Thoughts on ethics, society, politics, religion, philosophy, theology, and everything in between
In my last post, I examined how paying close attention to some key Old Testament citations in the Gospel of Mark can help us better understand the theological teachings of Mark’s Gospel. In this post, I will examine how paying close attention to how the New Testament uses the Old Testament to talk about Jesus … Read more
Most Christians understand the point of the Gospel of Mark to be this: Jesus is God, and He came to die on a cross as a sacrifice for our sins so we could be forgiven (while giving us some good moral teachings along the way). All of this may be true as far as it … Read more
God is omnipresent. Many Christians understand this to mean that God is always equally present at all places at all times, and that God is not locally present at any particular place. There is certainly a sense in which God is present in all places (Psalm 139: 7-10). However, a careful study of Scripture reveals … Read more
“God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.” Such is an example of an evangelistic message frequently used by contemporary Christians. There is a sense in which this statement is true. It is true that God loves us. And there is a sense in which it is true that God has a … Read more
Violence, Force, and Coercion Jesus calls His disciples to follow Him on the way of the cross. He calls them to love as He loves, to love their enemies even if it means they must suffer and die as He did. This means that violence is always incompatible with the demands of Christian discipleship. Many … Read more
Most American Christians assume it goes without saying that it is acceptable for Christians to vote in state and federal elections. Most American Christians would even go farther and say that Christians have a responsibility to vote in state and federal elections. American Christians spend a lot of time discussing how they should vote (usually … Read more
I was at a funeral for a departed Christian friend, listening to a number of different speakers giving their reflections upon her life and what her experience would be after her death. One speaker declared that, even though she was dead, we know that right now she is dancing in the streets of heaven. Another … Read more
What is salvation? Many Christians would answer that salvation means going to heaven when you die and having eternal life. These certainly are important aspects of Christian salvation. However, this answer represents an impoverished and shrunken understanding of salvation that misses important aspects of what Christian salvation means. A careful study of the concept of … Read more
Should Christians support Israel? Since the founding of the modern nation of Israel in 1948, this has been a contested question in Christian circles. Christian attitudes toward Israel and the Jewish people have ranged from Zionism, which sees supporting the modern state of Israel as a Christian duty, to, on the other end of the … Read more
There is a widespread belief that God is wrathful rather than loving in the Old Testament, and loving rather than wrathful in the New Testament. Many Christians will even speak of “the God of the Old Testament” and “the God of the New Testament,” and wonder how we can reconcile these two apparently different Gods. … Read more