Biblical narrative – The Nicene Nerd

Story’s End: Eschatology and What the Bible is About, Pt. 6

[This series is going very long. Here are parts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.] The Big Picture (Continued) A New Exodus With Jesus in the grave and the disciples scattered, times looked for dark for God’s people. Indeed, God’s entire plan seemed in disarray. How could God win back the nations? The Messiah was … Continue reading

Story’s End: Eschatology and What the Bible is About, Pt. 5

[This series is going long. Here are parts 1, 2, 3, and 4.] The Big Picture (Continued) The Son of David and the City of David Everything that Jesus was up to led Him to Jerusalem at the climax of His ministry. The royal city of David with the Temple of Yahweh: a fitting destination … Continue reading

Story’s End: Eschatology and What the Bible is About, Pt. 4

[This series is going long. Here are parts 1, 2, and 3.] The Big Picture (Continued) Jesus Arrives The climactic stage of God’s plan to reclaim the nations from idols finally arrived. By God’s Holy Spirit, the virgin Mary conceived a son. She named Him Jesus, Yahweh saves, for He would save His people from … Continue reading

Story’s End: Eschatology and What the Bible is About, Pt. 3

[This is a direct continuation of my previous post. Before that, part 1.] The Big Picture (Continued) A Time of Uncertainty Now back in the land, God’s people entered a strange time. They rebuilt the Temple and Jerusalem, but the glory cloud never came back. David’s city was restored, but David’s throne was empty. Pagans … Continue reading

Story’s End: Eschatology and What the Bible is About, Pt. 2

[This is a direct continuation of my previous post.] The Big Picture (Continued) A Son to Reign Israel continued lapsing into idolatry, despite all the seers and judges God had given her. But for each of them, Israel did fairly well during his lifetime. It was generally only at death that the slide back into … Continue reading

Story's End: Eschatology and What the Bible is About, Pt. 1

The Problem with Wrapping Up As any writer will tell you, it’s hard to bring a good story to an end. No proof of this should be necessary; TV has enough examples. Look what happened to Lost, Haven, or White Collar. A good ending usually has to conclude great conflicts, deal out deserved fates, drive … Continue reading

A Fantastic Saga Everyone Should Read

Fantasy, when done well, is one of the best genres of story. (Though when done poorly, it can be among the worst.) Some works of fantasy deserve to be read by almost everyone. But there is one particular series which I truly think everyone ought to read. Indeed, it would be of enormous assistance to … Continue reading

Homosexuality Then and Now, in Theological Narrative Perspective

A lot of progressive Christians argue that the historical context of the New Testament restricts the scope of the so-called “clobber texts” about homosexuality. Jesus and the Apostles, they say, had no concept of the modern development of a loving, consensual, monogamous homosexual relationship. Therefore in places like Romans 1 where they seemed to condemn … Continue reading