Genesis 7:1-24 In the “film” 40 days and 40 nights Josh Hartnett has to endure this “unbearable” trial period without sex. It’s a time of dreadful testing and I’m sure hilarity ensures. I wouldn’t know, I couldn’t be forced to watch it – even for research purposes. But we seem to have a cultural memory that […]
Genesis 6:1-22 It’s the name of countless nurseries and toddler groups. We instantly think of a cramped menagerie and a cartoon boat – usually absent Noah and the family. Also absent is any hint that this is a cataclysmic scene of judgement. The context is Genesis 6. Apparently the “sons of God” were uniting with the […]
Genesis 5:28-32 When you think of rest, what springs to mind? If you’re like me you’ll be thinking about an absence of stresses and suffering. The name “Noah” means rest. But the one called Rest does not come in the context of peace and safety. It was in the midst of death and curse that the promised […]
Genesis 5:18-27 If someone calls you ‘Methuselah’ it’s probably not a compliment. He was 969 years old when he died – the oldest man in the Bible. In the midst of the avalanche of deaths in Genesis 5, Methuselah weathers the storm better than most. But actually someone else in the family tree does better […]
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When people attempt to read through the Bible, Genesis 5 represents the first hurdle. It’s a chapter of genealogy. So and so begat so and so, then they lived this many years and they died. And on it runs, generation after generation. The Bible lists them in painstaking detail. Why the detail? It’s been a […]
Genesis 4:13-24 These days, drifting off to the land of Nod sounds like a pleasant slumber. It was Jonathan Swift who first used the phrase in connection with sleep. And Rudyard Kipling followed suit. Now we associate the land of Nod and ‘nodding off’ exclusively with sleep. I read recently that taking heroin is also […]
Genesis 4:6-14 We all know the phrase. And we all want to be able to answer yes. Tony Blair first introduced “New Labour” to the party conference describing it as the kind of compassionate socialism that said “I am my brother’s keeper.” In 2008, Barack Obama’s Christmas Day message was this: “Now, more than ever, we […]
Genesis 4:1-5; John 17:1-5 “I knew her… in the biblical sense” said the fellow with a ribald wink and a nudge. Many are aware that “knowing in the biblical sense” is shorthand for sex. But few know what it is that’s ‘biblical’ about that ‘biblical sense.’ Well it all goes back to Genesis 4:1: “And Adam knew […]
2 Samuel 1:17-27 “Have you seen the news? Flooding, fires, earthquakes, wars. If we don’t watch ourselves the world’s going to fall apart completely.” “I fear we’ll soon pass the point of no return!” “We must be very near the end!” These are statements I hear pretty regularly about “the state of the world today.” The […]
