This is the second part of my presentation at BioLogos in March.

Theologians thinking with scientists

Let me give two examples of topics that are probably safer places to begin that practice of pastors and scientists thinking aloud together. My father was an English public school teacher; my church was fundamentalist; I was armed against science on all fronts; so I went into the humanities and put off my Biology and Chemistry classes until the last semester of college, and I should add that my college had a policy – so grades could be calculated – that a graduating senior in good standing had his or her grade determined at the midterm grade, which meant that I really only had to take one half of a semester of science, which gave me more time to read theology and Bible. I learned to think theologically. Then along came one “RJS” who wrote up a post on my blog one day about death entering the world long before Genesis 3, which jolted me not because of evolutionary theory but because I wanted to think about death theologically in that context. My life has not permitted me to chase that one very deep into the tohu va-bohu but I do wonder if the ongoing cycle of life and death over millions of years, red in tooth and claw, is not a sacrament of resurrection and of God as giver and restorer of life – in an ongoing sacramental cycle. Our bright young science students would like to be at the table for this one, and I suspect pastors could say mostly anything they want on this topic and not get in trouble. [Read more...]

The Sermon on the Mount is laced together with strong statements by Jesus.

How do you read the strong statements of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount? Pick one below and give it your best shot. How does the follower of Jesus’ ethical posture exceed the Pharisees? Is anger the same as murder with you? Lust? Divorce always wrong? (Or almost always?) Etc.

I’ll stick to Matthew 5 alone in this post just to make these strong statements clear:

For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all.

But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.

If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you… Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. [Read more...]

As a child in Sunday School we lustily sang the always boisterous song, “The Wise Man Built His House on the Rock and the Foolish Man …”. The song was acted out, and our favorite part was falling onto the floor. And we had no question which side we were on. I have no truck with the song; I do have to say, though, that the song made play out of what has to be seen as nightmare or celebration. The subject is so serious one has to think that the profundity of it all is extinguished in playful song. Allison calls the ending of the Sermon an “ominous parable.” |inline

Very few sermons close off as forcibly as the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus summons people to follow him, and the way he does this is to clarify the sort of followers he has in mind (beatitudes), the salt and light vocation, the surpassing righteousness he expects, and the simplicity of doing things with integrity and trusting God for provisions, and then a series of comments about discernment — and then Jesus simply calls people to follow. |inline

How can you tell if a prophet is true or false? Jesus has a very simple solution: “By their fruits you can recognize them” (Matthew 7:15-20). False prophets deceive in appearance but inwardly are ferocious wolves. Fruit, Jesus says, is what enables us to discern them. And fruit has to do with behaviors. |inline

There are, the famous opening lines of the Didache state, “two paths: one of life and one of death, and the difference between the two is great.” These were some of the lines I was asked to translate when I entered seminary, and we were slotted into an Exegesis class on the basis of such testing. Jokes abound about “there are two kinds of…”. Jesus absorbed the same way of discerning humans, and he sees two sorts of humans: the few who enter the narrow gate and the many who enter the wide gate. |inline