Category Archives: Ethics

Allison-morality and the impinging of last things

Posted on September 18, 2018 by theoutwardquest

Dale Allison in Night Comes points out that even in movies and novels today the last things often receive more attention than they do in mainline pulpits. He thinks we are short-changing people by not talking about last things. By … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Church, Ethics, historical Jesus | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Terrien-reformed sexuality

Posted on March 14, 2018 by theoutwardquest

In regard to sexuality there are a lot of options today: binary, non-binary, androgynous, or the endless multiplication of genders.  That Samuel Terrien subtiltles Till the Heart Sings “a biblical theology of manhood and womanhood” means that he is talking … Continue reading →

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Friedman-did love really trump hate?

Posted on December 13, 2017 by theoutwardquest

Richard Elliot Friedman’s book, The Exodus has the subtitle, How it Happened and Why it Matters. How it happened, according to him, was that the Levites were the people Moses led out of Egypt.  This means that “all Israel” was … Continue reading →

Posted in Ancient Israel, Ethics | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Levenson, Barclay-wrap up

Posted on May 9, 2017 by theoutwardquest

I want to bring Jon Levenson’s The Love of God and John Barclay’s Paul and the Gift into some kind of relation. Although both books talk about the love of God, they are different, not just because one is by … Continue reading →

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The Benedict Option considered again

Posted on April 18, 2017 by theoutwardquest

I have been thinking about what is called the Benedict Option for a while. It is Rod Dreher’s proposal for Christians to strategically withdraw from the political culture wars.  Last August in the midst of America’s train-wreck of an election, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Church, Ethics, Spirituality | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Levenson-love as reciprocal loyalty

Posted on March 20, 2017 by theoutwardquest

In The Love of God, Jon Levenson uses the Amarna Letters to talk about the love of God for us. He has used the ancient suzerainty treaties as the source for the biblical notion of love. In those treaties the … Continue reading →

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Lee-Barnewall–Genesis and Ephesians on marriage

Posted on February 24, 2017 by theoutwardquest

In Neither Complementarian nor Egalitarian, Michelle Lee-Barnewall has two chapters on marriage. The complementarian-egalitarian battle in evangelical churches has been about both ecclesiastical roles and domestic roles for men and women. To engage with the domestic relations question, she deals … Continue reading →

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Lee-Barnewall–egalitarian usefulness

Posted on February 17, 2017 by theoutwardquest

I am continuing to write about Michelle Lee- Barnewall’s Neither Complementarian nor Egalitarian. She talks about the women’s suffrage movement as one of the social reform movements that grew out of 19th century activism. However, she does not talk about how … Continue reading →

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Lee-Barnewall–historical reflections on gender and evangelicalism

Posted on February 16, 2017 by theoutwardquest

I am reading Michelle Lee-Barnewall’s Neither Complementarian nor Egalitarian. She talks about the late 19th century as a time when the idea that a woman’s place was in the home became dominant. Before men went to factories and offices to … Continue reading →

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Nonresistance and context

Posted on February 7, 2017 by theoutwardquest

The Resistance is the name now used for die-hard opposition to the Trump administration. It recalls the partisans, particularly in France, who resisted the Nazi occupation. Sometimes this resistance has been violent. When the press reports a “mostly peaceful” protest, … Continue reading →

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