• Iniquity
    Iniquity

    The Kiss of Judas and the Mystery of Iniquity

    Iniquity is not high on my list of things I wish to write about. However, in my journey through Luke, I found myself considering Judas for the first time. In my previous post about Judas, my thoughts were on the mask he wore. But this time, I found myself caught in the moment where Jesus asks Would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss? This is where the word iniquity comes to mind for me. I feel Jesus’ hurt at this moment. Or perhaps He was astonished by the gall of it. A kiss in Jewish culture represents loyalty. It is a covenant of friendship as when Aaron…

  • genealogy
    genealogies,  racism

    What The Bible Genealogies Says about Racism

    Nearly 12 years ago, I traveled to Israel to take some Old and New Testament courses under the aegis of the American Christian Trust in cooperation with Hebrew University. We met in Einstein’s bunker on the Mount Scopus campus, fifteen or so American Christians placed under the tutelage of various Orthodox professors there. Our syllabus listed “The Ancient Genealogies” as a topic, and none of us were particularly excited. The typical Christian approach to the genealogies is a pretty scientific one. Look up the biblical genealogies and you can see what I mean. Most theologians talk about them as historical evidence; others talk about how the ancient writers telescoped the…