Lament

Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Todd Pruitt
Apr 1, 2020
In these days, I find myself drawn more than usual to those passages of Scripture which help me to lament. I gravitate particularly to the Psalms which give language for lament and grief and even complaint. The Psalms are not embarrassed by our moans of sorrow and protest. Indeed, John Calvin wrote...

The Hermeneutics of Lament (Part 3)

J. Todd Billings
Nov 4, 2016
In this post in this short series , I offer a typology of interpretive approaches to biblical lament. The typology is rough, not comprehensive; my examples come from the "left," "right," and "middle," from theological conservatives and liberals. But they have one thing in common: they fail to...

The Hermeneutics of Lament (Part 3)

J. Todd Billings
Nov 4, 2016
In this post in this short series , I offer a typology of interpretive approaches to biblical lament. The typology is rough, not comprehensive; my examples come from the "left," "right," and "middle," from theological conservatives and liberals. But they have one thing in common: they fail to...

The Hermeneutics of Lament (Part 2)

J. Todd Billings
Sep 15, 2016
The Rule of Faith and Biblical Lament Anger. Loss. Rage. The Psalmist expresses each of these in those mysterious Psalms - the Psalms of lament. An increasing number of Christians express frustration that the worship of their churches is too "happy" and "sanitized" - realizing that we need to...

The Hermeneutics of Lament (Part 2)

J. Todd Billings
Sep 15, 2016
The Rule of Faith and Biblical Lament Anger. Loss. Rage. The Psalmist expresses each of these in those mysterious Psalms - the Psalms of lament. An increasing number of Christians express frustration that the worship of their churches is too "happy" and "sanitized" - realizing that we need to...

The Hermeneutics of Biblical Lament (Part 1)

J. Todd Billings
Jul 13, 2016
What is the fruit of biblical interpretation? For example, in interpreting anceint texts such as the Psalms, should our primary goal be to reconstruct the ancient Psalmist's meaning? Or, for Christians, should it be to receive the Psalms as prayers , to be prayed by the Spirit, in Christ? There are...

The Hermeneutics of Biblical Lament (Part 1)

J. Todd Billings
Jul 13, 2016
What is the fruit of biblical interpretation? For example, in interpreting anceint texts such as the Psalms, should our primary goal be to reconstruct the ancient Psalmist's meaning? Or, for Christians, should it be to receive the Psalms as prayers , to be prayed by the Spirit, in Christ? There are...

Joining the Resistance: Lament and the Kingdom [Part 4]

J. Todd Billings
Feb 22, 2015
In previous posts, I have suggested that the question of suffering before God needs to remain an open question - a question that we, along with the Psalmists, bring before God in the midst of our grief, anger, and confusion. All of this relates to prayer. But it also relates to action - action in a...

Avoiding the Dead Ends of Providence: Monocausal Fatalism and Open Theism [Part 2]

J. Todd Billings
Feb 7, 2015
As I explored in the previous article in this series, my cancer diagnosis forced me to join the Psalmists in prayer more deeply than I had ever done before. I prayed the Psalms - especially Psalms of laments - with others and in solitude. And I noticed that as they pray to the good and Almighty God...

Avoiding the Dead Ends of Providence: Monocausal Fatalism and Open Theism [Part 2]

J. Todd Billings
Feb 7, 2015
As I explored in the previous article in this series, my cancer diagnosis forced me to join the Psalmists in prayer more deeply than I had ever done before. I prayed the Psalms - especially Psalms of laments - with others and in solitude. And I noticed that as they pray to the good and Almighty God...