Faith Improvised

David Brooks writes in today’s NY Times about the legalization of marijuana in Colorado. I was struck by Brooks’s moral reasoning far more than support or criticism of pot’s legalization. These are his final two paragraphs: Laws profoundly mold culture, so what sort of community do we want our laws to nurture? What sort of […]

Frank Bruni sounds a familiar note today about cultivating a practice in the new year that fosters consideration, empathy, and virtue. In the sped up world of social media, he commends reading fiction. “According to some researchers, people who settle into it are more empathetic — more attuned to what those around them think and […]

In a discussion of sources for the study of Paul, N. T. Wright weighs in on the scholarly consensus that Paul wrote only seven of the thirteen letters attributed to him. He notes that it is odd that even though many of the considerations that drove this opinion have been overturned, it nonetheless remains the […]

In his book, Paul and the Faithfulness of God, N. T. Wright identifies the heart of Paul’s worldview as the unity of God’s people in Christ. For Wright, “Paul’s theology” is the sustained reflection on what God has done in Christ and how that relates integrally with the intentional practices of a profound unity in […]

In chapter 2 of his fascinating book, Exodus and Liberation, John Coffey recounts the use of Exodus imagery in the English Civil War(s) and the American Revolution. English Parliamentarians, Protestants, and Puritans and American Patriots deployed it purposefully to link liberation from spiritual slavery with liberation from political slavery. In the following chapter, Coffey describes […]

It’s no secret that N. T. Wright has a new book out—Paul and the Faithfulness of God. It’s the latest installment in his larger project called “Christian Origins and the Question of God.” In a discussion of his book in Baltimore last week, Wright said that central to Paul’s gospel is the unity and holiness […]

Today is the first Sunday of Advent, the season on the Christian calendar that climaxes at Christmas.  “Advent” means “something’s coming, something’s about to arrive.” It is called “Advent season” because the Christian church takes this time of the year to intentionally do what all of creation is doing.  Creation is enslaved, held captive.  Sin […]

Today is the Feast of St. Andrews, the day when Scots celebrate the apostle, their national patron saint. Here is the collect from the Revised Common Lectionary: Almighty God, who gave such grace to your apostle Andrew that he readily obeyed the call of your Son Jesus Christ, and brought his brother with him: Give […]

I’m enjoying John Coffey’s new book, Exodus and Liberation: Deliverance Politics from John Calvin to Martin Luther King Jr. It’s a study of the use of biblical language and imagery in political movements of revolution and liberation. The use and misuse of biblical language fascinates me because interpreting life Scripturally is at once absolutely necessary […]

I’ve been dipping into the second edition of the Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels and am thoroughly enjoying it. It’s difficult to know just how to capture it in one big review, so I’ll probably relate some impressions of it over several posts. A handful of reference works stand out as truly exceptional. The […]