Mark Randall James

Theologian | Writer | Husband | Father | My Twitter presence is mainly questions and commentary on scripture. Join the conversation!

[Christopher Satoor​​ @aufgehenderRest]

220 years ago today, in Königsberg; the great Kant, laid his head down to rest for eternity. #Kant

[Mark Randall James @mrandalljames]

@bonhoefferchild It’s not easy to make a theological argument against those who “think they know what God wants” without also claiming to know what God wants—here, that God opposes Lucifer’s sin” of “pride”.

[Mark Randall James @mrandalljames]

@ehutchinson1513 What is the difference between “critical” thinking and plain old thinking?

[Mark Randall James @mrandalljames]

@DDFStrand @MBLinton The analogy is between attending a family member’s wedding and supporting Trump.

[Mark Randall James @mrandalljames]

@_the_last_echo_ Maybe Richard Hays, The Moral Vision of the New Testament?

[Mark Randall James @mrandalljames]

@ronhenzel @megbasham If the fathers do not, or do not only, use the “grammatico-historical” method, then even if they say scripture is without error, what they actually do with scripture is going to look quite different from what a contemporary inerrantist would expect. 2/2

[Mark Randall James @mrandalljames]

@ronhenzel @megbasham Thanks for this clarification, and the history lesson. I think I understand what you’re getting at. Still, saying “inerrancy is a consequence of” a particular method is enough to invite the claim I was trying to make. 1/

[Mark Randall James @mrandalljames]

@ronhenzel @megbasham Saying that the text is “without error” is a much more flexible claim if you’re open, say, to allegory; or if “literal” means what it does for Augustine in his commentary on Genesis! 2/2

[Mark Randall James @mrandalljames]

@ronhenzel @megbasham Contemporary inerrancy (in the Chicago statement) specifies a single correct method of interpretation: the “grammatico-historical method.” The Fathers do not make this move; they inquire into methods, not just meanings. 1/

[Mark Randall James @mrandalljames]

@ronhenzel @megbasham When the church fathers use language that suggests “inerrancy,” it usually means only that we must affirm the truth of the words of scripture and persist in seeking their meaning. 3/3

[Mark Randall James @mrandalljames]

@ronhenzel @megbasham His doctrine would permit someone to say: “I am perplexed when I read ‘wives, submit to your husbands,’ since men and women are equal. So either it’s a bad MS, a bad translation, or there is some other less interpretation (consistent with equality!) yet to discover.” 2/

[Nancy French @NancyAFrench]

'Do we really want to maintain a system that enables a man like Donald Trump to eclipse both Congress and the judiciary?' - @DavidAFrench

https://t.co/HqrEuPBBcc

[Sarah Longwell @SarahLongwell25]

Cowards will endorse Trump. We could use some heroism from those who know better.

[Mark Randall James @mrandalljames]

@PatrickKMiller_ “Let it Go” is basically the villain song, and Elsa has to learn that real freedom comes through true love, which (Anna shows) requires giving one’s life for another. 2/2

[Mark Randall James @mrandalljames]

@PatrickKMiller_ I share your distaste for this therapeutic story arc, but is Frozen really an instance of it? The real hero is Anna, who is motivated throughout by loyalty to sister and land. 1/

[Mark Randall James @mrandalljames]

@DZRishmawy What’s the argument for early medieval?

[B.J. Hutto @BJHutto]

"Like Pharaoh I have a hard heart that only responds by having the shit kicked out of it."
- Stanley Hauerwas

(from here: https://t.co/Q2ELHcko40)

[Mark Randall James @mrandalljames]

@JoelWBerry @JoshDaws How would you advise others to put into practice the command “do not judge, lest you be judged” in the way they comport themselves on social media, especially when commenting on politics?