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…
How harmful is your Bible?
“This book should come with a warning label,” Allen Callahan says of the Bible. In my interview with Allen (which will post this Thursday) we covered, as we always do, “who has been a ‘great Bible teacher’ in your life?” For Allen, it was a professor who was himself taught…
It’s going to be alright
My problem with John’s Revelation This week, I led the sixth of seven Bible studies on the book of Revelation. It featured Revelation chapters 17-19 – the Whore of Babylon, the great Beast, the fall of Babylon, the celebration in Heaven (and marriage feast of the Lamb), the Rider on…
Three Lists I Challenge You to Create
These days, I am seeing a lot of lists related to racism. “10 things to watch to educate yourself about systemic racism.” “Seven books you must read.” And even, “75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice.” I am finding most of these lists helpful. Marilyn McEntyre (I posted…
An Interview with Lewis Brogdon
On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was killed. Before we knew of his death, but earlier that same day, Lewis Brogdon spoke to me about the need for Christians to listen to minorities and to their insights into the Scripture. He notes that the Gospel of Luke, in particular, points…
An interview with Brian McLaren
Brian McLaren is a popular speaker and writer. He has authored 19 books and has several more coming out soon. I interviewed him at Princeton Divinity School where he was a keynote speaker for the Frederick Buechner Writers Conference. Learn about the persons who were his Great Bible Teachers, the…
Why Aren’t We Uncomfortable with Jesus?
If we think about why Jesus was killed, we might be uncomfortable with him. We might be uncomfortable with his teachings. And, if we teach what he taught and lived (which got him killed), our class members might be uncomfortable with us. Do we dare? Let’s acknowledge that there are…
Announcement – 3 great resources!
Obviously! (Five assumptions we bring to any text)
Before we even open a text, what assumptions do we bring to it? Last Sunday, my pastor and I began co-teaching a seven-week (of course) course on Revelation. I’ve been reading several commentaries and watching several videos to prepare. I’ve learned a lot that I am eager to share. I…
Do YOU domesticate the Bible?
Walter Brueggeman is one of my favorite scholar-authors. His love of the Bible comes through in everything he writes. He is also prophetic. Brueggemann doesn’t let anyone get away with taking the Bible lightly (as just another work of ancient literature, for example) or too seriously (as an object of…
