A key word for Tom Wright in his book Surprised by Hope: is “muddle.” That word best describes how so many Christians think about life after death and resurrection and the like. Wright aims to end the muddle. One of the finest forms of theology is to enter into a problem and resolve it; another is to clarify muddle. Wright does that in this book. |inline Read more
The final reference in kingdom in our earliest source, the Gospel of Mark, is found in Mark 15:43 and it ties back to Mark 12:34 (Monday’s post). Here is the reference in context: 42 It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. 44 Pilate was... Read more
We took a year or so ago at Randy Balmer’s Thy Kingdom Come and we want now to look at his newest book, God in the White House. The book studies a simple theme and traces the story — an interesting story to all of us. |inline Read more
Kris and I watched the debate on CNN last night — at least most of it — and I’m wondering what you are thinking now about who will win? What strengths does your favorite have? (Avoid saying anything negative about a candidate.) And I’ve got one other question, it’s a tough one to be civil about, but it’s this: What do you think of the double-barreled approach of having Hillary and Bill Clinton on the campaign trail? And, will somebody... Read more
While “kingdom” is found twice in Mark 13:8 — “kingdom will rise against kingdom” — and neither of those is about Jesus’ kingdom, the usage here is part and parcel of what the word “kingdom” means because they are what “kingdom” has to mean: namely, kingdom refers to a society with a king, king’s will, king’s people, and some kind of land boundary. And so when Jesus refers to “kingdom of God” that meaning carries over to some degree. But... Read more
I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation. [My source and video of it.] |inline Read more
We begin a series today with N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope::Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church. For more than a decade or so Bishop Tom Wright has been making comments, dropping suggestions, and prompting the curiosity of his many readers about what he thinks about “heaven.” Now he comes forth with a book that I think may well be one of Tom’s most significant books ever. |inline Read more
Saturday I was up in bitterly cold Minneapolis where I addressed a gathering of Covenant pastors and lay folks on reading the Bible in a postmodern context. This was the first time I’ve spoken about the stuff I’ve been writing for my book called The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read the Bible. I’ll not summarize everything, but I want to suggest there are some major shifts going on right now that are altering how many read the Bible and... Read more
Mark 12:34, in context, reads: “28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” 29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and... Read more
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