Cantus Firmus

As an addendum to the previous podcast discussing the Documentary Hypothesis and the Pentateuch,  I recorded this brief excursus on the book of Amos to see how the Documentary Hypothesis shapes how critical scholars read it and imagine how it might have evolved over time through various redactions. Included is some discussion on the circularity of such proposals.

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We examine the Documentary Hypothesis of the Pentateuch–the idea that the first five books of the Bible did not originate with Moses but were originally at least four distinct written sources edited together by a later redactor. We also highlight the problems with this view. My co-host was Jackson Ferrell who can be found (among other places) at https://chocolatebook.wordpress.com/ and https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCApG0JBkT6PzJEWLMZ0IZOw

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Piggybacking on the ideas of Yehezkel Kaufmann and John Oswalt, this argument builds on the uniqueness of the ancient Israelite claims about the divine to show that such a perspective could only have come about through divine revelation. My co-host was Jackson Ferrell who can be found (among other places) at https://chocolatebook.wordpress.com/ and https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCApG0JBkT6PzJEWLMZ0IZOw

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Resources mentioned:

John Oswalt’s The Bible Among the Myths:

John D. Currid’s Against the Gods:

Tom Gilson’s counter-argument to the Jesus legend theory:

This podcast features an interview with Dr. Bill Ury. Dr. Ury received his doctorate from Drew Univeristy and is an adjunct professor at Wesley Biblical Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi. The topic of discussion was Social Trinitarianism– the view that God ought to be thought of primarily in His relational threeness as opposed to a more static oneness. One insight of this view is that personhood as modeled upon the Trinity is necessarily relational– that if we are made in the image of God, then, like God, we cannot be persons without being in relationship to other persons. He also pointed out how this perspective shapes our view of God, the church, sovereignty, and ethics, particularly in contrast with other perspectives on the Trinity.

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Additional Resources:

Trinitarian Personhood by William (Bill) Ury

The Trinitarian Faith by Thomas Torrance

Let’s Start with Jesus by Dennis F. Kinlaw

In reflecting on my recent debate regarding who had the better moral philosophy, Jesus or Ayn Rand, I thought about a question my debate opponent Ben asked me that I didn’t give a very good answer to. The question had to do with my claim that all humans were equally valuable because we are made in the image of God. If this is so, Ben reasoned, shouldn’t Christians only keep as much money, and own as much possessions, as needed to survive and give everything else up to the poor? I thought it was a fair question, and I wanted to provide a thoughtful response.

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