The apocalyptic Revelation of John is filled with strange and vivid imagery depicting beasts, birth and battles. When considering the Christian perspective of the Roman empire during the time this book was written, it is interesting to note how the dualistic images seem to paint a picture of the ancient Roman-Christian experience, at least in… Continue reading →
In 2 Corinthians, Paul spends several chapters addressing the threat of so-called “super-apostles” to his ministry to the church in Corinth. The background and teachings of these men are indicated in 10:3-5, where Paul uses warfare imagery to point out that these super-apostles are debaters. He implies that they are trained in speech (in contrast… Continue reading →
In contrast to Mark’s gospel, the gospel of Luke spends a good deal of time asserting the innocence of Jesus in the Passion narrative. The differing stories of Jesus facing Pilate is one example. Mark makes no mention of Jesus’ guilt or innocence here, but Luke claims Pilate spoke three times to the accusing crowd,… Continue reading →
