Re Thesis 5: Let's hope that asserting a canon -- a canon of love -- within the canon will defend us from those who prefer to use the Scriptures as a kind of arsenal or armory, and reach into them in order to grab hold of texts to be wielded as weapons. For me, the canon within the canon includes the Magnificat (Luke 1), and the Beatitud…
Re Thesis 5: Let's hope that asserting a canon -- a canon of love -- within the canon will defend us from those who prefer to use the Scriptures as a kind of arsenal or armory, and reach into them in order to grab hold of texts to be wielded as weapons. For me, the canon within the canon includes the Magnificat (Luke 1), and the Beatitudes (Matthew 5), which share this theme: For those who are weak, those who can never expect to "succeed" as the world measures success, those who are looked on as losers and failures, God nevertheless assures them of revolution and unmatched joy.
Re Thesis 5: Let's hope that asserting a canon -- a canon of love -- within the canon will defend us from those who prefer to use the Scriptures as a kind of arsenal or armory, and reach into them in order to grab hold of texts to be wielded as weapons. For me, the canon within the canon includes the Magnificat (Luke 1), and the Beatitudes (Matthew 5), which share this theme: For those who are weak, those who can never expect to "succeed" as the world measures success, those who are looked on as losers and failures, God nevertheless assures them of revolution and unmatched joy.
"A canon of love" - pretty wonderful!