Instead of a post about Jerry Bowyer’s new book on Jesus’ Economics!

I am categorizing this book under “Solomon Says” instead of creating a “Gospels” category for reasons that may become clear in a later post…

Why did Jesus tell a senator to sell all he had, commend similar behavior by a repentant tax collector, and overturn the temple money changers, but never say anything to the wealthy merchant Josephus and defend the Mary/Martha/Lazarus estate from Judas’ accusations?

This interview is excellent! You need to listen to it.

I have been wanting to review this valuable book, but this podcast interview is better and more dazzling than anything I could write!

Here is the podcast website.

Voting & John Piper

John Piper has written publicly about how he will probably vote. I’ve shared my voting “philosophy” with friends but now Piper’s statement prompts me to make my own on this site.

Of course, whenever you get in a political discussion with others, you find that they don’t just disagree with you on one point, but on a host of points. They are convinced of many things that you “know” are not true. And they think the same of you.

“Visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children.” Part 3

A continuation of Part One and Part Two…

You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Exodus 20:4–6 ESV

This passage in the ESV is misleading. The word “generation” is nowhere in the text. All it says if that God visits “the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth of those who hate me…” Third and fourth what? The context of fathers and sons implies it is talking about generations. So the ESV puts the word in there. That is appropriate. But what about the “thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.” Suddenly, the context drops away in the ESV. Thousands of what?

Thousands of generations of those who love God and keep his commands. We see this explicitly in the Hebrew in Deuteronomy:

Ezekiel’s Proverb & Hereditary Guilt, Part 2

The word of the LORD came to me: “What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’? As I live, declares the Lord GOD, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel.
Ezekiel 18:1–3 ESV

Was this proverb repeated in Israel ever good theology?

I ask this because, when I was taking a Bible course at a Christian college, it was suggested that this was a declaration of a new way of God dealing with humanity. At some point before his message to Ezekiel, it was metaphorically accurate to say, “The fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children’s teeth are set on edge,” but not anymore.

But if you believe the Bible is reliable as God’s word, then you can’t make Deuteronomy later than Ezekiel. Moses clearly prohibited punishing the sons for the sins of the father. There is nothing new in what God says here.

Then why did God address the issue?

Hereditary Guilt & the Bible, Part 1

So this has become a topic among Evangelicals (though, to be honest, I’m not sure that term is meaningful any more). I thought I should address it.

The Bible teaches that the sin of our first father condemned the entire human race. That is why the Bible can be interpreted of teaching some form of “hereditary guilt.” So I need to comment on what the Bible says about that. I plan to do so in these posts.