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Just Passin’ Through? (What the Bible says about the “end” of the world)

December 15, 2011 in Around the Web, Articles, Consummation, Eschatology, Kingdom of God, New Creation, Theology, Tim Geddert, Tribulation with 5 Comments

This month’s edition of Mennonite Brethren Harald (Canada based) features an article that I wrote about the “end” times.  I thought I’d share the introduction with you here.  If you would like to read the whole article, you can follow the link provided.  Also, here are my “Recommended Resources” that continue to inform my view of eschatology:

  • N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, The Resurrection, and The Mission of The Church
  • N.T. Wright, Romans: New Interpreters Bible
  • John E. Towes, Romans: Believers Church Bible Commentary
  • Michael J. Gorman, Reading Revelation Responsibly: Uncivil Worship and Witness – Following the Lamb Into the New Creation
  • Timothy J. Geddert, Double Take: New Meanings from Old Stories

Thanks for reading!

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I guess we’ve all been “left behind.” According to what might have been the largest collaborative prediction of the return of Christ, we missed the rapture on May 21, 2011. Either everybody on the planet failed to pass the authentic Christian litmus test, or the predictions of Harold Camping were wrong. The rest of the world watched and mocked Christianity as May 22 dawned.

I grew up in the church. Most of what I recall from those early years brings good memories. People taught me that loving Jesus matters more than anything else. I learned that the world is corrupt, and the place we truly long for – heaven – is far, far away. So, we are to love Jesus and hate the world. This wasn’t hatred for the people who inhabit the planet, but a sincere belief that “this world is not my home, I’m just passing through.”

Are we simply passing through? So many issues plague this world. Creation is dominated by violence, ecological disaster, preventable disease, hunger, and injustice. These things could certainly lead us to desire an escape from the darkness.

But is this how the Bible sees it? Paul’s perspective in Romans 8 will help us explore this question. Continue Reading…

Dear Reader: Pangea Moving to Patheos!

July 6, 2011 in Articles, Dear Reader... with 6 Comments

Dear Reader…

In a great turn of events, I’ve been invited to move to Patheos as a hosted blogger for their network.  This is really exciting for multiple reasons.

  1. The chance to collaborate with some excellent bloggers who belong to this network.  I will be part of two Patheos portals, both the evangelical and progressive groups.  This is because I consider myself a progressive (politically) and an evangelical (biblically).  If you’ve read my blog for any amount of time, you probably know that neither label captures my Anabaptist view of faith in itself, but hopefully participating in both pools will bring some balance.  I look forward to being part of syncro-blogs and symposiums on various issues in the Christian faith.
  2. This will give me the chance to broaden my readership.  Not that having a large following has ever been the “goal”, its always fun to know that what I write connects with people that I may have never met if not for the world wide web.
  3. Yes, I will be able to be hosted by them for free and may even make enough money to pay off my social media expenses each month.  I must admit that this was a motivation, but certainly minor in comparison with the above two.

What you need to know:

  1. My RSS feed will be unchanged.  If you subscribe through feedburner, nothing will be different and I will be the one managing it!  Continue Reading…

Welcome to Visitors from Sojouners blog!

July 2, 2010 in Articles, Groans From Within with 0 Comments

If you are new to this site, I want to personally welcome you here!  Thanks for reading my article at Sojourners, and I hope that you will enjoy other things that have been written here.

For those who are regulars, feel free to check out my article called: “Why Christianity and July 4th are Incompatable” over at Jim Wallis‘ Sojourners website!  Would love to have some of your feedback there!

Blessings!

Biblical Authority, Postmodernism, and Patristic Hermeneutics…

July 9, 2009 in Articles, Biblical Authority, Fundamentalism, Postmodernism with 4 Comments

It has been almost nine months now since my article “Postmodern Biblical Authority?” was published on www.theooze.com. I have heard many positive comments and some critiques, but nevertheless it has been a fun journey (it is funny how most of the critique has happened on the comments section of the article on The Ooze). This article was not so much addressing the ‘whole’ of my view of Biblical authority (for that, read The Last Word: Scripture and the Authority of God–Getting Beyond the Bible Wars ), but rather it served as my attempt to explore the ability to hold to ‘biblical authority’ from a postmodern perspective. Well, I am honored that Mark J. Boone has now written a “response” article to complement what I have already written titled “Ancient-Future Biblical Authority: A Reply to Kurt.” He addresses the issue of biblical authority from a ‘pre-modern’ or ‘patristic’ perspective, rather than from the viewpoint of fundamentalism. I appreciate much of his approach (with some nuancing), and would like to hear your thoughts on a ‘side-by-side’ reading of the articles. How does pre-modern/patristic readings help us understand biblical authority in a postmodern world? What other insights came to you as you read?

Postmodern Biblical Authority? Continuing the Conversations…

December 14, 2008 in Articles, Biblical Authority, Emerging Church, Postmodernism, Theology with 3 Comments

I recently have stumbled across some friends in the blogosphere that have been discussing my article that was published on The Ooze website called: Postmodern Biblical Authority?

The first that I came across was a finely written affirmation/ critique at this address: http://coldfire.wordpress.com/2008/12/11/two-voices-of-christianity-critiqued/#comment-760

The second seems to be written in German. I will attempt to give you an English version from the blogsite “peregrinatio.” Here is the original link in German: http://www.elia-gemeinschaft.de/wordpress/2008/11/03/emerging-church/kirche-und-zukunft/schrift-ohne-prinzip

This is an open invitation for these two fellow bloggers to expand the conversation if they would like, or for you to read the article and ask questions or give feedback. I am not interested in anything that is angry or rude… just fruitful conversation to further grasp what God is doing in our world.