Foundations of Theology Blog
Mar 3
What does Scripture mean by “fulfillment”? Second, identify anything you can see in these opening chapters of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke that addresses the elements of the Old Testament narrative that we discussed last class. When we naively think about what it means to be a prophet, it’s easy to think of prophets…
Feb 20
(1) By your reading of the chapters in Numbers, what would you say it is that leads to the wilderness generation’s condemnation? What is it that leads to Moses’? Up to and including the account in Numbers, we repeatedly see the Israelites disobey, distrust, and complain about God’s plan for them. For some time, God,…
Feb 18
Answer the following: (1) What is purity / impurity? (2) Why does God require the maintenance of purity? (3) What is the logic of the laws we encounter related to purity, specifically the food laws? The concept of purity is closely related to the idea of completeness. In Leviticus, God outlines a strict set of rules governing…
Feb 11
“Who is God?” The concept of God, whether in a theological or philosophical context, is a complex idea that is continually debated and fought over. Although Ratzinger seems to suggest that each of the three core belief types (monotheism, polytheism, and atheism) all share some sort of commonality, the differing viewpoints on the topic of…
Feb 6
Why does Joseph plant the silver cup? What is the ultimate aim of such a move? How does this relate to his status as the beloved son? Appeal explicitly to the story as a whole (i.e. Gen 37-50) and to article from Anderson in your answer? Early on, Joseph earns a bitter jealousy from each…
Feb 4
Consider the scene of Jacob’s wrestling and answer two simple questions. Who wins, really? And who is his opponent? The story of “Jacob’s wrestling match with an angel” is definitely a mysterious and interesting one. It begins in the wake of Esau’s anticipated encounter. One night, as Jacob and those with him cross the Jabok,…
Jan 30
What is religion? There are a variety of things we as humans can know. For example, we know that we must eat and drink to survive, that the sky is blue, and that 2+2=4. However, we do not know (and inherently can’t know as well) why or how humans came to be. At its core,…
Jan 28
According to Wilken (and Augustine from whom Wilken draws his thought), why is faith unavoidable? Why is it beneficial? Cite some passages. Within his argument, Wilken quotes a text from Oregen, an early Christian thinker, who wrote “a desire to know the truth of things has been implanted in our souls and is natural to…
Jan 23
(1) Why does Abraham agree to the request made of him by God? Why exactly God chose Abraham to begin a new family in Canaan isn’t totally clear. However, we do know that God caught Abraham in a time of discontent. Abraham, while able to love a beautiful women who was barren, was likely longing…
Jan 21
Drawing on what Kass has to say (and aware that your classmates will read and respond to what you write!) please say a few words about how the narrative about Noah furthers the concerns present in the account of the first sin in Genesis 3. From the offspring of Adam and Eve, two main lineages…
Jan 16
Why does the account emphasize knowledge? According to Legaspi, what sort of knowledge is communicated by eating of “the tree of the knowledge of good and bad”? And should it be eating? Why not touching or looking at some special object? Why a tree from which you eat? Yes, it is an act of disobedience, but…
Jan 14
Drawing on what the text itself provides, tell me what meaning is being conveyed. What primarily is God doing in this account? The human person? And taking it as an obvious truth that God doesn’t need to rest, what is this business with the seventh day? At the surface, the opening in Genesis gives us a…
Follow My Blog
Get new content delivered directly to your inbox.
jrundle 