Mary Harrington, “The Contraceptive Tetrad”

Posted on 19 November 2023 by Benj

"…No living human Other ever perfectly reflects you back; a relationship is not just about natural compatibility but growing into compatibility. By contrast, AI girlfriend/boyfriend/hentaifriend/otherkinfriend will reflect your desires back better and more completely than any individual human could. Thus the logic of sexual technologisation reverses into AI girlfriend."

Mary Harrington, "The Contraceptive Tetrad"
https://reactionaryfeminist.substack.com/p/the-contraceptive-tetrad?publication_id=292917&post_id=138961369&isFreemail=true&r=rv7ug

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Update: Waiting in Hope

Posted on 7 November 2023 by Benj

Back in July, I shared here that our family had entered an unanticipated time of transition. I had encountered such a disagreement with the elders at our little church in Grove City that I felt compelled to resign.

A lot has happened in the four months since that last update—many good things, even as we wait to discern what God has for us after this school year…

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New Publication on Isaiah, Kings and Chronicles

Posted on 2 November 2023 by Benj

The follow publication was just published online, open-access:

Giffone, Benjamin D. “Toward a Better ‘Hezekiah’: The Literary Structuring of Isaiah 1–39.” Old Testament Essays 36.2 (2023): 471–489. DOI: 10.17159/2312-3621/2023/v36n2a10.

It doesn’t look like the DOI is working immediately, but you can view the essay here.

This paper has been a long-time in coming. It originated in discussions with Gary Schnittjer, and the students in my course on Isaiah at Cairn University (January 2011). I blogged about it here, many years ago.

I set it aside for a long time, then presented another version to the OT Prophets section at the International Organization for the Study of the Old Testament (Aberdeen, 2019).

Finally, I worked out some of these ideas further in a Fall 2021 course on Isaiah at LCC International University. I really appreciated the conversations with those students–conversations that continue to resonate in other publications, papers in review, and work that I’m doing now. Teaching and research together–a great combination!

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Talking Ezekiel 20 on the #OneFear podcast

Posted on 17 October 2023 by Benj

I recently appeared on my friend Dom’s podcast, #OneFear, talking about Ezekiel 20. Check out our episode:

https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/3HOt2ior1qn5IWzBiFDIHW?utm_source=generator

Dom and his wife, Danielle, host #OneFear. They do a variety of sorts of episodes, all focused around understanding and applying scripture. You should subscribe!

Faithful readers of this blog might recognize some of my earlier work on Ezekiel 20, including my 2022 article in Biblische Zeitschrift and a sermon series at Klaipėdos LKB from 2021.

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What Did Isaiah See in His Vision? Other Deities, and Divine Accommodation

Posted on 6 September 2023 by Benj

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how the Bible portrays the experience of other ‘gods’ besides YHWH. It’s been a subject of fascination for me, especially since I encountered the work of Michael Heiser, who sadly passed away earlier this year. Right now, I am mulling over the phrase “gods which you/your fathers have known” in Deuteronomy—I’m working on a paper for ETS in November and a book chapter due around the same time.

Why does it matter how we think about the portrayal of ‘other gods’ in the Bible, particularly the Old Testament? Well, for starters, it’s important for us to interpret the Bible correctly, on its own terms, so we understand how the Triune God, YHWH, speaks about himself and the other beings that he has created. This includes spiritual beings as well as human beings, and we as humans relate to those spiritual beings differently than we relate to other animals on earth. So it’s relevant for our lives.

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A Strange and Unexpected Turn

Posted on 30 July 2023 by Benj

Personal updates and substantive writings have been slim on this blog, I acknowledge. Part of this has been the outlet of weekly preaching, plus other writing projects I’ve been working on (more on those in the weeks to come!). I’m also continuing to teach remotely at a seminary in South Asia (name withheld for security reasons). I have five students in my MTh course, Introduction to Biblical Interpretation. Starting in November, I will teach Exegesis of Isaiah 40-55 for them.

Well, if weekly preaching has resulted in much less blogging output…then you might see an increase of output here. Sadly, July 30–today–was my last Sunday as pastor of Center Church in Grove City.

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Sermon Series on Ephesians

Posted on 24 July 2023 by Benj

I just completed a sermon series at Center Church (EPC) on the book of Ephesians. Here are all the sermons on the church’s YouTube pages (video links are queued to the start of the sermon):

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Maundy Thursday Devotional: Lovely Feet

Posted on 11 April 2023 by Benj

Here is a devotional I gave at the Maundy Thursday communion service at Center Church EPC along with Harmony EPC (Harrisville), last week.

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Series on Isaiah, and a Few Publications

Posted on 5 April 2023 by Benj

I realized that it’s been a while since I’ve posted here, so I wanted to give a few quick updates…

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Advent and Christmas Sermons — 2022

Posted on 26 December 2022 by Benj

As I’ve mentioned in the last couple of posts, I’ll no longer be sharing all my sermons in mp3 format on this site; the podcast feed will be dedicated to other talks and special presentations. Center Church’s YouTube channel will continue to broadcast services, and I’ll be the preacher at the majority of these services for the foreseeable future.

That said, I wanted to share links to our Advent and Christmas services, queued up to the sermons if you are interested.

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