Did Jacob beat God in a wrestling match? It’s a fair question and one that likely many Christians have wrestled with (pun intended) as they’ve read through Genesis 32. After wrestling with a “man” (Gen 32:24) all night long, this “man” then informs Jacob that he had actually been wrestling with God. And Jacob wasContinue reading “Did Jacob Beat God in a Wrestling Match?”
Tag Archives: genesis
Does the Bible condone patriarchal abuse?
It’s one of those “tough” Old Testament passages. Abraham and Sarah (Abram and Sarai at the time) force their Egyptian slave girl to be the surrogate mother of their son. Abram was probably 85 years old at the time (Gen 16:16). And so, a barren mother in desperation gives her helpless slave girl to anContinue reading “Does the Bible condone patriarchal abuse?”
Reading Scripture Like a Novel: Plot, Part 1
In just the first few pages, Scripture reveals itself to be an epic, cosmic tale about the rulership of the heavens and the earth, with the promise of marital drama (Gen 3:16), blessing and curse, political subversion, war, and the battle for cosmic kingship (Gen. 3:15), all held under the watchful eye of Yahweh Almighty.Continue reading “Reading Scripture Like a Novel: Plot, Part 1”
Reading Scripture Like a Novel: Characters, Part 3
To compare the Biblical narrative to modern novels as it relates to characters, the primary protagonist throughout is the woman’s offspring (Gen. 3:15). It is the woman’s offspring who will deal with the serpent. However, Scripture is unique in comparison to a novel because, like the serpent’s offspring, the woman’s offspring is not necessarily restrictedContinue reading “Reading Scripture Like a Novel: Characters, Part 3”
Reading Scripture Like a Novel: Characters, Part 2
As mentioned in Part 1, Genesis 1-3 provides Scripture’s own unique character categories that subsequent characters often fall into. Grasping these character categories is key to both understanding the plot conflict and perceiving the unified nature of the metanarrative. (For ease of use and understanding, we’ll use the terms “actor” instead of “character” or “individualContinue reading “Reading Scripture Like a Novel: Characters, Part 2”
Reading Scripture Like a Novel: Characters, Part 1
Just as the first three chapters of Genesis provide the initial taste of the cosmic setting of the Biblical metanarrative, these same chapters also provide the prototype for the characters to follow. And similar to the way the named characters in a modern novel fit into our larger storytelling categories of protagonist, antagonist, and others,Continue reading “Reading Scripture Like a Novel: Characters, Part 1”
Reading Scripture Like a Novel
I remember when I first learned that Scripture was a meta narrative—that all the stories contained in the Bible worked together to tell a single larger story. It was a big shift in my thinking because, for a long time, many Scriptural narratives, poetry, or letters felt disconnected from other books of the Bible. MuchContinue reading “Reading Scripture Like a Novel”
Humanity: Loathsome Insects, or Royal Family? Part 4 of 4
In Part 1, I made the argument that humans were made to be manifestations of God’s own divine presence, an idea I owe to Crispin Fletcher Louis (See “Excursus B” in his book, Jesus Monotheism). We were created to be the images (or “idols) of God, and in being so, the expectation is that whenContinue reading “Humanity: Loathsome Insects, or Royal Family? Part 4 of 4”
Advent: Remembering the Nephilim
At Christmas, I like to remember Genesis 6:1-4—you know, that weird passage in the Old Testament about how the “sons of God” fathered the Nephilim with the “daughters of men.” You’re probably wondering, “Why would you associate Christmas with a bizarre passage like that?” Well, because it reminds me of how much God loves usContinue reading “Advent: Remembering the Nephilim”
The Problem of Pain: 11. Could God Have Made Pain an Impossibility?
If God is good (and all-knowing and all-powerful), why would He create humans or angelic creatures with the capacity to bring death into the world? If He could have made it an impossibility for pain and suffering to ever enter the world, why wouldn’t He? Maybe you’ve heard it said that there are some thingsContinue reading “The Problem of Pain: 11. Could God Have Made Pain an Impossibility?”
Epic Gospel 