by Travis J. Scholl The prophet’s cry in the first chapter echoes with the laments of the Psalms and Jeremiah. “O Lord, how long shall I cry for help?” (1:2). Oil in the Gulf … O Lord, how long? Handguns on the streets of Chicago … O Lord, how long? The millions unborn … O ..
King David, The King, Bono, and the cult of celebrity. Did the story arc of celebrity start with the biblical figure of David?
by Travis J. Scholl “It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings to search things out” (v. 2). The opening verse of today’s reading from Proverbs bears the haunt of the deus absconditus, and the paradox of the hidden God and the human investigator. Yet, even the human mind is ..
The artist He Qi explains the art that appears on the cover of The American Mind Meets the Mind of Christ, and its connection to the events of 9/11
The Summer 2010 CONCORDIA JOURNAL is on its way
A little over a year ago, I wrote here about the premiere of the short film “Ragman.” Now, with over 25 international film festivals on its cart, two awards and a finalist for a third, “Ragman” is finally available on DVD . The film, directed by local artist Dale Ward (I was the production designer), is a direct adaptation of the well-known parable by renowned writer Walter Wangerin . Simply, it is a subtle story of grace and transformation
By Travis J. Scholl The crux of this text is the ongoing conflict in Jeremiah between true and false prophets and Jeremiah’s own ongoing conflict with those whom he perceived to be false prophets in Israel’s midst. “They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord” (v. 16). Their word ..
So the story has been kind of buried with all the other news making the headlines, but it’s still worth talking about. With the retirement of John Paul Stevens and the impending confirmation of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court, the Court faces the prospect of not having a Protestant justice for the first time in its history
The table of contents of essays in the book, The American Mind Meets the Mind of Christ
An exclusive online reprint of Robert Kolb’s preface to The American Mind Meets the Mind of Christ, a collection of Concordia Seminary faculty essays on American culture
Oh God said to Abraham, “Kill me a son” Abe says, “Man, you must be puttin’ me on” God say, “No.” Abe say, “What?” God say, “You can do what you want Abe, but The next time you see me comin’ you better run” Well Abe says, “Where do you want this killin’ done?” God says, “Out on Highway 61” The word of the Lord according to Bob Dylan, in the opening lines from the title track of his landmark album Highway 61 Revisited . It is a sly and menacing retelling of the famous episode of Abraham’s near-sacrifice of his son Isaac from Genesis 22 . And Dylan sets it along the famous highway of the blues that stretches along the Mississippi River from New Orleans up almost to Canada. It is the highway where legend has it Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil to play the…
…is the title of the newest book from the Concordia Seminary Press. The American Mind Meets the Mind of Christ is a collection of essays edited by renowned scholar Robert Kolb . Here’s the synopsis from the back cover: Whether it is an altar to an unknown god or the New Atheists, Christians have always faced the challenge of translating the Gospel message within the surrounding culture. This is no less true for the tangled web that is 21st century America
The “Chandos portrait” of Shakespeare Last night I taught our first class in a course entitled “The Bible as Literature” in Wash U’s University College . So don’t be surprised if there’s a few posts here over the next weeks with that title before the colon. One of my basic theses for the course is that perhaps the most foundational event in the history of English-speaking literature was the translation of the Bible into the Authorized Version, otherwise known as the “King James.” Shakespeare is a very close second. To illustrate my point, we played a famous little game with the King James version of Psalm 46
Technology trying to save technology. (Photo credit: Reuters) The recent capping of the oil well in the Gulf of Mexico aside, now the Coast Guard says the clean up will take years . And even with the cap, oil is still spilling into the Gulf
UPDATE: the Spring 2010 issue of the Concordia Journal hit the mail on Thursday, May 20. Here’s a couple excerpts to whet your appetites
In what is fast becoming a graduation week tradition, Concordia Seminary will honor faculty members who have recently written or contributed to published books on Tuesday, May 18, from 4:00-6:00 p.m., at a wine and cheese reception in Koburg Hall. This year we will also toast the long-anticipated release of the new book from the ..