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 […]
- 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 […]
- 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? […]