Would you like to deepen your ability to teach, preach, and write for your church context? Do you have a desire to take your church into the rich perspective of the New Testament? This Fall I am launching our second innovative Master of Arts in New Testament degree (MANT) at Northern Seminary that will provide grounding in the theology that emerges from the first century context of the New Testament writings. Location is no longer an obstacle to take part in this... Read more
I have been reading through, leading a discussion class, and occasionally posting on Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels by Richard Hays. I am sure that no one will agree with every connection and echo of the Old Testament Hays finds in the Gospels (he often indicates that some are “faint” and possibly not in the intent of the author). Yet, the insights that come from these references and echoes can (and should) transform the way we approach the Gospels.... Read more
When our children were teenagers they would sometimes say someone was “annoying.” When we probed for a little details it was often not forthcoming. It was an existentialist response one person to another, a response in which one person and the other person were unable to dwell in peace. Many respond to the apostle Paul the same way. In fact, in Randy Richards and Brandon O’Brien’s book, Paul Behaving Badly, they ask if Paul was not in fact a jerk. But... Read more
Jeff Guo: In rich countries, death rates are supposed to decline. But in the past decade and a half, middle-aged white Americans have actually been dying faster. Princeton economists Anne Case and Angus Deaton first pointed out this disturbing trend in a 2015 study that highlighted three “diseases of despair”: drugs, drinking and suicide. On Thursday, the pair released a deeper analysis that clears up one of the biggest misconceptions about their earlier research. The problem of dying whites can’t only be blamed on rising rates of... Read more
The challenges have been heard. Matthew Bates, in Salvation by Allegiance Alone: Rethinking Faith, Works, and the Gospel of Jesus the King, contends that salvation by faith alone is better translated and understood as by allegiance alone. Does this — to use the language of some critics — “smuggle” works into the meaning of faith? If salvation is by faith (pistis), then how can it be anything but the single act of turning from the Self to Christ in a surrendering faith? In... Read more
These beliefs and practices can be examined by psychologists and, while such scholars know the difference between correlation and causation, the recent study of Stephen J. Sandage (Boston U), Peter J. Jankowski (Bethel U), Sarah A. Crabtree (U Minnesota) and Maria L. Schweer-Collins (U Oregon) offers us plenty to think about. Their article is called “Calvinism, Gender Ideology, and Relational Spirituality,” and the article appears in Journal of Psychology and Theology 45 (2o17): 17-32. Prepare yourself for the reading because it... Read more
Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. BCP Read more
AMERICA, READ THIS BOOK! By David George Moore. Dave’s videos can be found at www.mooreengaging.com and his blog is www.twocities.org. Commentaries on books of the Bible are not created equally. You have to be shrewd in what you consult. Good ones come in all different types and sizes, from the devotional to the technical. My favorite ones are those that combine great care with the text of Scripture, are well-written, and offer many connections to our own time and day.... Read more
David Gibson, Princeton Theological Seminary and Tim Keller: (RNS) Faced with mounting criticism for its decision to give a major award to the Rev. Tim Keller, founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan and one of the country’s best-known conservative Christian thinkers, Princeton Theological Seminary has reversed course and said Keller will not receive the honor. In an email to faculty and students on Wednesday morning (March 22), the president of the venerable mainline Protestant seminary, the Rev. Craig... Read more
By John Frye I was meditating through John 13-17 recently and a startling question popped into my head. Did Jesus in his humanity ever have an inkling of his pre-incarnate life? We know that at the age of 12 Jesus had some idea of his special mission: “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49) Surely, Jesus didn’t mean Joseph’s house. At his baptism when he was about 30 years old, Jesus was anointed by... Read more
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