One of the things that I stressed in The Jesus Driven Life was that Jesus deconstructed the three pillars of second Temple Judaism: Land, Temple and Torah. Jesus did not share in the views of his contemporaries that certain tracts of land were ‘holy’ (see John 4), nor were certain religious establishments ‘holy’ (see his criticism of the Temple in Mark 13 and his prophetic action in the Temple in Mark 11) and like the prophets before him (Jeremiah, Amos... Read more

“If there is a core principle about marriage in the Bible, it is arguably that found in Genesis 2. It is a story which Jesus recognized for what it is, a non-literal depiction of marriage. The story is literally about one person becoming two, but it explicitly states that it is symbolic and is really about two people becoming one.” ~ Dr. James McGrath Brilliant observation which caused me to do a little reflective thinking about reading Genesis 1-6 in... Read more

When one begins to study the question of the historical Jesus (as I did some 40 years ago) one finds that the task involves learning in multiple disciplines. These include ~ the philosophy of history ~ the philosophy of science ~ the study of second Temple Judaism ~ learning Greek and Aramaic ~ studies in oral tradition (folklore, memory etc) ~ studies in post Exilic history ~ studies in Greek and Roman history and literature ~ Jewish practices in the... Read more

Christianity as a religion, the religion that never should have existed, is undergoing a profound process of deconstruction. Long held assumptions about dogma and doctrine are challenged, church attendance is declining, entire geographical areas have become post-Christian. Some want to blame this demise on the rejection of the Bible as the Word of God. Some claim that humanity is in thrall to a mythical devil. The reality is that it is the Gospel itself that is deconstructing Christianity for it... Read more

A text from 2nd Kings got me thinking. Here is the text: “He [Josiah] executed the priests of the pagan shrines on their own altars, and he burned human bones on the altars to desecrate them…. He did this in obedience to all the laws written in the scroll that Hilkiah the priest had found in the LORD’s Temple. Never before had there been a king like Josiah, who turned to the LORD with all his heart and soul and... Read more

Palm Sunday 2015 There will be and has been all kinds of stuff written about Palm Sunday, about how Jesus comes as humble (riding on an ass not a horse as a military conqueror) and the like, and this will be done by all manner of pop Christian celebrities who love to be seen as those who speak truth to power. There will be those who celebrate the ‘triumphal’ aspects of this event with palm waving and talk of Jesus’... Read more

The Bible contains a theory of revelation but it does not contain a theory of inspiration. When the writer says “Every scripture inspired by God is useful for….” They aren’t telling anything about the ‘how’ of that inspiration. You can collapse a theory of revelation in multiple trajectories, Roman Catholics have done it with the church, Protestants with the Bible and Charismatics with the self (the ego, the autonomous individual). The Bible however collapses revelation in the person Jesus of... Read more

I just posted this on my Facebook Page, it may be of some interest, maybe… I wrote this in response to a friend (a dear friend) who asked why I am not more ‘positive.’ Come live in North America, the gun toting capital of the world, the arms merchant of the world, the current Empire of the world. Watch how the churches twist Jesus all out of proportion and turn him into the satan. Watch how groups turn Christianity into... Read more

This essay “Crimes of the Christian Right” at least ought to make us ponder. I do not know the author or the institutions he represents but when I read this it made me think. “Jesus lived as an itinerant preacher, surrounding himself with flawed and uneducated disciples, was despised by the religious leaders of his day, and his ministry emphasized anything but the militaristic “gospel” that too many modern churches preach today. ” “I believe that political evangelicalism has done... Read more

I begin with a confession. Back in 1993-94 as a pastor of a small church I had an affair. I have made this public knowledge for many years. It is part of my story. Those that know Lorri and I know it took a lot of hard work for the two of us to work things out. I had to admit I was an alcoholic and quit drinking. I had to admit I was a selfish bastard and only concerned... Read more