Pastor Foltz is Pastor Emeritus of Saint James Lutheran Church in Gettysburg, PA and author of the the Frontline Study content.
The Old Testament prophets try to explain how their God can be supreme while other nations, who worship different gods, continually defeat and control the Israelites. Their attempts sometimes produce inconsistent pictures of God. In one paragraph, he brings judgment on all the people because everyone sins; in the next, he is saves them because […]
When I started this series exploring what Old Testament prophets have to say about the present political situation, I was afraid that I might force the issue. It turns out there’s no danger of that as the current administration does something every week that the prophet I’m studying directly attacks. For instance, this week I […]
Although Hosea proclaimed judgment against God’s people at around the same time as Amos, he certainly offered more hope. In fact, his ideas lay the groundwork for Jesus’ ministry. Hosea links divine judgment much more to Israel’s seeking security from alliances with the political empires of the day. One of his images is of her […]
Let’s start with Amos. We know very little about his life. He shows up at Bethel in the northern kingdom of Israel, proclaiming God‘s judgment right before Assyria crushes her. Because he is from Judah, the king’s priest tells him to go home where he belongs. Amos responds that he is just an ordinary shepherd […]
In this series, I plan to examine the teachings of individual prophets, paying special attention to what they say about our present political situation. I think it’s safe to say that few of us know much about the prophets. I often even forget the names of all the minor ones. Yet 16 of the 39 […]
I wrote this series explicitly to examine biblical stories from the perspective of the American political situation. I wanted to test my perception that the Trump administration creates big problems for those who accept Christian teachings. Lutherans are reluctant to speak against the political order because our founder taught a doctrine of two kingdoms. Supposedly, […]
We don’t hear much about Lamech. The Bible only gives him a few paragraphs in Genesis 4. Nonetheless, I think he’s extremely important because he is used as an example of the evil that permeates creation before Noah’s flood. Supposedly, God gets so upset with the violence that fills the earth that he decides to […]
The biblical story of King Solomon leaves readers with many questions. It exalts him as the epitome of wisdom, but you have to ask why, if he was so wise, did his policies lead to the revolt of ten tribes and the breakup of the united kingdom. It also praises him for building the first […]
This fable-like tale (Numbers 22-24) makes a number of points with great humor. Balak, the King of Moab, wants to stop the invasion of the Israelites. When it is apparent his army is outnumbered, he tries to employ Balaam, a freelance prophet famous for destroying people by simply cursing them. Balaam initially refuses, because he […]
The story of Mary Magdalene seeps into non-biblical actions and writings. She is given a significant feast day in the church calendar, Mary Magdalene, Apostle. This is based on the high honor of being the first to receive a resurrection appearance in which she is instructed to tell Jesus’ brothers that he is risen (John […]
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