I am hard at work on the apostle Paul these days, writing an extensive commentary on Colossians (NICNT), and part of that work means sorting out some of the discussion about Paul. Which means JDG Dunn, NT Wright, D Campbell, B Gaventa, M Gorman, and Stephen Westerholm — and others. Recently I posted how Douglas Campbell sees the “old” perspective, or the Lutheran Paul, or the Paul of what he calls Justification Theory (I repost that analysis at the end... Read more
One is no longer surprised to read in discussions about same-sex relations — in church or in society at large — that Jesus did not bring the matter to the surface. In fact, some have said he never said a word about it. Some, of course, draw a conclusion from this: Therefore, it was not important to him (and should not be to us). There is a case to be made for such a conclusion about Jesus but arguing from... Read more
By Dirk Hayhurst Dirk Hayhurst is a retired major league pitcher, a national MLB correspondent and the author of “The Bullpen Gospels.” “Baseball is like church,” former major league infielder and manager Leo Durocher once said. “Many attend, few understand.” And pitching is one of the most lionized, misunderstood and mythologized aspects of the game, even among other pitchers — hence those pointless titanium-infused necklaces they’re always wearing. Here are five myths from the mound, dispelled in time for opening day on Sunday.... Read more
National Geographic: A male date palm tree named Methuselah that sprouted from a 2,000-year-old seed nearly a decade ago is thriving today, according to the Israeli researcher who is cultivating the historic plant. The plant was sprouted in a laboratory in 2005, and when a National Geographic news story about the event resurfaced this week on the social media website Reddit, we decided to check in on Methuselah and see how it’s doing. (See our 2005 story: “2,000-Year-Old Seed Sprouts,... Read more
The Eastern Orthodox Church has a major emphasis on Good Friday through Easter and the emphasis is on what is sometimes called the “harrowing of hell,” the descent of Christ into hell between the Cross and the Resurrection. The idea is that Christ entered into Hades after his death and raided hell to ransom the righteous of the Old Testament. This is the classical theology of Holy Saturday. Clearly, then, the death prior to Christ’s death was not final. Is... Read more
O God, Creator of heaven and earth: Grant that, as the crucified body of your dear Son was laid in the tomb and rested on this holy Sabbath, so we may await with him the coming of the third day, and rise with him to newness of life; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. O God of unchangeable power and eternal light: Look favorably on your whole Church, that... Read more
The Arab Spring — not what we hoped, by Greg Bothelo: (CNN)It wasn’t supposed to turn out like this. The Arab Spring was supposed to bring peace, democracy and stability to not only the nations where it took root, but also others around it in the Middle East and North Africa. It was supposed to usher in an end of violence and heavy-handed government tactics, just like it ushered out entrenched leaders. In short, it was supposed to mean a... Read more
On Good Friday we remember the story of Jesus’ death. We participate in that death through eucharist in faith. And we celebrate the good news of that death in thinking and pondering the immense love of God for us — to clear our debt, to shoulder our load, and to remove our sins. Perhaps three prepositions plus one of atonement will be of some use to you today: He died with us. At the heart of the death of Jesus... Read more
Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to a place where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. Now Judas,... Read more
John Wooden, Pat Summit, Geno Auriema, or Tom Izzo? A No. 7 seed unseats a No. 2 in the NCAA tournament’s second round about twice every three years, but there was something aboutMichigan State’s upset of Virginia on Sunday that felt more routine than that. Perhaps it was the fact that the Spartans had toppled the Cavaliers just last season, but beyond that, no second-week tournament run from Michigan State qualifies as surprising at this point. As you might have heard, Izzo’s Spartans are... Read more
Jesus Creed
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