by Brian Allred “A plague on both your houses.” So spoke the dying Mercutio about both the Montagues and Capulets in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The phrase can rightly be understood as an imprecation. An imprecation, from the Latin imprecatio, is a prayer invoking disaster or judgment upon an enemy or wrongdoer. Long before … Continue reading “O That You Would Slay the Wicked, O God”: Wrestling with the Imprecatory Psalms
Category: Biblical Literacy
Reflections on the Christian Scriptures
by Brian Allred Certain things are really hard to do. Try saying “eleven benevolent elephants” five times fast. I imagine riding a unicycle is pretty hard. Personally, I find it extremely difficult to hit a golf ball – at least long and straight. Some other things are virtually impossible for us to do like tying … Continue reading Loving Our Enemies
by Brian Allred In John Bunyan’s classic allegory Pilgrim’s Progress, the appropriately named main character, Christian, journeys through trials, troubles, and temptations on the way to eternal glory in the Celestial City. On one particular occasion, Christian, along with his traveling companion Hopeful, encounters Giant Despair. This giant locks them in a dark dungeon in … Continue reading Psalm 88 and The Dark at the End of the Tunnel
By Brian Allred It’s easy to get sucked into the drama of an epic showdown. You can think old school like Luke Skywalker facing Darth Vader in Star Wars, or Rocky Balboa squaring off against Ivan Drago in Rocky IV (or perhaps you prefer his bout against Clubber Lang in Rocky III). More recently, there’s … Continue reading The Pain of Nain and the Hope of Easter
by Brian Allred In 1945 George Orwell published the book Animal Farm in which a society of farm animals overthrows the “tyranny” of their human owners and sets up their own government. The story is generally understood as an allegory warning against communism’s tendency to drift toward totalitarianism. While the animals start out devoted to … Continue reading The Divine Animal Lover
by Brian Allred Some people fall out of the public spotlight and we wonder what ever happened to them, like celebrities featured on Where Are They Now? segments. For example, some of you might remember the 1971 film version of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The role of Charlie Bucket was played by an … Continue reading Celebrating the Ascension
By Brian Allred Imagine it’s the day after Christmas and you’re riding in a car on U. S. Highway 67 in Johnson County, Texas. Your 28-year-old cousin is driving and your wife, your two children – 10 and 9 years old – and both in-laws are also passengers. Suddenly, a truck swerves into a no-passing … Continue reading Faith in the Face of Affliction: Lessons from Job 23
by Brian Allred According to Proverbs 9, we are constantly surrounded by the voices of wisdom and folly. Both Lady Wisdom and Lady Folly are calling out from the highest places of the town. They are both extending an invitation for the simple to enter their house for a meal. We discover that listening to … Continue reading The Fear of the Lord: The Determining Factor in Proverbs 9
by Brian Allred Proverbs 9 is a provocative portrait of our world where the voices of wisdom and folly are at every moment vying for our attention. The chapter is creatively arranged to move us inward toward the middle where the central point is found in v. 10. The chapter begins and ends with invitations … Continue reading Accepting Rebuke: The Different Responses in Proverbs 9
by Brian Allred This is one of three articles on Proverbs 9. This blog series supplements Brian Allred's video series The Way the World Works...Except When it Doesn't. Long before Vladimir Putin became the leader of Russia, there was Nicholas II, the last of the Russian Tsars during World War I. The downfall of Nicholas … Continue reading Hearing Voices: The Dual Invitations in Proverbs 9