures, tagged biblical reflection, Job, textures on June 26, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Job’s bitter audacity in challenging God’s ways is perhaps matched only by his ironic familiarity with biblical traditions that place the deity in a more favorable light. Scholars debate the degree to which the author of the book of Job is interacting with actual biblical texts. Regardless, he knows intimately the traditions that have nourished [...]
honest grief: Job 3-6
Posted in textures, tagged biblical reflection, Job, textures on June 26, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
It is facile, conventional, and mostly true to consider the Bible a life-affirming book. Like any simple description of complex reality, it is also reductionistic.
fresh air: The Complete Guide to Windows and Doors (Black & Decker)
Posted in paterfamilias, reseña, tagged DIY, reseña on June 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
This review comes from a certified non-handy guy with minimal practical skills. I was fortunate enough a year ago to discover a fine window guy. As a result, we have excellent Pella window replacements in our 1930 Indiana home. I bought this book to help me with next steps: specifically, what do do about our [...]
Tucker leaves us
Posted in fauna, paterfamilias, tagged fauna, Tucker on June 22, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Tucker left us this week just as he came and just as he lived with us: completely trusting our judgment, celebrating our company, gratefully accompanying us wherever we led him. The trend line of his cancer tilted downward at a deeper angle in these last weeks. Though he seemed as happy and almost as energetic [...]
celebrating turned tables: Esther 7-9
Posted in textures, tagged biblical reflection, Esther, textures on June 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Some find the violent pedigree of the Purim celebration distasteful. In a day that has seen too many religious massacres, it hardly seems right to gather with family and friends on the anniversary of an ancient one, when according to the book of Esther the Jews of the Persian diaspora brought vengeance down on those [...]
self, tribe, and placement: Esther 4-6
Posted in textures, tagged biblical reflection, Esther, textures on June 21, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
In the face of Esther’s passivity when informed of her people’s peril, her uncle Mordechai has strong words. Considerable heat might well have surged as he dictated his response to his courtly adoptive niece: Then Esther spoke to Hathach and gave him a message for Mordecai, saying, “All the king’s servants and the people of [...]
honored by dishonor: Acts 5
Posted in textures, tagged Acts, biblical reflection, textures on June 20, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
It is difficult to impede the forward motion of men and women who find their honor in being dishonored for their cause. This is as true of people whose lives have been enobled by an admirable vocation as it is of those perhaps more obvious cases where the most pernicious of campaigns are carried forward [...]
the king’s favor, redux: Ezra 7-9
Posted in textures, tagged biblical reflection, Ezra, textures on June 13, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
No rigid insistence on independence gathers the entirety of the biblical witness under its stern gaze. The Jews have at times known how to thrive as imperial subjects. A similar tolerance for political dependence characterizes the New Testament documents.
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