St Boniface and the Legend of the First Christmas Tree
Solomon's Bookcase
In our fourth annual Christmas installment, an Oak Tree grove dedicated to Thor, the northern European god of thunder, is visited by Saint Boniface in 723 CE. Boniface takes it upon himself to dispose the world of this oak, and in its place, anoint a small evergreen as the "new" symbol of everlasting life.
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The Spaces Between: Intertestamental Theology on Angels and Demons
Solomon's Bookcase
With the vast majority of what would call the "Old Testament" composed and edited, and with Judea under continual military and political threats from outside, the Jewish theological literature did not simply freeze in place. In these last few centuries leading into the 1st c. CE, scrolls such as 1 Enoch, Jubilees, and Tobit demonstrate that the views of angels, demons, and the roles of these beings in everyday life are very much continuing to be developed. Books: John J. Collins. Daniel. Hermeneia. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993. Michael Heiser. ...
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The Year of the Hermit - Academics Reflect on Covid-19 and Isolation
Solomon's Bookcase
A session at the 2021 American Academy of Religion's Annual Meeting, consisting of 3 papers, reflected on the ancient wisdom that might be found from the period of late antiquity in regards to isolation. How did the early hermits of the Christian faith view their lives of isolation and separateness, and how might we draw from their perspectives and lessons learned during a pandemic or period of involuntary solitude in our own lives?
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A Christmas Coronation Gone Wrong - William the Conqueror
Solomon's Bookcase
After the Battle of Hastings in September of 1066, William the Conqueror was in a tremendous hurry to consolidate his power, and thus elected to arrange his coronation ceremony on Christmas Day of that same year. The chaos that ensued was certainly not according to plan!
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Ancient Flying Serpent Seraphs and You: A Primer
Solomon's Bookcase
Angels are often portrayed as messengers, yet the prophet Isaiah describes a very different type of "angelic" encounter with 6-winged flying creatures bathing in smoke. Isaiah doesn't even seem that surprised to see them - perhaps there's a reason for that? Oh, and we'll talk about the Angel of Death. Not his real name, but he's kind of a big deal.
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How Do You Talk to an Angel? Gideon's Commissioning
Solomon's Bookcase
Judge-to-be Gideon, a resistance fighter under oppression by a foreign army, is visited by a divine messenger. Gideon has some pretty direct questions for his angelic visitor, and remains somewhat unconvinced that his commissioning as a deliverer of his people is in fact legit.
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The Exorcist, Strange Happenings, and Washing Clothes in Holy Water
Solomon's Bookcase
Following from the previous episode, we dive into the real-life inspiration behind The Exorcist, and remind you that there was kind of a big deal in the 80s and 90s called the Satanic Panic. We talk about playing Led Zeppelin tapes backwards and washing your clothes in holy water. We end with some cautionary tales and my own personal experiences in the Charismatic Catholic church and Evangelical missions.
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So You Want to be an Exorcist? And the Tragic Case of Anneliese Michel
Solomon's Bookcase
Kicking of a multi-part series on Demons and Angels, here we explore the concept of exorcism in the Catholic and Evangelical frameworks. We survey some early Church history and discover some of the attitudes and assumptions surrounding exorcism in those early centuries following Christ, and we conclude with the story of Anneliese Michel, which is loosely the basis of the movie The Exorcism of Emily Rose.
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The Roman-Era Persecutions of Santa Claus
Solomon's Bookcase
For this year's Christmas season episode, we visit the history of the church father Saint Nicholas and the body of legends (and real-life torture at the hands of Emperor Diocletian) that lead us to the modern-day Santa Claus.
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...Who's the More Foolish?
Solomon's Bookcase
One of the central motifs of the Book of Proverbs is the comparison of the wise and the foolish. We examine the power of paradox and how the artistry and skill of the ancient authors prevent us from using the Scriptures as a simple "rulebook for life." Plus David Brent from The Office makes an appearance. What could he possibly have to do with a fool?
info_outlineThe New Testament writers are very concerned with presenting Christ as a "living sacrifice" - but since most of us aren't in the habit of sacrificing animals anymore (or we've sworn it off at the strong urging of our sponsor), this episode presents an overview of the Ancient Near Eastern sacrificial systems.
Show Notes:
1. "Atonement." In The Jewish Annotated New Testament. 2nd edition. Amy-Jill Levine and Marc Zvi Brettler, eds. 2017.
2. John Walton, Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament. 2nd edition. 2018.
3. Naphtali Meshel, "Sacrifice and the Temple." In The Jewish Annotated New Testament. 2nd edition. Amy-Jill Levine and Marc Zvi Brettler, eds. 2017.
4. Pete Enns. "The (Not So) Radical Idea of Jesus's Death Atoning for the Sins of Others." Blog post. 2019.
5. Mark Boda. A Severe Mercy: Sin and its Remedy in the Old Testament. 2009.