Jesus said, “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life” (John 5:39-40).
Imagining that merely possessing and studying the Scriptures, the Pharisees believed they had life. Life with God in God’s [...]
Popularity: 8% [?]
Posted in Culture, Jesus, Ministry, Theology on Mar 17th, 2010
Emergent theology seems to have reached a muddling place. All kinds of ideas are being creatively combined to produce a “new kind of Christianity.” Others more competent than I am have pointed out that what is touted as new is really actually old. Brian McLaren offers old line Christian Liberalism dressed up in postmodern clothes, [...]
Popularity: 7% [?]
Jesus said, “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and “sinners.” ‘
Jesus is here contrasting his kingdom of God method to his cousin’s John the Baptist’s way.
“The Son of Man came exegeting Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22 and correcting [...]
Popularity: 4% [?]
When Jesus broke bread, he broke Israel.
With his meal-time habits, Jesus was speaking a new language and introducing a new world.
USAmerican culture has gutted the social significance of daily meals. With the TV dinner and the fast food chains, we eat like we live…with a sound and fury signifying nothing. Once in a while we [...]
Popularity: 3% [?]
The Chinese have a proverbial question: Is it edible?
The proverb is not about food. It’s about ideas, concepts, principles. If an idea is “edible” that means it is practical, it becomes part of life. It’s not theory; it’s concrete here and now.
Jesus was edible. “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood… .” And, “This [...]
Popularity: 3% [?]
Jesus at the Margins– Part 2 Shame
Jesus made being marginal central.
He did it primarily by his meal-time practices.
In Jesus’ day the Jewish culture operated on the power of shame. Social relationships were arranged hierarcially with those closest to God–the High Priest–then priests, Levites, obedient Jews on down to those most removed from God–Gentiles, shepherds, tax-collectors, [...]
Popularity: 3% [?]
