Tag: Jesus
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Surprise (Daniel Kirk on Jesus and Adam)
Storied Theology: Surprise Daniel Kirk Jesus was an unlikely Messiah. … … But it’s not just that Jesus was crucified. Surprising as that was, the more incomprehensible idea was that this crucifixion would somehow be, not the denial of his messiahship, but the quintessential embodiment of it. What it means to be Messiah is, somehow,…
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Jesus vs. Paul
Christianity Today: Jesus vs. Paul Scot McKnight Many biblical scholars have noted that Jesus preached almost exclusively about the kingdom of heaven, while Paul highlighted justification by faith—and not vice versa. What gives? Many biblical scholars and lay Christians have noted that Jesus preached almost exclusively about the kingdom of heaven, while Paul highlighted justification…
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The Reality of Adam and the Story of Christ
Storied Theology (Daniel Kirk): The Reality of Adam and the Story of Christ On Friday of last week, David Opderbeck asked a challenging question. I had posted on “Anthroposis,” the idea that what we really need is to become more truly human than we already are. Or, in the biblical narrative, to return to the…
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Engaging Economics: New Testament Scenarios and Early Christian Reception – Book Review
(This review is also being posted on Jesus Creed. You are welcome to join the discussion there.) (Updated June 13, 2023: Edited for grammar, punctuation, and spelling.) A variety of anthropological lenses have been used to examine the New Testament world, but one lens remains relatively neglected … an economic lens. Scholars like Bruce Malina,…
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Jesus as Rabbi: Ken Bailey vs. Tom Wright
What was the nature of Jesus' preparation for ministry? Was Jesus a rabbi who received intensive training in a learning community, or was he a prophet who told compelling stories over and over that were burned into the memories of his hearers? Kenneth Bailey writes: In Jesus’ day, across the villages of Galilee and Judea,…
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Jesus Versus Empire?
Did Jesus come to defeat empires? Various scholars and activists seem to think so, ranging from John Dominic Crossan to Walter Bruggeman, to N. T. Wright, to emergent types like Brian McLaren and Brian Walsh. I hear it frequently among some of my PCUSA sisters and brothers. Some of my cyber friends who congregate at…
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Jesus’ Fishy Business Analogy
A couple of days ago, I linked a post by John Armstrong about marketing the church. Armstrong links a great article by John Frame called Is It Wrong to Market the Church? I also linked a post I wrote earlier in the year on this topic, Marketing the Church? My Tuesday post prompted an email from…
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Jesus as an Emergent Talker
Jesus the Radical Pastor: Jesus as an Emergent Talker Exhausted from global warming in oppressed Palestine, Jesus chilled at Jacob’s Well in the realm of “the other” called Samaria. Jesus’ cohort left him to buy organic at the nearest kiosk. A Samaritan woman-”the other to the second power”-approached the community’s gathering space, carrying the symbol…
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The Synagogue at Nazareth?
One of the biblical scenes illustrated in my children's Bible when I was a little guy was Jesus sitting in a place of worship in Nazareth, reading the scroll to the people. So what did the synagogue look like? Here are some observations from Stewards, Prophets, Keepers of the Word: Leadership in the Early Church…