Here are some posts that explain some of the more difficult passages of the Bible.
- Achan’s Plunder – and Blunder - Here's a disturbing story from the Book of Joshua story of a Israelite soldier named Achan who made a terrible mistake. What I say may not make the story any less disturbing, but we will hear a great spiritual lesson related to it from St. John of the Cross.
- On Jephthah’s Rash Oath - On Jephthah, a tragic hero of the Book of Judges.
- On Death in the Psalms - It cannot be said that a belief in an afterlife and immortality of the soul are expressed in the Book of Psalms. What are we to make of this?
- On the Curses of the Psalms - We may be horrified when we first read the curses in the Book of Psalms. But do they have a spiritual sense that could help us?
- On the Death of King David’s Baby - Why did God strike down the baby of King David and Bathsheba?
- Unto the Third and the Fourth Generation - At least four passages of the Old Testament talk about God punishing the descendants of evil men down to the third and fourth generations. How could a loving God do this?
- “If any one comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother…” - Does Jesus require us to hate our own families? How could this be?
- On Violence in the Old Testament - The violence of the Old Testament is often cited in attacks on the Bible and the Faith. Here are four helpful perspectives on the violence involved in the Israelite’s conquest of Canaan, arguably the most egregious instances of violence portrayed …
- Rahab, Spies, and Lies - The Old Testament heroine Rahab (pronounced “Raw-KHAWB” in Hebrew) is mentioned in glowing terms several times in the New Testament. In the Letter to the Hebrews we read: “By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish with those who were …
- Science and the Old Testament - Is the Bible a science book? How should we react when we read things in the Bible that seem to contradict well established scientific facts? Let’s see what St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas had to say about the matter. …