Thoughts on the occasion of the death of an arch terrorist ...

"For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, says the Lord GOD. Turn, then, and live" (Ezek. 18:32).

"Say to them, As I live, says the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from their ways and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways ..." (Ezek. 33:11).


UPDATED [May 3, 2011]: It is remarkable how almost none of the countless commentaries on this occasion have made mention of the fact that the terrorist in question was killed on Holocaust Memorial Day, itself a day not for "celebration," but for somber remembering and, no doubt, for intercessory prayer for Israel, for the church, and for the (unreached) "peoples, nations, and languages" of the earth. Please, be reminded!

Yes, Virginia ...

... there is a sanity clause.

What's this about Maundy money?

This looks to be an interesting theory, but I'm not quite sure how well it reconciles the problem of "three days and three nights" (!) in the tomb. What do you think? Will we soon be celebrating Maundy Wednesday? And what's all this about Maundy money? I would think foot-washing and the love commandment might have merited mention, wouldn't you?

Constance Cherry, The Worship Architect

Look what showed up in the Inbox ...

UPDATED: I have a brief review of Cherry's book that will be appearing in an upcoming edition of Interpretation.

Why should law bloggers have all the rhetorical fun?

A bunch of law bloggers are lauding the release of Ward Farnsworth's Classical English Rhetoric. As one who approaches homiletics from a theological, rather than a rhetorical, perspective, I nevertheless hope that coming generations of preachers might acquire a healthy dose of phronesis when it comes to the oratorical arts, ... without (ahem) turning into lawyers, of course.

The Word is Out on Year D

I thought you might be interested in knowing where Year D is being read with interest and put to use.

90.8% of the traffic is from the US, and 3.5% from Canada. No big surprise there, since the electronic announcements I sent out last autumn went almost entirely to contacts in the North American church.

What is interesting is where the rest of the traffic comes from (in descending order): Germany, Russia, South Korea, and the UK, make up a little less that 1% each.

The next group: China, Croatia, France, and Brazil, a bit less than 0.5% each.

Other sources of light but measurable traffic include (in no particular order): Denmark, VietNam, Australia, New Zealand, Belarus, Chile, Ghana, Malawi, Egypt, Malaysia, Israel, and - would you believe it? - Iran. (The list is not exhaustive.)

No doubt some of this traffic is mere trolling, aimless browsing, etc. But much of it is also undoubtedly word of mouth and ... the Spirit at work! To God be the glory!

"And whenever you fast ..."

Jesus said, "And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.  But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you" (Matt. 6:17-18). 

UPDATED: So it's not just me ...

Hell's Bells

If the debate over Rob Bell's view of hell and whether the blood of Jesus is a metaphor according to God's method of tailor-made but culturally relative accommodation sounds familiar, well, perhaps that's because history is rhyming once again, this time on the 100-year cycle.