Opening Salvo on the Blood Prohibition

Posted on July 2, 2011 by blund

You must not eat meat that has its blood still in it. Genesis 9:4

Background

One of my preaching practicums had us select passages to preach on a doctrinal or ethical subject, and the passages were up for grabs among the students. Through my own choice (thinking I’d “challenge” myself) and what my peers had narrowed in options, I ended up with Leviticus 17. Preaching in the Old Testament? Sure. Preaching from Leviticus? Definitely more challenging. But I had not ever really grappled with the “blood ban” before, and I am so grateful for the opportunity. I hope to do a series of looking at different aspects of the Blood Prohibition.

Why the Blood Prohibition?

The “blood ban” is actually a fantastic opportunity for the student of Scripture to stretch themselves in the whole discipline of theology. Following the likes of Geerhardus Vos, true theology is a multi-discipline process, and looking at the Blood Prohibition allows one to utilize all of their skills. First, there is the exegetical component. Continue reading →

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A Theologically Liberal Critique of Theological Liberals

Modern “Worship” Service

Posted on July 2, 2011 by blund

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Thoughts On Christian Patriotism

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Couples who live together before marriage more likely to get divorced

Writing an About Page

Posted on July 1, 2011 by blund

I recently updated this site’s “about the author” page, and I found a lot of great insight and help from Michael Hyatt. From the structure to finding out what a colophon is, I learned a lot. If you’re thinking of redoing your “about” or “bio” page, Hyatt has some very intentional, clearly thought through suggestions for you to consider.

But it has Apps!

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https://twitter.com/#!/brianjlund/status/84641362221334528

The Book of Eli is a Blind Mad Max

Posted on June 25, 2011 by blund

Eli: Its in the back of the TV
Carnegie: Go check the TV!
Henchman: The what?

The Hughes’ brothers 2010 dystopic Western The Book of Eli attempts to be many things; many more things than I will do here in this little write up. What follows are several completely unrelated. spoiler-ridden, and very loose reactions I had after watching Eli tonight.

Growing up, I briefly got into a Western series entitled Legacy – a Western, teen-fic series baptized with Christian overtones. The Preacher, if I’m remembering this right, was the archetypal “Man in Black” that spoke softly (but when he did he quoted Scripture) and carried a hot six-shooter. Driven to get the girl and bring the order of law to a town being controlled by a greedy tyrant, he… well, you get the idea. Preacher always had a Proverb or (eisegeted) phrase of Christ’s to quote to the bad guy, right before the plot drove the Preacher to resolve the tension by killing the bad guy and galloping away on his trusty steed.

It was the perfect amount of testosterone with a spiritual veneer for me as a young teen. However, even then I reacted to a strong dichotomy between the Preacher’s penchant for quoting the Sermon on the Mount right before turning the other ~~cheek~~ barrel of his shotgun on the baddie. One of the best times was when Preacher brought his Bible and his revolver into the pulpit, extinguishing the baddie by shooting him through(!) the wooden lectern.

That same schizophrenia pervades Eli. Continue reading →