Islam, a big bully?

When you see clips like this (HT JMG), with the brilliant Colbert lampooning the absurd and irrational claims of Islamic clerics, it is hard to believe that Islam could at the same time be forcing western media to self censorship.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Boobquake Day Causes Earthquake
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Fox News

But this is exactly what is happening as revealed in this excellent NYT article (HT JH).  In it Ross Douthat writes,

Our culture has few taboos that can’t be violated, and our establishment has largely given up on setting standards in the first place.
Except where Islam is concerned. There, the standards are established under threat of violence, and accepted out of a mix of self-preservation and self-loathing.
This is what decadence looks like: a frantic coarseness that “bravely” trashes its own values and traditions, and then knuckles under swiftly to totalitarianism and brute force. 

The whole article is chilling as he details how both academic institutions and the entertainment industry have bowed to the pressure to censor disrespectful mentions of Muhammed.  The funny thing is I have always been annoyed at the way the media thinks blasphemy is somehow les offensive that sex or violence, and I would never ever condone the deliberate slandering of a religious figure who is revered by millions.  All religious discussion should be done in a way that respects and humanises the other parties.  And yet I am really annoyed that comedy central censored South Park's depictions of Muhammed, not because I want Muhammed to be profaned but because the threat of violence has garned special treatment for Islam, which is most surely a reward for bad behaviour if ever there was one.

The fact is that when the "Christian" West is seen to be disrespectful to Islam it is those Christians in the east who suffer the most, the minority groups that make an easy target for the rage against the blasphemies of the "Christian" West.  This was seen most clearly with the whole Rensburg lecture debacle, where a citation made in an academic context by a western celebrity was able to inspire violence against Christian minority groups across the Muslim world. As such we cannot advocate that we should live in a world where Mohammed is insulted and mocked, not because we are worried about violence against ourselves, but because those who are most likely to suffer for such are those who live in countries a long way from the benefit of our police forces and justice systems that protect our "right" to free speech.

McGrath, The Only True God: A Book Review

James F. McGrath, The Only True God: Early Christian Monotheism in Its Jewish Context

[With thanks to the author for a review copy]

McGrath’s book has an argument that for many would seem counterintuitive, that the early Christians did not diverge from Jewish monotheism, even despite their veneration of Jesus. For McGrath this is simply because the modern conceptions of monotheism are not how 1st Century Jews would have defined their monotheism.  The book’s thesis is that while Christians, post Nicaea, are used to thinking about monotheism in terms of ontology, 1st Century Jews defined their devotion to the one God in terms of worship.  While Christians did worship Christ in some respects, McGrath argues that only sacrificial worship to Christ would have made Christ equal to God in a way that would constitute a breach of 1st Century Jewish monotheism.

The book itself has the rare virtue of being blessedly short, a mere 104 pages of text (not including notes, bibliography and index).  That being the case, what McGrath achieves within those pages is all the more impressive.  The book is intended to be accessible to those without a detailed knowledge of the field.  Thus the first chapter takes pains to explain clearly the important concepts and relevant methods.  This is done in a thorough but economical style.  In the second chapter McGrath turns to the question of how Jews in the Greco-Roman era would have understood their own monotheism in the context of a world where the worship of many gods was commonplace.  Given the book’s intention to be accessible to the non-expert it is a shame that some of the more obscure source passages referenced, e.g. Hecataeus of Abdera, do not appear in translation, instead the reader is reliant on McGrath’s précis of the relevant points.  Having established a working definition of 1st Century Jewish monotheism McGrath moves on to examine the writings of Paul (chp 3), the Gospel of John (chp 4), and Revelation (chp 5), against this definition.  In each chapter McGrath continues to develop his thesis and in each case finds the Christian elevation of Christ to be within the bounds of his definition of 1st Century Jewish monotheism.

The sixth chapter moves on from the Biblical material to discuss the “two powers heresy” within rabbinic literature.  McGrath argues that after the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple Jewish monotheism was forced to redefine itself.  One result of this process was the rabbinic response to the two powers heresy which while probably originally targeted at the Gnostics came to encompass the Christians also.  McGrath concludes that certain ideas that were condemned in the late 2nd and early 3rd centuries need not have been controversial in the 1st century.  Thus the schism between Christianity and Judaism over their respective understandings of monotheism is re-dated from the 1st to the 3rd century and, surprisingly, is a result of a change in the boundaries of Jewish monotheism rather than a developing Trinitarianism.  The final chapter briefly summarises the book’s findings and then offers some thoughts on their historical and theological implications.

McGrath’s book is excellently written, the only hindrance to the reader’s enjoyment being the use of endnotes instead of footnotes.  It consistently progresses through his argument with nuance but without wasting space on peripheral issues.  It engages with other scholarship in a respectful but efficient manner and represents a significant contribution to the field.  McGrath’s concluding thoughts are balanced and show a concern for further discussion and for the appropriation of the work by theologians.  I would suggest it is essential reading for anyone interested in NT background, Christology, or the historical development of Trinitarian theology.

Habets, The Anointed son: Book Review Part 3

[Following on from Part 1 and Part 2.]

The final three chapters of the book get stuck into the theological ramifications of the Spirit Christology that Habets has exposed in the NT and argued is essential for contemporary theology.

E100 Podcast

If you haven't already found it Tim Bulkleys excellent 5 minute Bible podcast is doing a special series on the essential 100 Bible readings challenge that many NZ churches are working through at the moment as part of an initiative by the Scripture Union, Bible Society and Wycliffe Translators in NZ.

Well worth a listen and sharing with people.  Tim's podcats are short, pithy, and aimed at ordinary (read non academic) types and do a great job of dealing with interesting and thorny issues in a surprisingly pleasing manner.  Enjoy :-)

Carson on the dangers of Biblical Scholarship

A peculiar form of pride may be located in our sheer enjoyment of discovery as we work through texts, write essays or books, and prepare sermons and lectures. Those who work in other disciplines may enjoy their work and discoveries just as much as we enjoy ours. The difference, of course, is that microbiologists and  Shakespeare scholars are unlikely to think they are entitled to a high place in the spiritual sphere because they have unravelled an arcane point within their disciplines. They may be exhilarated by their discoveries, but they are unlikely to think that because of these discoveries they are spiritually superior. But that is the kind of temptation we face. We exult in mastery of certain texts, but because those texts are the texts of Scripture, we think our mastery confers on us a more profound knowledge of God. We do not always recognize that the mark of true growth in the study of Scripture is not so much that we become masters of the text as that we are mastered by the text.

[From here p11-12, HT Mike Bird]

To be or not to be in your mother tongue?

What the biblioblogosphere gives with the left hand, it takes away with the right.

Turkish bath for the soul

The most chilling and disturbing thing today:

God have mercy on America and its legacy of hatred.  (HT RB)

The most heart warming thing today (even though it is from the future)
A retiring Pastors final meditation (HT JH)
God bless America for producing saints like that.

And the net result is . . . an increase in both hope and trepidation for the human race.