Do you think of the adultery? Or do you think of the death of Uriah the Hittite, her husband?
I'll warrant that 90% of American Christians think of the adultery first. In fact, I'd bet that a goodly percentage don't even know the murder of Uriah! But back to Psalm 51. There's no mention of the adultery in the psalm, aside from the superscription, and even there it just says, "after he had been with Bathsheba" (CEB). But there is mention of violence:
Deliver me from violence, God, God of my salvation, so that my tongue can sing of your righteousness. Ps. 51:14 CEBI think the fact that we don't think of the death of Uriah says a lot about the casual acceptance of death and violence in our culture. Just an
</idle musing>
2 comments:
Interesting observation. Does it point to a "casual acceptance of death" or an emphasis on sexuality as an area of vice in American Christianity?
I suspect a bit of both, but the real point would be a casual acceptance of death and violence. As long as people see violence as a legitimate option, we will have issues like we saw this weekend. My alma mater, the U of Chicago, canceled classes today because of a threat of violence. It's too common!
James
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