Romans 9 can be a hard chapter to read. God hating people! Yikes! It’s a chapter about election. Like people get picked for playground game for kickball. Some get picked early, some late and tragically some not at all. God turns out to be in the picking business.
I was reading up on some Ishmael/Isaac family quandaries today. Ishmael gets the divinely sanctioned boot because he wasn’t part of the divine plan. I’m crushed then I read this from the breathe of fresh air that is old testament scholarship… namely Walter Brueggemann.
The narrative holds us to the tension found so often in this narrative, the tension between the elected and the not-elected one who is treasured.
1 comment:
Just never forget to read Romans 9 in light of Romans 10 and 11 (and indeed the whole book). I'm not sure it makes it any easier to swallow, but I think helps us understand that Paul himself maintains the tension you describe.
Okay, Josh, now that you've posted on election I think its time you read Barth's take on election. Get yourself a copy of CD II/2 and read the whole first section. Take a whole year to do it, but make your way through it. You'll love it.
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