Reflections of the Kingdom

The 272: The Families Who Were Enslaved and Sold to Build the American Catholic Church by Rachel L. Swarns My rating: 3 of 5 stars Let’s get this out of the way first … slavery of any kind is evil; however, the underlying theme of this books is that the Catholic Church, specifically here in the American colonies, was somehow more duplicitous in their participation in this evil institution than any others of the majority … and that assertion was not demonstrated within this book … only implied. The 272 are the slaves that were sold in 1838 by Georgetown University, a Jesuit learning institution that had poorly administered its finances to the point of near bankruptcy. That sale enabled to University to survive and eventually thrive to become the elite American college it is today. It is the contention of the author that this success is the foundation of the American Catholic Church today … a statement that is only marginally supported by the following...

Beyond the Greek New Testament: Advanced Readings for Students of Biblical Studies by Max Botner My rating: 4 of 5 stars This book/reader is specifically targeting students of biblical and religious studies (which I am) with the presumption they learned Greek as part of their studies (which I have not … yet). As such, this was a bit more that I had originally had hoped for and there, unfortunately, elements of the book that I am not qualified to evaluate; however, it also appears that this work will be an important companion when my studies intersect with it. While I am more comfortable with transliterated Greek and there is a substantial amount of original Greek, there is still a lot a more casual reader can extract from it. An extended introduction provides a good review of Greek vocabulary, grammar and discourse along with recommended additional resources (such as The Cambridge Grammar of Classical Greek CGCG, which is cited in several places thro...

In the Beginnings: Discovering the Two Worldviews Hidden Within Genesis 1-11 by David Harbater My rating: 5 of 5 stars The subtitle for this book is “Discovering the Two Worldviews Hidden within Genesis 1-11.” The extensive Introduction proves the context (using the documentary hypothesis combined with an aspects approach) for understanding the next 12 chapters (attributed to one or both of the J and P traditions). While acknowledging the obvious contradictions between these two sources, the author cautions against the human tendency to harmonize them … subscribing to the "both/and" paradigm suggested by the very existence of such contradictions within a divine revelation over the more modern/western paradigm of "either/or.” In other words, the tension between the two opposites was on purpose … and the author uses the two creation stories to illustrate this. “If He is to create the world as 'the Lord,’ reflecting the middat harahamim (the...

The Second Testament: A New Translation by Scot McKnight My rating: 5 of 5 stars There are a lot of “New Testament” translations available, even ones that purport to be “literal renderings” of the original Greek (as this version does); however, there are still choices to be made by the translator as common words in any language often have multiple meanings. I have not the skill nor the training to critique these choices by the author, so I will presume all choices conform to at least one of the common meanings from the Greek and I can make a general attempt to select to best meaning or definition of the English word selected through context. The author does make clear that he is intentionally avoiding common theological language, so in that regard, this translation is a helpful new point of view to those of us that can’t do the translations on our own. The author also doesn’t try to simplify the Greek vocabulary, so if a rare Greek term was used in t...