Extra-Curricular Activities 07.20.13

Brave Reviews - the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary on
the Old Testament

“The scholars who have poured time into these texts have done so with
having been trained and deeply experienced in the ancient world that surrounds
the Scriptures of the Old testament… I highly recommend this text for anyone
who is dialoging with the Old Testament.”

Tim Gombis - Philemon & Onesimus: The Consensus, Questioning the
Consensus

“Paul plainly indicates that they are brothers, ‘not only in the flesh
but also in the Lord.’  Commentators,
however, have found various ways of accommodating Paul’s language to the
interpretive consensus… In this series of posts, I hope to
demonstrate that those who take the consensus view of the relationship between
Philemon and Onesimus have not reckoned adequately with Paul’s language.”

Stanley Hauerwas - Infatuated with God's Creation

Andy Crouch - Planting Deep Roots

“an institution does not have to be a calcified bureaucracy, slowing
sucking the soul out of its inmates. Part of why we are cynical about institutions
is because we have a limited view of what institutions are and how they work.”

Louis McBride – Is the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard About “Pure
Grace”?

“The point of the parable can hardly be that ‘everything depends upon
grace’ since the early workers received exactly what they worked for, though
Matthew 20:11-15 certainly warns those who have done more work against
begrudging God’s generosity with those who have done less.”

Andrea
Palpant Dilley - Change wisely, dude.

“So
as you change -- or as change is imposed upon you -- keep your historic
identity and your ecclesial soul. Fight the urge for perpetual reinvention, and
don’t watch the roll book for young adults. We’re
sometimes fickle. When we come, if we come, meet us where we are. Be present to
our doubts and fears and frustrations. Walk with us in the perplexing challenge
of postmodern faith.”

Maria
Popova - Why Time Slows Down When We’re Afraid, Speeds Up as We Age, and Gets
Warped on Vacation

"the Holiday Paradox has to do with the quality and
concentration of new experiences, especially in contrast to familiar daily
routines. During ordinary life, time appears to pass at a normal pace, and we
use markers like the start of the workday, weekends, and bedtime to assess the
rhythm of things. But once we go on vacation, the stimulation of new sights,
sounds, and experiences injects a disproportionate amount of novelty that
causes these two types of time to misalign. The result is a warped perception
of time."

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Extra-Curricular Activities is a weekly roundup of stories on biblical interpretation, theology, and issues where faith and culture meet. We found each story interesting, thought-provoking, challenging, or useful in some way – but we don't necessarily agree with or endorse every point in every story. 

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