For Moses Said, “Honor Your Father and Your Mother”: Corban and the Fifth Commandment in Mark and a Constructive Theology of Geriatrics
About the Author
David Bumgardner is a ThD student in Applied Theology at Saint Leo University in St. Leo, Florida, where his research examines how ante-Nicene and Nicene Christology should shape contemporary Christian theology and worship. He holds a BA from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, and an MA in Practical Theology from Winebrenner Theological Seminary. A minister and former hospice chaplain, he has written for Christianity Today, The American Spectator, Baptist News Global, Religion Unplugged, and other outlets. He lives in Northwest Ohio and seeks to serve both the church and the academy.
Abstract
Drawing on his experience as a former hospice chaplain and on data about elder abuse, neglect, and loneliness, the author offers a theology of geriatrics rooted in Jesus’ teaching on Corban in Mark 7:9–13. After establishing the text and the antiquity of the saying, he argues that Corban was chiefly a legal formula of exclusion by which a child used sacred language to withhold support from needy parents. He identifies modern “Corbans” (entitlement, ministerial redirection, convenient placement, the busy church, and contempt) and concludes with five affirmations for honoring the elderly.
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