Studying lectionary texts? Here are some starting places for study at ATLA this week. If you are the graduate of an accredited U.S. theological school, you may have free access to these articles through your school. Check ATLAS access options. You can find full lists of ATLAS recommended articles for this week at The Text This Week's page for this week's texts:
http://www.textweek.com/yeara/propera26.htm
Proper 26A / Ordinary 31A / Pentecost +21
November 5, 2017
- Blomberg, Craig L., "The New Testament Definition of Heresy (or When Do Jesus and the Apostles Really Get Mad?)," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, 2002.
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“…our tendency has been to fight our fiercest battles at the theological periphery of evangelicalism, where we believe the limits of tolerance have been exceeded. We rarely ask who in our midst may be equally misguided (and possibly even more dangerous) because they have drawn the boundaries too narrowly rather than too broadly.”
- Siker, Judith Yates, "Unmasking the Enemy: Deconstructing the 'Other' in the Gospel of Matthew," Perspectives in Religious Studies, 2005.
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“…The construction of the "other" takes an interesting turn, however, as the polemic finds expression in the language of "masks." The author of Matthew creates a constant and systematic attack on Jewish leadership. As the reader moves through the barrage of accusations of hypocrisy, it becomes clear that Matthew sees the Jewish leaders as no more than actors on a stage, actors whose motions and actions (of ostensible law-abiding righteousness) belie the lack of righteousness just beneath the surface. The strength of this polemic is doubly damning because not only are these opponents denounced for cloaking themselves in disguise, but they are also condemned for leading others astray by their deception (e.g., 23:15). Here again the polarity between the opponent and Matthew's community is revealed in the chasm between "us" and "them," but revealed this time by the deconstruction of the "other," the unmasking of the enemy.”
- Sundberg, Walter, "Satan the Enemy," Word & World, 2008.
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“The figure of Satan is deeply woven into the fabric of the Bible and theology, including the theology of Martin Luther. Satan symbolizes evil better than any other symbol in history.”
- Taylor, Barbara Brown, "Hard Words," The Christian Century, 2001.
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“By omitting such difficult texts from public discourse in the church, we are leaving the hardest parts of the Bible for people to make sense of on their own—or relinquishing our duties to radio and television preachers who are not as squeamish as we. Either way, we are supporting a sanitized version of holy scripture that allows people to speak breezily of the Bible as "life's instruction book."”
- Brueggemann, Walter, "A Shape for Old Testament Theology: 1, Structure Legitimation; 2, Embrace of Pain," The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 1985.
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Abstract: “This article constitutes the first half of a statement on a possible paradigm for Old Testament theology. To a large extent, the Old Testament borrows from the "common religion" of the ancient Near East, which serves to legitimate theological order and so to authorize political-social-economic order in the name of the deity. This structure-legitimating function is evident in the Mosaic tradition of covenant, the prophets, Deuteronomic theology, and the sapiential tradition of Proverbs. In various ways it is argued that God's governance is to maintain an order that cannot be mocked, disregarded, or nullified. While this function contains important religious affirmation, it also lends itself to ideological use by those in positions of power. This theological motif, which is everywhere present is, by itself, inadequate, for it cannot very well acknowledge the incongruities which occur in human experience. It is a primary concern of the Old Testament to correct and protest against commitment to order through the embrace of pain. This tension between order and pain is present, not only in the life of Israel, but in the very life of God.”
- Maclean, Jennifer K. Berenson, "Between Text and Sermon, Micah 3:5-12," Interpretation, 2002.
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“What may this passage have to teach us about the necessity of competing theological visions within the church and the concomitant necessity of responding to our opponents with grace and humility?”
Beck, John A., "Why Do Joshua's Readers Keep Crossing the River? The Narrative-Geographical Shaping of Joshua 3-4," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, 2005.
“The Israelites stood beside the Jordan River for three days contemplating its importance as a boundary into the Promised Land and feeling the concern about crossing it safely. In the same way, the reader is brought again and again to see the roiling river by the repetition of the word "Jordan." The narrator says it. Joshua says it. The Lord himself says it over and over again. Narrative-geographical analysis of this text has shed new light on this repetition, allowing us to better answer the question of why Joshua's readers keep crossing the river.”
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