BEN: In some ways it does not matter whether we call the dramatic work of God in the OT the work of the spirit or living presence of Yahweh, or the work of what later believers called the Holy Spirit. Either way, it was God who empowered the miracles, inspired the prophets etc. And I think it is important that we NOT read back into the OT later Christian theology about the Holy Spirit, because that does a disservice to... Read more

BEN: Have you read Clayton Croy’s excellent book on Mark 16.8 not being the original ending of Mark’s Gospel, the end being mutilated, but that perhaps we can parse it out from Mt. 28, omitting the guards at the tomb story, and referring to an appearance to the women in Jerusalem and one to various disciples in Galilee. This is based on the observation that Matthew follows Mark quite closely, including 95% of his Gospel with a 52% verbatim rate.... Read more

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BEN: I like your saying on p. 166 about the all things the Advocate will guide the disciples into. The ‘all things’ is not a blank check about anything in the future in general. And the focus will be on explaining the climax of the Christ event in the immediate future— Jesus’ death and res. The Holy Spirit becomes the holy reminder of what Jesus has said and done. We are talking about inspired remembrance not a bunch of new... Read more

BEN: A fellow John Wesley Fellow, Beth Sheppard did her dissertation on the forensic rhetoric of the Fourth Gospel, including the term parakletos which she shows in this case to refer to a legal advocate or counselor who is preoccupied with the truth, and nothing but the truth about Jesus and salvation. I doubt that the usage in the Farewell discourses varies from these meanings, and it certainly comports with the Synoptic idea that when the disciples are brought on... Read more

13 years ago in 2006  I was involved in the CBS production of ‘The Mystery of Christmas’ filmed in the lands of the Bible— Here’s the original trailer…..https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7XjRlBX1S8 Not long before this Peter Gomes’ bestseller, ‘The Good Book’ came out with a chapter entitled ‘The Bible and Mystery’  He opens his discussion with the following remark—‘Mystery is not an argument for the existence of God; mystery is an experience of the existence of God.’ (p. 327). Now Gomes is not... Read more

  Reflection on 2 Cor.  12.7-10 where Paul asks God two remove his thorn in the flesh, and God says no, my power is made perfect in your weakness, my grace is sufficient for you, Peter Gomes in the ‘Good Book’ says this… “We learn first that the thorn is sent to Paul in the form of a messenger from Satan. The source of his trouble, whatever it is, is not God. The moral of the affliction, however is that... Read more

The NT has quite a lot to say about joy, in various contexts, and about rejoicing, and not surprisingly there are plenty of Christmas hymns that emphasize joy, with major composer like Handel chipping in on this subject.  Peter Gomme’s chapter on the Bible and Joy, in his ‘The Good Book’ one of the best treatments I’ve ever read on the subject, and I will be interacting with and quoting him here.  Perhaps the first major point he makes is that... Read more

  THIN PLACES Take me to the thin places Tween here and paradise, Show me the river And that must now suffice.   A glimpse of glowing glory Is all I need just now I can wait ‘til later To learn the why and how.   The border between realms Is not so hard to find, But crossing that fine line Means leaving this behind.   It doesn’t take a death wish To want to know some more Of what... Read more

“Contrary to the popular misconception, religion is not an escape from reality but rather a genuine effort to make sense of what passes for reality and all that surrounds it, Religious people are not escape artists; they are not practitioners of evasion or of self-deception. Religion is  not the answer to the unknowable or the unfaceable or the unendurable; religion is what we do and what we are in the face of the unknowable, the unfaceable, and the unendurable. It... Read more