The Poignant Prophetess: Ironic Comedy in the Song of Deborah

Painting: Giaele uccide Sisara
"Jael Kills Sisera," by Palma Giovane

While the Bible might not make the top-ten list of feminist classics, the story of Deborah offers an amusing–even, at times, satirical–commentary on the vaunted warrior culture of the ancient near east.

Comedy at its best exposes human weaknesses in ways that simultaneously entertain and encourage reflection on self and society. The Bible itself exemplifies this literary mode in episodes like Balaam’s ill-fated attempts to curse Israel (Numbers 22-25), Jonah’s ill-advised attempt to run away from God, and Haman’s ill-hatched plan of ethnic cleansing that leads instead to his own demise (Esther 3-7). In each case some form of human sin or folly is enacted and exposed via irony and humor.

In the book of Judges, God repeatedly inspired a writer or collection of writers to record stories from Israel’s history in ways that comically portray both the folly and depravity of a society in which “everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

In the tale of Deborah and Barak’s victory over the Canaanite general Sisera, irony emerges from the simple facts of the story: Continue reading →

Unchecked Authority in the Church

old cathedralA couple of Sundays ago, I was in Maryland and caught a sermon at Covenant Life Church by Joshua Harris on authority in the church. It was part of a series on church polity that his church is conducting in the context of rewriting its constitution.

Something he said struck me, something quite obvious–yet something I’ve mostly brushed over in my thinking on polity, something I didn’t really address in my November post on this topic:

The primacy of Christ’s authority over his church requires that no man have unchecked authority within the church. (paraphrased from memory)

In my discussion of authority in November, I emphasized the decentralization of authority for a different reason. I argued that decentralization promotes maturity within the congregation in accordance with Paul’s vision for the church in Ephesians 4.

I still believe this. But the supremacy of Christ’s authority establishes an Continue reading →

Silent Films and the Imagination

dr caligari
Dr Caligari feeding his somnambulist

In honor of The Artist winning Best Picture at this year’s academy awards, I thought I’d share some thoughts on silent film that I’ve been kicking around lately.

It started a few months ago when I watched The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. I’d neither understood the appeal of silent film nor had any interest in the genre until that day. I decided to watch the 1920 horror classic simply because 1) I could stream it for free, and 2) I’d often heard it referenced as a foundational cinematic work.

The black-and-white relic of German Expressionism gripped me for a number of reasons: the bizarrely asymmetrical doors, walls, and corridors; the eerie, dreamlike atmosphere; the striking close-ups of facial expressions; the plot devices that I recognized as influences on today’s films.

But upon further reflection, I’m most struck by the way a silent film works on the mind. Continue reading →

History Repeat in Contraception Mandate?

murder of thomas becket
The murder of Becket

I’m struck by some parallels between the Obama Administration’s so-called “contraception mandate” and two church-state / conscience-state clashes from British history.

In the 1160s, King Henry II and Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, engaged in a bitter battle over the authority of the church versus the authority of the monarchy. The most acute controversy surrounded the privilege of the church to try clergy accused of serious crimes. Henry sought transfer this privilege to the state.

In 1170 four knights loyal to Henry murdered Becket in the cathedral at Canterbury.

In the 1530s, King Henry VIII fought the authority of the church in order to Continue reading →

Romney’s Wrong and He’s Not Alone

"I care about Americans--about 90 to 95 percent of them"

I’ve been thinking about the media feeding frenzy that enveloped the Romney campaign this week after an ill-advised comment about the poor.

In a CNN interview Wednesday he said, ”I’m in this race because I care about Americans. I’m not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I’ll fix it. I’m not concerned about the very rich, they’re doing just fine. I’m concerned about the very heart of America, the 90 percent, 95 percent of Americans who right now are struggling.”

Newsmedia outlets turned the interview into the obligatory soundbyte, rendered as unflatteringly as possible. Several headlines read, “Mitt Romney: ‘I’m not concerned about the very poor.’” It didn’t matter what else he’d said in the interview, or the reasons he made this comment.

Even in light of the full comment, though, Romney comes across as an idiot at best–you just don’t say those kinds of things when you’re running for president.

But Mitt Romney’s not alone. Continue reading →

Rock the Vote: Liberty or Devotion

Did I vote for that?

I was raised in the TV-era of public service announcements, after school specials and Got Milk?-style celebrity advertising. The media powers-that-were worked to embed three thoughts deeply in my psyche while watching Urkel and the Gummi Bears: Drugs are bad, voting is good and get more toys.

You know what they say: talk about anything but religion and politics. Thus, a Christian’s place in political participation is a double whammy. This is an issue that I consistently re-think.

Continue reading →

Cyclical Patterns in Christian Worship

cycle symbol - arrows in a circleIn response to my last post on holidays, Brian pointed out a possible contradiction in my argument for the legitimacy of pagan elements in Christian holidays:

Here’s my question: doesn’t the fact that we celebrate Christmas (and Easter) annually sort of reinforce the pagan concept of cyclical patterns? Continue reading →

Generosity, Justice, and Public Policy

picture of Generous Justice by Timothy KellerI recently read Tim Keller’s provocative book Generous Justice: How God’s Grace Makes Us Just. In the context of the 2012 presidential race and the rancorous debates over the economy, national debt, and federal and state budgets, I’ve wondered what the principles of this book would look like if applied to policy.

I was particularly struck by the principle, drawn from the Old Testament understanding of righteousness (tzadeqah) and justice (mishpat), that being a righteous and just person means recognizing God’s ownership of all that we possess and using our resources to Continue reading →

Christ the Risen Sun: Pagan Elements in Christian Holidays, Part 2

What if paganism inadvertently points to the human incarnation of God in Christ?

In my last post, I noted the criticisms Christians sometimes receive for celebrating Christmas with its appropriation of pagan practices. Today I’m going to give a response that addresses two sets of critics. Continue reading →