. . . and the decline of western civilization1

Today I begin a new post series: . . . and the decline of western civilization.  This will be an attempt to identify and target those areas of our culture which are clearly contributing to our complete failure.  For example, we could easily examine "The Cessation of McDonald's Deep Fried Apple Pies and the Decline of Western Civilization."  Such is the making of some incredible dissertations.

To begin, I offer: "Bluetooth Headsets and the Decline of Western Civilization."

Allow me to say that, although these devices have proven to be quite useful in both convenience and safety, they are incredibly annoying and are presently chipping away at our culture just like other incredibly annoying objects which presently chip away at our culture (try to keep up, kids).  When the headset for cellphones first emerged I could never figure out when someone was speaking to me and when they were jabbering away on one of these things.  I would hear somebody talking, would in turn respond, and garner for myself a dirty look or an annoyed, "I'm on the phone."  As though I'm supposed to tell the difference when the concept behind these earpieces is to make them as discrete as possible.

Tonight as I walked the streets of Boston (coming from the largest North American AppleStore, no less), there was a man who was walking towards me with a bluetooth hanging from his ear.  He was asking some kind of question and I, conditioned as I am to this culture, politely ignored him and walked on.  He then muttered something about how I wasn't responding to him and walked away in a semi-frenzy.  Now, come on!

And you can see how this is going to tear away at the fabric of western civilization, for now when we have people who can't normally communicate with one another trying to break through such barriers with the added pressure of having no clue that they are trying to talk to each other. . .all could very well be lost.

christians at the border

M. Daniel Carroll R., Christians at the Border (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008).


Daniel Carroll is the best professor from whom I've never taken a class. I became acquainted with him during my graduate work at Denver Seminary, where he teaches Old Testament. And yes, I never had the privilege of sitting through one of his seminars. Where we built our friendship was in the days when I was the general manager for the bookstore and he would come in with his warm and engaging demeanor. And it is from this, and many subsequent discussions, that I can classify him as such.

What makes Carroll unique in his discussion regarding immigration and Christian response is that he comes from both American and Guatemalan cultures. He has never abandoned one for the other and has ministries stemming from both of these backgrounds.

The book itself is a much needed dialogue for American Christians who are seeking to find a way forward through the overwhelming amount of socio-cultural and political rhetoric which surrounds us. One of the main points which emerges in this discussion is the very sad reality that many American Christians have decided to build their understanding and approach to the issue of immigration upon popular cultural and political opinion rather than relying on Scripture. As he references another work in this area, Carroll puts it this way: ". . . the Christian church has lost its way and is captive to the culture" (138). In his attempt to right this ship, Carroll advocates for a movement toward a more biblical understanding of immigration, refugee and sojourner before entering into the political equations (so, go figure that he would want us to look to the Bible first. . .one must wonder what kind of oddball theologian he must really be?!?!?).

After setting forth a few introductory comments, Chapter One gives background and outlines a broad history of Hispanic immigration. Here Carroll also reviews current data and figures regarding the cost (both real and imagined) of undocumented immigrants as well as the contributions of those who have become citizens. Chapters Two and Three then review Old Testament perspectives regarding foreigners, citing portions from Torah, Ruth and such. Chapter Four then turns to the New Testament, focusing mostly on the ministry of Jesus among the Samaritans before briefly mentioning 1 Peter and Romans 13. Chapter Five acts as a summary, conclusion and brief outline for moving forward.

The book itself is quite accessible, both in content as well as size (@140 pages, no pictures though). Carroll has succeeded in providing a primer for those interested in engaging this topic further, and a solid introduction for those who need a compass to navigate through a sea of political lunacy and idiocy which constantly surrounds us. While there are a couple of points where I might question Carroll's conclusions or propositions, they are too minor to introduce here and in no way cause me to abandon his overall thesis and aim. More prevalent is his charge to the church to emulate the repeated calling of Scripture to exhibit hospitality - for this all is God's land and he desires us to care for it and its inhabitants in this manner (98-99ff).

Hopefully this book will continue to spark discussion as it already has throughout the evangelical community and allow us to be followers of Christ first before we are followers of our culture.

stock sbl posting part two

After a few attempts on Saturday and Sunday morning I finally found a paper which was quite good to endure. Kudos to Bruce Longenecker for his presentation of Luke's use of Psalm 91, I think he was right on track with this one. I did hit some other presentations, but some of them were (again) terrible and the others were mostly fine other than that they were long and tiring. Again I went to the book sale (see below for Jim West's early Christmas gift).

It has always been an enjoyable experience to meet and greet with the number of scholars who attend SBL. This morning I had the privilege of meeting The Professor: I. Howard Marshall. Many of you have had this experience and know that it is a pleasant one. It was mostly by accident as he was speaking with a friend of mine and I didn't even realize it was him when I broke into the conversation. And the day had a couple of other meet-ups and ongoing conversations, which really make the time worth it. . .along with the books, the books, the books.

Oh, I also met up with The Bishop again today (:mic = 3; Tilling = 0). This was not stalking out, I promise. I was walking out of the entrance to the books and he crossed by. . .I said to him, "Good afternoon, Bishop." Then he stopped and came over to me to say hello. . . If this happens again, I'm forcing him to accompany me to the Cheesecake Factory downstairs.

PS - when initially meeting The Bishop I was met with, "I know three Michael Thompson's, and you're not one of them. So, what's your story then?" I'll tell you the same that I told him, I'm not the famous one, I'm not the accomplished one, and I'm not the credible one. Now, hopefully, he'll remember.

sbl book buying for Jim West

Jim West asked me to pick up a book for him off of the Eerdmans table at SBL. He said it was something to do with some exciting, new and pretty challenging critical work. To show him that I've done this, I include a picture of it here. Evidently this will be a key piece to his forthcoming commentary on the Psalms.

Congrats, Jim.

stock sbl posting

I'm here and sat through two papers today and a panel discussion. All three were terrible and leave the mind boggled why some institutions are considered elite while others are not. This clearly cannot be an accurate reflection.?!?.

Congrats to Mariam for her first publication, which is selling nicely. And to M. Daniel Carroll R. whose book was given away at IBR for lack of anyone else wanting to buy it. Seriously, go and read this one.

The most exciting part of this for me is meeting up with some really good scholars, and some great friends. Most notably, was my conversation this morning with The Bishop himself - N. T. Wright. This is a feat which I have achieved twice in my life, to Chris Tilling's none (in fact Wright was clearly startled when I mentioned Tilling, looking nervously as to find a quick way out and mumbling something about "all of those letters").

I hope to see others of you soon, but since only two or three people read this blog, and I know that you're all not in Boston right now, this sentiment makes little sense.

roman slave trade and revelation 18

Craig R. Koester, "Roman Slave Trade and the Critique of Babylon in Revelation 18." Catholic Biblical Quarterly 70, (2008): 766-786.

This article by a noted biblical scholar emerged (somewhat initially) at the San Diego SBL meetings in 2007.  I remember listening to the presentation and thinking that Koester was really on track here, especially with some familiarity with his overall reading of Revelation.  It also came on the heels of an absolutely horrible reading of Revelation (I don't even remember the specific topic), which also helped me consider Koester's position more favorably.

What Koester gets right in this article begins with his fundamental assertion: ". . . Revelation's visionary rhetoric poses a challenge to see the world differently and to resist practices that are inconsistent with the faith" (766).  This fits strongly with the notion that with Revelation we are reading biblical apocalyptic, which must be read in light of both ends of the category - biblical in that it has a message which challenges the world with God's (and Christ's) sovereignty; apocalyptic in that it is a message of hope and inspiration for the people of God.

Also consistent with a proper reading of Revelation is the distinction made between the people of God and the people of the world, which Koester gets right.  There are those in the narrative who are marked with the seal of God on their foreheads (7:3) and those who are marked as the people of the earth (14:1).  This is a vital difference in Revelation (and most apocalyptic): to see the polarizing positions of those dedicated to covenant and those dedicated to the world.  In this context, Koester considers the role of slavery as mentioned in Revelation 18.

Revelation 18 contains the fall of Babylon and the lament of the merchants, kings and sailors over the loss of wealth, comfort, merchandise and trade.  Listed here are many different goods (which are no more absurd than are iPods, Wiis and such), over which these groups weep and mourn (vv. 11-13).  Clearly implicated here is Rome AND any economic system which places commerce as the most important ideal.  Though not specifically mentioned in this article, it is significant that John includes "human beings sold as slaves" at the very end of the list (v. 13).  Though some may read this as climactic, it also has a natural reading that slaves are the last to come to mind; it is a sign of the dehumanizing of the practice itself.  And this reads well with how Koester does build his discussion (cf. 771: "Nevertheless, [use of the term 'bodies'] does suggest the demeaning quality of the slave trade).

The perspective which is given in this article is that ". . . the slave traders not only sold the souls of human beings (Rev 18:13) but sold their own souls as well" (775).  And this is a lynchpin, not only to Koester's stated thesis, but to the whole of Revelation itself.  For those who are willing to participate in the ways of the world over and above the kingdom of God are forfeiting their own souls.  John is bringing the force of seventeen apocalyptic chapters to a very strong statement (not that it is all for, nor does it hang upon, this one verse).

Koester spends the bulk of the second half of his article (776-785) in an historical survey of the Greco-Roman perspective and cultural milieu of slave trade and the traders.  We get a glimpse here of the way in which this practice was an important part of the Empire's commerce, and how these individuals were able to achieve some status and standing.  It is in this respect that these individuals further forfeit their own souls as they deal with the souls of other humans.  Thus, there are two levels of implication set forth here.

In conclusion, there is much force in Revelation 18:4 ("Come out of her, my people") which is given great significance to our world today.  On a pastoral level, the message of Revelation 18 is not simply and easily ignored because our culture does not endorse the slave trade, for the message is inclusive of commerce and economics in general when they violate and stand above the gospel message.  There are two purchase-events in Revelation: the purchase of slaves and the purchase of redemption given through the blood of the Lamb (cf. 786).  The ongoing work of the church is clear and set before his people.