November Musings (November 5, 2025)
Riddleblog and Blessed Hope Podcast Updates:
The R’s and a dozen or so friends were headed to the Civil War battlefields of Manassas, Harper’s Ferry, Antietam, and Gettysburg, before spending a few days playing tourist in Washington DC. Alas the government shutdown forced us to reschedule for next Spring. We are disappointed—but for a whole bunch of reasons, the cancellation was providential and also allowed me to take a short break
I am close to wrapping up my exegetical work in 2 Corinthians, and then it is on to Romans! I can’t wait! Lord willing, the Blessed Hope Podcast will resume in a couple of weeks and I’ll finish up chapters 5-13 of 2 Corinthians
Thinking Out Loud:
My contempt for our current Congress (both parties) grows by the day
Gambling in the NBA? “I’m shocked, shocked to find gambling is going on in here” (using my best Claude Rains accent)
I’ve been a die-hard baseball fan since I saw the Angels play the Yankees in Dodger Stadium on July 29,1964 (Anaheim Stadium was still under construction and BTW, the Yankees won 5-0 behind Jim Bouton’s 4 hitter). I’ve seen lots of great players come and go, but Shohei Ohtani is the best baseball player I’ve ever seen, period. People talk about Babe Ruth doing similar things, but we didn’t get to watch the Babe—we just remember his accomplishments. But we do get to see Shohei play. But after playing an 18 inning game and starting the next game Shohei came back to earth and looked tired during the last two games in Toronto
Yoshinobu Yamamoto was 4-0 with 1.13 ERA in the World Series (including last year). Then to come back and win Game 7 after going 6 innings and winning Game 6 was simply amazing. But lest we forget, Madison Bumgarner's World Series stats include a career record of 4-0, a remarkable 0.25 ERA, 31 strikeouts, and one save. His 0.25 career World Series ERA is the lowest in history for a pitcher with at least 20 innings pitched. Baseball fans really do live in the moment
When Don Mattingly played for the Yankees, he was my favorite player—evident by my signed Mattingly print in the background of the cigar photo above. After 40 years in baseball, Donny Baseball finally made it to the World Series as the bench coach for the Blue Jays. Does retirement await? If so, he’s earned it
Trump-achadnezzar plans to build a monument to himself. Sorta echoes Daniel 3
Trump called Reagan’s speech on tariffs, “fake news.” Trump obviously has not listened to to Reagan’s remarks lately. I have. I think Reagan was absolutely right that tariffs are a tax on consumers and raise prices, but then I’m a Milton Friedman, F. A. Hayek guy when it comes to economics
Good ole governor Gavin signs 700 new laws—just what California needs, more regulation
Recently Read:
James P. Ware’s 2019 book on Paul’s theology is a mixed bag. There are things about this book I really like, but I also have several significant disagreements.
Ware’s book is well-written and surprisingly enjoyable for a moderately scholarly tome on the main themes of Pauline theology as identified by Ware; creation, incarnation, covenant, and kingdom. Ware points out that in this volume, “we are studying Paul’s gospel through a double lens,as the fulfillment of Israel’s Scriptures and in dialogue with the beliefs and the thought systems of the ancient gentile world that Paul addressed” (96). He largely succeeds. See my previous look at Ware’s outstanding book on 1 Corinthians 15.
Ware rejects Sanders and Dunn’s versions of NPP and aligns himself with the work of Frank Thielman (PCA) and Andrew Das (LCMS), and to a lesser degree N. T. Wright (95-100). Ware, now retired, was professor of religion at the University of Evansville. He is a Roman Catholic and, for example, affirms the Roman distinction between mortal and venial sins (132) and only speaks of justification by grace, and never mentions that justification comes by faith alone.
Nevertheless his book is endorsed by Protestant NT scholars and this and his previous books are all published by Protestant publishers. Few Roman Catholic biblical scholars appear in his footnotes. His defense of orthodox doctrines such as the Trinity, deity of Christ, the bodily resurrection of Christ (expressed through interaction with critical scholars) is stout and compelling. Ware also skillfully places Paul’s gospel to the Gentiles in the context of the Greco-Roman world and raises the question in each of his four main sections regarding how Paul’s gospel would resonate with a first-century audience in light of their pagan assumptions. Ware’s defense of historic Christianity and his discussion of the interaction between Paul and the pagans of his day is quite good.
My reservations center around Ware’s treatment of Paul’s understanding of human sinfulness and grace. He contends that righteousness (when discussed within the context of justification) is to be understood to be both God’s righteousness and his covenant faithfulness (echoing Wright) as well as something given (imputed) to believers in union with Christ (129). But Ware goes on to argue that righteousness (in justification “by grace,” with no mention of “faith” as in sola fide) is both imputed and infused. Infused grace “unleashes” a “transforming power” making righteous all those within God’s covenant—although Ware does concede that sanctification and good works are a fruit of justifying grace (132).
But by placing justification and sanctification in this sort of parallel relationship within the covenant (113-131), instead of arguing that justification is by faith (the imputation of righteousness) and grants one entrance into covenant union with Christ (so that sanctification is distinguished from justification, but not separated from it), Ware blurs lines that ought to be kept distinct (as done in the manner recently articulated by Harrison Perkins in his Reformed Covenant Theology). But then New Testament scholars are often far too dismissive of systematic theologies and formulations.
My biggest objection is Ware’s embrace of a rather bald semi-Pelagian construction of grace and human freedom. Ware sets up a very helpful distinction between Union with the Creator and Separation from the Creator, but defines the latter situation as the consequence of “excluding oneself from this life-giving union through unbelief” (83). Had Ware reversed the order—we are born in separation from this life giving union, and are by grace through faith called into union with Jesus Christ in the power of the life giving Holy Spirit through the preaching of the Gospel, his approach would make better of sense two other important Pauline categories—election and calling, to which Ware gives no attention.
All in all, Paul’s Theology in Context is a good read and strong on defending the historicity (as opposed to critical scholars) of Christ’s life, death, and bodily resurrection as understood and proclaimed by Paul. Ware also does a good job of addressing the question, “how would Paul’s pagan audience have understood his preaching?” Ware offers a fair and insightful discussion of current approaches to the question of the relationship between Paul, Israel, and the law.
But his semi-Pelagian understanding of a prior universal generic grace and the viability of a positive human response to it, along with conflating justification, sanctification, and covenant without making clarifying distinctions as understood through a full-orbed biblical ordo salutis, is yet another reminder that biblical scholars too often neglect the guardrails provided by systematic theology and Reformation era confessions and catechisms to their own peril—specifically, in this case, Reformed covenant theology.
The discerning reader can enjoy the meat but will need to spit out the bones.
Recommended Links:
Nicolas Batzig has assembled links to a whole bunch of John Murray’s sermons and lectures (on MP3). There’s some great stuff here
James P. Ware on Christ’s bodily resurrection. Well worth a read
Vatican opens Muslim prayer room. The spread of nefarious Islamic influences continue. Islam is on the march in America too
Archaeological evidence in Colossae confirms the city’s pagan influences exactly as Paul mentions in his Colossian letter
Great archaeological find regarding Timothy’s hometown in Galatia: The ancient city of Lystra. Also, new finds regarding Sodom and Gomorrah, and the Exodus, and the account of Hezekiah in 2 Kings 18,19
Surprise, surprise, mainline churches continue to hemorrhage members
Does this mean the English Reformation is over? Of course, that has long been the case. But this is a sign of how deep the CoE’s apostasy goes. The bigger question is to whom or what does King Charles pray?
Links of the Dad Joke Variety:
If anything will get ICE and the National Guard to leave Portland, this just might do the trick. Not a pretty sight and I’ll bet there are some miserable arse rashes as a result
These varmints need killin’! Dangerous invaders. But they can be used for a good purpose
Cross Heidelberg Mississippi off our potential vacation destinations. Update: my wife (AKA “Dirty Micki” would have done the same thing) this mom did
My wife’s worst nightmare—a clown motel. Yes, there is such a place. I’m not surprised it is in the Nevada desert
Those aliens were real but they came from New Jersey
A good reason to keep a close eye on your cat. Another reason is that they will eventually take over the world and we’ll all be working for a feline. I already work for one
Previous Musings:
Video:
Rick Beato is a well-known musician, producer, and expert on music production. He documents how easily AI can generate songs, lyrics and fake artists. But in this short video he also exposes AI’s main current weakness (but you gotta watch until the end). Fascinating stuff.