I have taken it upon myself to be a sort of bridge between the academic world and the lay world, specifically when it comes to the mimetic theory of René Girard. That is because, as many of you are probably aware, Girard’s theory primarily resides within the halls of academia. And with the profundity of the theory—given its ability to be applied across a broad range of disciplines, as well as its ability to get to the root of the... Read more
*Note: This is a guest post by Jeff Turner “God himself lies dead.” -Hegel (quoting from a Lutheran hymn by Johann Von Rist) The Saturday in between Good Friday and Sunday morning is, perhaps, where the honest believer spends a good part of their life. I’m not talking Christologically, but experientially. Yes, we acknowledge the resurrection as key and central to our faith, but the “Saturday” experience of the first disciples is still what most of our lives look like. There... Read more
The death of Jesus is not unlike the sacrificial deaths of the prophets before him, as well as those who come after. In fact, Jesus recognizes this, when, in Luke 11:51, he ties his imminent death directly to those of Abel and Zechariah, giving evidence to how violence, as 6th century BCE Greek philosopher Heraclitus argued, is indeed humanity’s logos, or “structuring principle of reality.” But the death of Jesus is unique as well, for it undoubtedly exposes where innocence... Read more
Author’s note: Because I hold to the doctrine of universal reconciliation—and brazenly so—I take a lot of heat from a lot of fellow Christians. Not only do I get to hear how I am a “wolf in sheep’s clothing,” “a false prophet,” and even, “a satanist”—how spooky!—but I then get to deal with what I call “machine-gun questioning.” What I mean by that is, for example, if I am talking about Pauline theology, arguing that it is much more inclusive... Read more
With so many horrific things going on in the world right now, it is hard not to think that everything is simply hopeless. And so, it is then hard not to look at the overall picture and feel as if there is nothing one can do. With all this violence in the world, how can I make a difference? Well, even though a part of me is pessimistic and thinks like this at times, the core of me believes in peace... Read more
There are so many stories throughout the Hebrew Scriptures that are, well, simply perplexing. Tales of genocide and ethnic cleansing, of warring tribes, backed by violent tribal deities, fill the pages. Cities are crushed by fire and brimstone that falls from the heavens. Disobedience gets you turned into a pillar of salt, while “pulling out early” lands you the punishment of instant death. And don’t even dare think about trying to (non-consciously) catch the Ark of the Covenant before it... Read more
In The Deliverance of God: An Apocalyptic Rereading of Justification in Paul, Pauline scholar Douglas Campbell offers a radical rereading of Romans, with great emphasis being placed on how one should really be reading Romans 1–4. He argues that, instead of Romans 1:18–32 being the voice of Paul; it is instead the voice of the false teachersthat were either in Rome or on their way to Rome. Thus, in the first four chapters of Romans, Paul will be “talking through” two dissimilar gospels: his and the false teacher’s. Actually, in reality, it would have been a speaker (Phoebe, see Romans 16:1) sent by Paul who would do the reading. Campbell explains Paul’s method: Read more
It is becoming more and more obvious as to the kind of fruit this 2016 election crop is bearing. With accusations being flung around left and right, and judgment being placed by those in no place to judge, the fruit seems to be spoiling on the vine. Let us hope that this changes before it is too late. Read more
You and I claim to worship the same God. We probably read our Bibles a bunch and, only because I recently started attending a Methodist church, our Sunday mornings are probably spent in “similar” fashion. But, in light of some of the things you and your “people” have said on the campaign trail, I cannot help but think we actually worship a different God—at least one with very dissimilar qualities. No doubt if you knew my theology you would agree with me on that one. And so, instead of simply prattling off all the reasons why I believe you are in the wrong and I am in the right (as if that would get us anywhere), please allow me to ask you three quick questions about how you approach faith, the Bible, and the like. I think this will help me understand just how you arrived at some of your conclusions. Thanks. Read more
So, how did Jesus read the “Bible?” Well, he cherry-picked it. Gasp! It’s okay though, so did Paul. Double gasp! That’s okay too because there’s a pattern, which I am going to show you now. Read more
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