Beginning in May 2020 I did an in-depth study of the General Epistles. It was more of a thematic rather than a verse by verse study. I have long had the sense that we read the General Epistles through the lens of the Apostle Paul’s writings, but the General Epistles are not Pauline, so such an approach is often misleading. So more than anything, this study was an attempt to hear what these epistles had to say on their own terms. It took well over a year and in the end I wrote up my results. But what should I do with a monograph on the General Epistles? I decided to serialize these writings in a series of essays. Since it is difficult to find one’s way around a blog, this page is a Table of Contents to this series of essays.
Here is a list of the General Epistles with a link to the first essay of each epistle. (Note that these epistles are not in the order found in the New Testament.) As essays are posted, I will add links to this page.
Hebrews
- Introduction to the Letter to the Hebrews
- The “Jesus and the Angels” Story (Heb. 1-2)
- Inheritance (Heb. 3)
- A Primer on Avoiding the Rebellion (Heb. 4-6)
- Alex Morgan … and Roosters (Heb. 3-6)
- Repose or Abode (Heb. 3-6, esp. 4:11-13)
- Falling Away (Heb. 6:4-8)
- The Most Wonderful Time of the Year (Thematic essay on Thanksgiving, or Eucharist)
- Life, Death, and an Appeal to Melchizedek (Melchizedek in ch. 6 & 7)
- Image and Shadow (Thematic essay on reality and allegory)
- The Nature of Covenant (Heb. 8)
- Time which is more like Gravity than Time (Heb. 9, especially the Greek word syntelos)
- The Path that has been Opened to God (Heb. 10:1-18)
- Privilege and Responsibility (Heb. 10:24-27)
- Now Faith … (A consideration of the Greek word hypostasis, which is found in Heb. 11:1, and also in 1:3 and 3:14)
- Christianity is all about Witnessing (a consideration of the Greek word martyreo, having to do with the list of “witnesses in Heb. 11)
- The Discipline We Must Endure (Heb. 12:1-17)
- Two Mountains (Heb. 12:18-29)
- Final Exhortations, but Especially Concerning Sacrifice (Heb. 13)
James
- James: New Testament Wisdom Literature
- Poverty, Wealth, Temptation Life, and Death (James 1:9-16)
- Faith and Works (James 2:14-26)
- Fr Nikola and a Life “Equal to Martyrdom” (James 5:13-19)
1 Peter
- 1 Peter: A Letter of Wisdom, Subversiveness, Compassion, Witness, and Hope
- Prepare Your Minds for Action (1 Peter 1:3-9)
- Let the World Be
- Living a Revolutionary Life (1 Peter 1:22-2:3)
- The Kingdom Is like a Virus (1 Peter 2:4-12)
- Christianity Is not a Secret Society (1 Peter 3:13-16)
- The Conclusion of 1 Peter (1 Peter 4-5)
Jude
2 Peter
- 2 Peter: A Persecuted Epistle
- Knowledge as Beautiful and Transforming Light
- That Embarrassing part of 2 Peter
- While You Are Waiting, Be at Peace
1 John
- Salvation is Physical and Spiritual (Introduction)
- The Word of Life (1:1-4)
- God Is Light and in Him there Is no Darkness at All (1:5-10)
- Why Confession Works (2:1-3)
- A Transition away from Gnosticism (2:4-11)
- Overcoming the Evil One (2:12-17)
- From Antichrists to Anointing (2:18-29)
- The Children of God (3:1-3)
- Lawlessness and Righteousness (3:4-10)
- False Teaching, Persecution, Truth and Action (3:7-24)
- Testing and Loving (4:1-10)
- Fear and Boldness (4:11-21)
- Bringing the Argument Together (5:1-12)
- Prayer, Sin, and Communion with Others (5:13-21)