My proposal in this series on the Jesus of history and the character of God is something N.T. Wright put eloquently, namely, not that we understand what the word “god” means and manage somehow to fit Jesus into that. Instead, I suggest that we think historically about a young Jew, possessed of a desperately risky, indeed apparently crazy, vocation, riding into Jerusalem in tears, denouncing the Temple, and dying on a Roman cross—and that we somehow allow our meaning for the... Read more
On an intellectual level, God is marvelously hard to know. On the same level New Testament scholars have had a hard time getting to know and agree on facts about the historical Jesus. Even so, of the two, God and Jesus, getting to know Jesus is much easier. Unfortunately, when Christians say “Jesus is God,” it seems to say, “We know God first, and Jesus is that.” Love and the sufferings and joys of one’s own life are keys to... Read more
As the weeks of Advent get me looking toward Christmas, I think about how my family used this time to celebrate the story of Jesus. That story came alive with the help of an Advent Calendar and a Christmas crèche, with cow, sheep and shepherds, angels, magi, Mary and Joseph, and Jesus, and a star on top of the Christmas tree. I remember how Marleen, I, and the children each night would open a door of the Advent Calendar. One... Read more
I’ve been imagining which Scriptures Jesus “opened up” for the two disciples on the way to Emmaus. He was explaining to them why the Messiah had to suffer. I had always thought that Jesus meant to convince the disciples that he really was the Messiah. For that purpose it seemed he would have referred to some of the 300 passages with predictions Jesus supposedly fulfilled. Now it occurs to me that that would not have been very good news. Conclusion... Read more
There are different opinions on whether the story of Jonah was a criticism of Jewish exclusivism after the Exile. (See this post) But that’s the way an early Christian community (and the Jesus of Luke’s Gospel) interpreted it. God’s favor goes to a foreign, even hostile, people, regardless of what Jonah wants. I imagine Jesus using this story in the discussion on the way to Emmaus and interpreting it the same way. I’ll get to Jesus and the Sign of... Read more
An article called “Cheating Death” appeared in Commonweal earlier this year. It made me think about an online argument I had about extinction. The article was about the morality of anti-aging research. Some of its arguments are the same as my earlier arguments. Essentially, whether your concern is personal death or species extinction, common sense and morality impose limits on what you should do about it. Anti-aging research The article, by Mary McDonough, examines and finds wanting proposals from some... Read more
In the Book of Ruth a member of a nation that Israel traded and warred with off and on becomes one of the Israelite people and an ancestor of Israel’s most loved king, King David. Jesus career is like Ruth’s. Episode 10 in Opening the Scriptures on the Way to Emmaus: Why Messiah had to Suffer. Introduction and links to other posts in the series here. Ruth’s story begins. Naomi is an Israelite woman living in the land of Moab... Read more
Two books in the Old Testament are ones I like least, and two are my favorites. All four may have been written about the same time, although that is not certain.. The least liked are Ezra and Nehemiah. My favorites are Ruth and Jonah. The two pairs are like point and counterpoint. I imagine Jesus liked the stories of Ruth and Jonah, but not Ezra and Nehemiah. The latter two, however, provide background for Ruth and Jonah. My favorite stories... Read more
I read in the Guardian that Collins Dictionary has named single-use the 2018 word of the year. It shows that people in general are becoming more concerned about the environment and their own wasteful habits. One wonders, then, about the scant attention candidates and adverts paid to environmental issues in the last election. An e-mail from my environmentally conscious sister in Punta Gorda, Florida, didn’t contain the word single-use. But it could have. She brings her own reusable to-go box... Read more
Holiness in a King David kind of religion doesn’t separate people from each other. David was able even to see holiness in his enemy King Saul as he twice refrained from killing him. Kings that followed David did not care about people of another economic or social status. God raised up prophets from among the people to express disgust for what was happening and for warnings that mostly went unheeded. We call Jesus King and even King of Kings, but... Read more
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