A few weeks ago I posted Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s words about the ideal church. It doesn’t exist, it’s idolatrous to pursue it, and it’s an ultimately oppressive quest. We were discussing the first generation church in class today and noting how Luke tells the story in Acts. He writes of the sharp dispute between the church […]

I’m enjoying Ronald Osborn‘s excellent new book, Death Before the Fall: Biblical Literalism and the Problem of Animal Suffering (IVP Academic). Its title explains the book’s basic thrust. Before exploring the possibility of animal suffering and death before the fall in the last third of his work, Osborn critiques a reading of Genesis 1-2 that demands […]

U2 appeared on Jimmy Fallon’s first night hosting The Tonight Show earlier this week. They played “Invisible” on the roof of 30 Rockefeller Center and then performed “Ordinary Love” acoustically in the show’s studio. I’m working through several New Testament texts on gospel inclusion, and running through my mind over the last few weeks is […]

Luke’s Gospel is filled with eating.  There are 19 meals in Luke, 13 of which are unique to his account.  If you love to eat, Luke is your Gospel! Meals are occasions for Kingdom dynamics, for the experience of redemptive realities. They are occasions for healing and hospitality (9:10-17; 10:5-7) for fellowship and celebration (13:29), […]

In this episode — the call of Levi — Mark clearly contrasts Jesus’ and the Pharisees’ perception. Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” […]

Having encountered in several places some less than lovely prose on a heavy-lidded afternoon, I’m provoked enough to fussily register a few fastidious notes. The creationist proponent and erstwhile debater is named “Ken Ham,” not “Ken Hamm.” I saw this regularly over the last few weeks from both his friends and foes. While I understand the […]

Alan Storkey, in his very interesting book, Jesus and Politics: Confronting the Powers, reads Jesus’ temptation through a political lens. It’s a fascinating study and a very interesting take on the historical Jesus. The following passage regarding Matthew’s account of Jesus’ temptation helpfully exposes why Christians ought to be wary of the seductions of earthly […]

I’m doing a little writing project on Paul’s conception of the church and have been reflecting on some recent online discussions about the church – its virtues, its faults, its necessity, and its possible dispensability. I’m struck by how I resonate with people who write critiques of the church. And I tend to agree with […]

We had a fun discussion in hermeneutics class a few days ago. Surveying interpretive strategies throughout church history, we touched a bit on lectio divina (“divine reading”). In our course textbook, Mark Strauss discussed this reading strategy and noted that many evangelicals may be suspicious of it because it seems “too Catholic.” I think he’s […]

In Mark 2:13-17, Jesus eats a meal with Levi the tax collector and a number of other notorious sinners. This is offensive to the Pharisees in the narrative – and likely to modern readers – because to share a meal is to embrace others in the familiarity of kinship. Further, there is no indication that […]