Pisteuomen - πιστευομεν - T. Michael W. Halcomb

One of the projects I have going on at present is another formal book review to be published in a forthcoming issue of the Stone-Campbell Journal. As I was methodically working through the book under review last night, something rather fascinating came to my attention. That “something” has to do with Israel’s infamous Shema : “Hear O Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is one. And you will love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength” (Dt. 6.4-5). Now, most of us have probably heard this, read this or even recited this. However, most of us have probably never asked what light the Dead Sea Scrolls have shed on this passage. Of course, the Scrolls were documents found in caves just a few miles inland from the Dead Sea—most notably the Qumran caves. Though it is debated, it is my contention that there was a Qumran community in this area, which was the breeding ground for a society of devout, religious, Hebrew men. David Fiensy, among other Bibl...

To the twenty-first century mind time and history are conceived of in one way: linear. This, of course, is reflected in the use of timelines where events are dated and ordered chronologically. Yet, to Israel, time and history were understood differently. For them, time was not linear but periodic, cyclical and therefore, rhythmic. It was the rhythm of the festal and non-festal times that gave rhythm to Israel’s life. Yet, it was not the festivals themselves that gave Israel the bulk of her identity but rather the God who acted in and thus, linked these events together. Israel’s expectation, wrapped up in circularity, was always that their God, who has already acted on their behalf, would surely act again in a similar way. Yet, with the prophets, there occurred a type of breakthrough in understanding God’s actions in time and history: the future. This new facet of time is what Von Rad referred to as Israel’s “eschatological element” ( OT Theology , V.II, 113). This element, Von Rad argu...

Thought I'd share this brief video that was pointed out to me. Enjoy.

Over the last few years I have done a lot of thinking, reading and researching on the issue of theodicy (in its simplest form: God can either be all-loving or all-powerful but not both at the same time). It has continually been the prophetic passages of Scripture that have been the hardest to wrap my head around. For instance, today I was reading Amos 3.6, which says: "Or if the horns are blown in the city will the people not tremble? Or if there is disaster in the city has the Lord not made it (or: acted)?" Clearly, here and at many junctures all throughout Amos, it is God who is involved in heaping disaster upon the people. And that is the issue: Yes, an all-powerful God can do this but how could an all-loving God do it? Doesn't God have to be one or the other? There are a couple of ways that I have been dealing with this issue: 1. From a theological point-of-view, I have re-configured my definitions of the "omnis" (e.g. "all"-whatever). ...

This week I was translating what is perhaps the most famous section of the entire Bible: Deuteronomy 5.1-22 (The Ten Commandments). While translating verse 7, the first commandment, I came across something interesting, something I had never thought of before. In English, the verse reads, “You shall have no other gods before Me.” Of course, this is God speaking to the Israelites. But the statement is rather interesting because that term “before” can be taken a couple of different ways (e.g. in terms of degree or in a locative sense). In Hebrew, the word used for “before me” here, is ’el-panay. This term is associated with the word face and has a number of nuances to it (e.g. “face,” “above,” “presence,” etc.). A derivative of the same term is used in Genesis 1.2 “…darkness was upon the face of the deep.” However, it might well be the case that here, in Dt. 5.7, the term is supposed to be taken in a locative sense and thus, meant to connote “presence.” One might even appeal to Dt. 5.4, w...

The more I read Mark’s Gospel account, the more I notice all of the Old Testament echoes in the text. These referents have led me to think that, especially in the opening chapters of his Gospel account, Mark wants to portray Jesus as a type of mixed figure—an Elijah plus Moses-like figure but much greater. This has also led me to ask whether or not the transfiguration scene is key or central to understanding what Mark is trying to say? That question, I’m still working out; any insight would be appreciated. Back to the lecture at hand. Look, for instance, at the opening chapters in Mark’s narrative. Already in verse 1, the first word, “arche” is used, which means “beginning.” Thus, there is an echo back to Genesis. Next, the term “Messiah” is used—this is clearly a Jewish referent. Just as well, two prophets, Isaiah and Malachi are quoted here. There are definitely links to the Hebrew Scriptures here. In verse 6, it is John who is portrayed as one in the likeness of Elijah, here too, th...

Friends, I have just created an interactive module of the Hebrew Alphabet (AlefBet). I am looking for some feedback on how to make the module better, as well as comments on what types of future modules might be good to create. You can download the module by going to the right hand column of my blog and clicking the AlefBet 1.1 icon. Once there, click on the "exe" file to download it. Please download and use the module and let me know what you think. Thanks. --Michael