Magic in the Ancient World and the Bible

In November I went to the annual national meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature in San Francisco.  I spent three days listening to over 30 papers written by some of the most preeminent biblical scholars in the world.  It was quite an amazing experience.  Hopefully, one day I will present something at that conference, but that’s a day at least several years away.  For now I’d like to turn several of my favorite presentations into blog posts.  Many of the presentations I heard were on magic, amulets, spells, and exorcism in the biblical world.  Join me as we look at the first one: the exorcism of Jesus.  (update: May 3, 2013: I never got around to writing the other two. Sorry. I have changed the title to reflect that this is no longer “Part 1″.)

To Translate is to Lie

There is an old saying: to translate is to lie.  For your average church-goer, this may be a bit unsettling.  Suddenly very bothersome questions start to arise.  Are my English translations wrong? Can they be trusted? Do I have to know Hebrew and Greek to truly understand what the Bible says?  The answer to all of these questions is: no…sort of.  Join me as I give a few examples.

Slaves for Christ

A favorite teaching practice of many rabbis was the art of allegory.  All of the most famous rabbis were masters of this practice, and of course Jesus and Paul are no exceptions.  Paul used this technique often in his letters and knowing this is important to interpretation.  However, what happens when a master like Paul blends solid teaching about salvation and an allegory that would make perfect sense to his original audience?  We miss it, that’s what.  Let’s look at something that could possibly be underlying Paul’s teachings on slavery.

Old Testament Eschatology

On Thursday I turned in my final paper for my Advanced Introduction to the New Testament class.  The paper was called: “The Eschatology of the Old Testament: A Case Study in Ezekiel 40 – 48″.  If you don’t know, “eschatology” comes from the Greek word “eschaton” which means “end”.  So “eschatology” is a theology of the end.  What happens at the end?  People have been asking this question for a long time.  It’s a very interesting subject because the canonized Hebrew Bible does not have the fully developed eschatologies that Judaism and Christianity would later see.  Ezekiel 40-48 is of particular interest given the way that the writer of Revelation leaned massively on it.  I have posted my paper for you here if you are interested to read it.  If you do subject yourself to it here is what I recommend: first read through Ezekiel 40-48, and then second, keep your bible out because you’ll also want to read other passages to which I refer (Jer 31, Zech 14, etc).

If anyone is brave enough to read it, I’d love to know your thoughts.

Peace,

James

Old Testament Eschatology – Ezek 40 – 48

P.S. Yes, I do know there are a few errors in the paper.  I missed them before I turned it in.

Islam, Jesus, and People Who Don’t Act Like Him

This past week at ACU was Summit, the event formally known as Lectureship.  It was an exciting time where scholars from around the nation (and world) gathered for a forum on issues that are pressing hard against the Christian church (as a whole) in today’s world.  Topics covered were in a wide range from worship, to biblical study, to social work, to recycling, and more.  The following is a write-up on one particular Summit class that I went to, called “Jesus and Muhammad”.

The Call of the Prophets

If you were writing a letter to a friend, trying to convince him or her that some very supernatural events were real, what would you do?  I think that a probable course of action is to link it to something in reality to make it more believable and understandable.  You might also link it to the religion of your friend so that it fits into their worldview.  When Luke tells about Paul’s (the text still refers to him as Saul at that point) vision of Jesus (Acts 9) this is precisely what he does.

The Apostle Paul seemed to constantly be fighting an uphill battle in regard to his apostolic authority.  He writes in multiple letters about this topic because some doubted his authority, teaching, and even his motives.  One way for him to link his authority to Jesus, to the prophets, and to God was the retelling of his commission.  How did Paul use this true story to speak to the faithful?  Let’s dig in.

Raisin Cakes for Everyone!

This post is brought to you by special guest blogger Bryan Nix. You can find Bryan and his interesting blog “First Century Sage” at http://firstcenturysage.wordpress.com

To fully understand certain texts, we need to understand the earlier ideas that they are building upon. In a study of David’s wife Michal, I came across a couple of related texts. I think they really shed a different light on a Hosea passage and it has become very evident in my study that we need to chew on these texts together to get a clearer meaning.

Hey! You’re not allowed to do that! (extended edition)

If you’re like me, then even after you hagah (roar like a hungry lion and then devour) the scriptures, they’re still bouncing around in your head. After I posted the shorter version of this post I called my friend Bryan Nix and we shot ideas back and forth and in the process came up with some very cool links in these two passages and I wanted to share them.

The blog post that follows is almost all of the text of part 1, but much more in-depth.

Hey! You’re not allowed to do that!

I am continually amazed at the Bible.  As I read the New Testament, story after story jumps out at me as having some sort of root in the Tanakh (Old Testament).  It’s happened to me so much that now when I read a story I actively look for where else in the text it’s coming from and I’ve started calling this sort of study “Hagah!” If you haven’t read what “hagah” is, I encourage you to follow that link and do so.

Today’s hagah comes from Mark 9 where Jesus’ disciples observe someone who is not one of them driving out demons in the name of Jesus.  Come on, let’s dig into the text together.

You Are The Lord Who Sees Me

Every year in July I go to a church camp called Haskell Singing School.  In a nutshell, Singing School is a praise camp.  We sing all week long and learn about music, especially from an a cappella standpoint.  If you are curious about this place, I wrote this post a while back.  Each year I write a song, and this year (as well as last year) I collaborated with my good friends Bryan Nix and Robert Nix.  After I wrote the lyrics, I told Bryan that I wanted a contemporary-sounding feel, like what you would hear on the radio today.  The following is what we came up with, and I’m really happy with it.  Disclaimer: this was done entirely without the use of professional equipment. The credits for the following song are as follows:

• Lyrics: James Prather
• Melody: Bryan Nix
• Original a cappella arrangement: Robert Nix
• Instrumental Arrangement: Bryan Nix
• Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Vocals: Bryan Nix.
• Percussion: Ed (don’t know his last name).

Listen to the song: My Eyes Are Forever On The Lord

This song is entirely rooted in scripture, so bonus points to anyone who can figure out where it’s from (there are at least 3 different places).  What do you think?

Peace,

James