The Shulammite Celebration of Gender, Part I
I had the great honor recently of co-preaching through one of the most confusing (and avoided) books of the Bible: The Song of Songs (aka, The Song of Solomon).
Category: Biblical Exegesis
These posts involve looking more closely at a Biblical passage to understand its meaning
He Called Them Two By Two
Recent headlines proclaim medical breakthroughs which will enable lesbian couples to bear children together. The headlines make for a sensational news cycle, but are misleading in claiming that the sexually dimorphic (that is, needing both male and female) reproductive process has been circumvented.
A Poorly Gendered Wedding in the Bible
Does a passage in Ecclesiastes teach a negative view of women or the bitterness of a man who beds many of them?
A Well Gendered Wedding in the Bible
Looking for a wedding Scripture? Psalm 45, an ode to a royal wedding, is a sensual poem that shows what is important in marriage.
Sexual Sin-A Category All Its Own
“Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body,” says the Apostle Paul. What does that mean?
When a Husband Defies a Wife
“When Mamma Ain’t Happy, Nobody’s Happy.” That is what my fellow church elder said to me many years ago. It describes how a wife, when her will or opinion is defied, has ways of making a husband’s life miserable until she gets her way. Is there a stand against it?
The Problem with Revoicing Our Desires
At times a call is made to reach out to those who might follow Christ, but who struggle with unbidden sexual desires that contradict Christ’s call. The call is to deal with those unbidden desires with understanding and mercy. This is a good call. While Christ calls people to take up their crosses and follow Him, He does so while bearing their burden. But then, we need to be truthful about what understanding and mercy are.
The Woman’s (not really) Bible
Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s aim was to elevate the status of women and, strangely, she saw the Bible as a prime enemy of that goal.
Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit: What it’s REALLY About
What is the terrible sin of “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit,” and why did Jesus say that it won’t be forgiven? This is what Bible-readers always want to know upon reading Matthew 12. And they spend hours talking about it. Some even wonder if they have committed this sin inadvertently and are therefore beyond Divine favor. The key to what is really going on is seeing that this is about the Trinitarian relationships.
“Let us…”’ Unveil God
In his passionate 2013 book, Fully Alive, page 35, Larry Crabb makes a highly significant point. He notes how, when God created us in Genesis 1:26, The Creator said, “Let us make man in our image.” As Dr. Crabb points out, “it is only when God made male and female human beings that he introduced Himself as persons-in-community.” In other …