Wisdom on Sign and Shadow

The Working Wisdom of James

tommy@signandshadow.com (Tommy Keene) — Mon, 02 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Many of the literary features particular to James, such as the imperatival tone, the prophetic imagery, the use of metaphor and illustrative parable, and the tendency towards aphorism, far from being problems to be solved, are in fact guideposts for modern readers to better appropriate and appreciate this book. They are indicators of the literary character and genre of the book. What type of book is the “Epistle of James” and why might that help us?

Biblical Wisdom: A New Blog Series

tommy@signandshadow.com (Tommy Keene) — Wed, 18 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0000

It’s no accident that the Bible gives us multiple types of ethical exhortation. Not everything is a command. God doesn’t just give us “thou shalt nots;” in fact, since the beginning, those have been the minority. God had plenty for Adam to do in the garden, and only one don’t. The rest of the Bible follows suit: a number of prohibitions, to be sure, and plenty of commands as well, but also encouragements, suggestions, visions, advice, riddles, and wisdom.