The Evolution of the Canon

It is startling to realize that no document from the early church explains how the Bible came to be. At some time, someone determined the criteria for the selection of writings for the canon of Christianity. It seems like that would be a big enough deal that there would be…

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The Bible in a Fortune Cookie

Most mornings, I fix myself a cup of hot tea with a packet of Truvia. It used to be that the Truvia packets had only the ingredients on their reverse side. Now, there are motivational sayings. Like these: I enjoy seeing which message I get each morning. It’s like a…

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Why are there four gospels?

The four gospels that we have (the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) tell the story of Jesus and of his first followers. Each of them has a unique approach and a unique audience, as described in this video clip of an interview I did with Paul Borgman: 1…

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Why I Interview

I remember that day in seminary like it was yesterday. I asked the professor a question that had been bugging me for years. We were talking about the source theory for the four gospels. This theory assumes that Mark was the first gospel written. It was the primary source for…

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Silence in the Teacher’s Toolbox

On Thursday, I will upload the video of my interview with Garret Mostowski, a pastor in Detroit. When I interviewed him, he was a student at Princeton Divinity School, leading a weekly “holy reading” group at Trinity Episcopal Church in Princeton. Holy reading (aka lectio divina) involves listening to the…

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