A student by the name of Theresa shared in class about how people often have two Instagram accounts. One is filled with beautiful pictures that are available to the entire world. The other account is only for close friends and family members, and includes less appealing, personal representations, possibly free of all filters. We got to thinking: what would it be like if we lived as if we only had one Instagram account free of all filters intended to alter... Read more

You hear a lot today about the  ‘feminization’ of the church. Many men fear that the ideal of womanhood has eclipsed biblical manhood. They have nothing to fear as long as Jesus Christ is the goal of humanity. After all, he is a Jewish man. Now just as being Jewish does not eclipse humanity, but participates in the new humanity with Gentile believers, so being male does not eclipse humanity, but participates in the new humanity with women: “There is neither... Read more

One of the best ways to avoid getting bad credit scores and credit hell is to pay bills on time rather than moving financial burdens around and putting off payments. While many of us know such financial counsel is important, we all too readily defer payments and max out our credit cards. We may even think that someone will either bail us out, or that somehow we will be able to defer on our irresponsible consumer debts ad infinitum to eternity.... Read more

I was waiting in a hospital waiting room this morning. The mission of the hospital was posted on a wall right in front of me. The mission read, “We carry on the healing mission of Jesus Christ by promoting personal and community health, relieving pain and suffering, and treating each person in a loving and caring way.” For those who think science, ethics and faith can never overlap, these words might cut like a knife. There is a whole lot... Read more

It is easy for me to move on after a holiday like Easter and get caught up in the following week’s daily grind. Sometimes one might even be prone to think like ‘Jesus may be risen, but I’m back here in the grave.’ That’s one reason why I am grateful for Eastertide. Eastertide is the fifty-day season in the Christian calendar that marks the Easter season—from sunset on the eve of Easter Sunday to Pentecost. Today is the second Sunday... Read more

Today marks Earth Day. A quote attributed to Martin Luther reads, “If I knew that tomorrow was the end of the world, I would plant an apple tree today!” Whether Luther ever said it, could an equivalent statement ever be attributed to you and me? This year, global marches involving advocacy for science also mark the occasion. While multitudes of scientists and science advocates are marching today, how about theological advocates? Are they also marching and advocating in various other... Read more

Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are rites of passage from “Egypt” to the “Promised Land,” not symbols of a Babylonian Captivity. Rites of passage are ceremonies or celebrations that occur when people leave one group to join another. So, which group is it that we leave and what group are we entering when celebrating Baptism and the Lord’s Supper? Ultimately, baptism signifies death to our old humanity and new life in Jesus, the truly human and the personal ground of our... Read more

I had the opportunity to see a screening of the soon-to-be-released TV series on Albert Einstein titled Genius. The first episode did not go into great detail about Einstein’s scientific discoveries (I have read that the series as a whole is not a science documentary). However, the episode did seek to shed light on Einstein’s personal and family life, and the cultural and political context in which Einstein lived and engaged in scientific inquiry. One of the questions that I... Read more

All too often, we take the mythical to be devoid of real historical concern, even if there are some historical elements. Read more