February Musings (2/25/2026)

Riddleblog and Blessed Hope Podcast Updates:

You may recall that I made the previous version of “For Freedom” (my exposition of Galatians) available to those who listened to Season One of the Blessed Hope Podcast series on Galatians. That version (1.0)—the script for the Blessed Hope Podcast episodes on Galatians—was a working draft which has now been edited and updated (version 2.0). I am making For Freedom available as a free PDF download for personal use only to anyone interested
I’m getting a surprising number of Riddleblog viewers from China. I wonder what is up
We’ve gotten a good amount of rain in Southern California, and now warm weather is upon us. That means allergy season is at hand. I hope my gunky nose and throat will not cause delays to the Blessed Hope Podcast release schedule. Hard to record for 90 minutes between coughs, snorts, and throat clearing
Season Four of the Blessed Hope Podcast is wrapping up soon. It is a deep dive into 2 Corinthians entitled, “Life in the Midst of Death.” 2 Corinthians is a difficult book but is filled with Pauline gems and wisdom. I encourage you to give it a listen. Lord willing, Season Five will be a deep dive into the Book of Romans, and will launch in the mid-late Spring

Thinking Out loud:

The last words I ever want to hear coming out of any president’s mouth — “I can do whatever I want”
Spring training has begun. Is a lockout inevitable?
How on earth does the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame continue to snub the band Boston? Or Ten Years After? Alvin Lee was a great performer—his 9 minute “I’m Going Home” on Woodstock’s last day stole the show. And TYA was easily one of the best live bands I’ve ever seen (four times back in the day, of course). The RRHF is a joke
I saw my first commercial on a YouTube pop up for Ramadan meals—Halal Lamb from New Zealand. It was a first rate ad, but another reminder that Islam is and will continue to be a serious issue in the American future
People throw the term “facist” around without any idea what the term actually means, its history, or its derivation. If you can’t define the term, do not know its history, or know what a fasces is, then stop using the term when berating your political enemies until you do. Then you’ll need to find another term for those you oppose because no current political figure (left or right) is a “facist” in any meaningful sense of the term
In the TMI department, I recently had a colonoscopy (I’m fine). But I was afraid the Dr. would find a wad or two of pink bubble gum—of the flat brittle sort that used to come with a pack of baseball cards. I swallowed a bunch of it as a kid and am pretty sure not even battery acid could dissolve it and that some may have been still lodged somewhere within

Currently reading:

Stephen Westerholm’s 2022 book, Romans: Text, Readers, and the History of Interpretation is a fantastic resource and a great read. The strength of the volume is Westerholm’s careful, wise, and at times witty evaluation of the major (and some not so major) commentaries written on Paul’s epistle to the Romans.

Westerholm’s work on Paul, especially in response to the New Perspective on Paul, is highly regarded, even by those holding to NPP, of which Westerholm is critical.

Among the key issues considered in Westerholm’s evaluation of each of his subjects addressed in Romans are the questions of circumcision and Jew-Gentile matters, the role of the law and justification, the identity of the “I”in Romans 7:14-25, and matters of free-will and God’s sovereignty (in Romans 9).

Westerholm summarizes a number of commentaries or offers extended comments on the interpretation of Paul’s epistle by those with which many are probably already familiar: Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Melanchthon, and Calvin. His summaries of these luminaries are crisp and insightful.

But many other commentaries and important discussions of Romans in theological writings are surveyed, all of which have influenced how this epistle was read and understood by Christians across time. I will but summarize a few of the notables discussed. These include Origen, who wrote the first extant commentary on Romans. Chrysostom’s work is reviewed, along with several other Antiochene interpreters. Latin interpreters of Paul such Ambrosiaster and Pelagius are also addressed, as is Abelard.

After summarizing the Reformers (Luther, Melanchthon, and Calvin), and considering the first English translations of Romans (including those of Wycliffe, Tyndale, and the Geneva Bible), Westerholm devotes a section to the Arminian interpreters of Paul, including Arminius, Bengal, John Wesley, and Adam Clarke—the latter’s commentary on the Bible and Romans did much to spread Arminianism throughout the English-speaking world. Westerholm’s treatment of Arminius on Romans 7 and 9 is especially helpful and even-handed, since Arminius’s interpretation of Paul is dense and tough-going. Finally, Westerholm reviews several of those who worked on Romans in the age of critical scholarship, including H. A. W. Meyer, Henry Alford, Paul Jowett, and Karl Barth. He even adds a nice summary of the sermons on Romans by D. Martyn-Lloyd Jones.

This is an important book, and a must read for those wanting to understand more about the issues in Romans and how the various debates festered and developed over time. It is not inexpensive (in the $40.00 range), and probably not for the general reader. But if you love Romans and want to know how Christians have understood it throughout the history of the church, there is no better volume.

Recommended Links:

Great essay on Clement of Rome and Justification by Grant Sims (A WSC student and C-Ref member)

Allen Guelzo on baseball as The All-American Game

Mike Horton on a Dying Man’s Consolation (Machen)

Mike Horton on, AI: Systematic Theology of a Neo-Gnostic Movement

Just Having Some Fun:

Admittedly, I might qualify as a Hydrogen Hyperproducer, and would probably fry the censor

A likely cause of explosive diarrhea

I wonder what the Bard’s preferred pronouns were

The classic race of the Wienermobiles. The Indy “once around the track race”

Only in Florida: Assault with a deadly ketchup packet

A new way to evade authorities. Fido to the rescue