Category Archives: Biblical theology

What Matters Most?

Leave a reply

Why should we pay attention to Jesus? One reason is that Jesus brings a message of peace—challenging head on the human social dynamics that lead to violence and war.

This morning, I presented the sixth in my series of what will probably be thirteen sermons on Jesus.  The sermon was called “What Matters Most?” and focused especially on Jesus’ “Sermon on the Plane” in Luke six.

The message of the first six chapters of Luke is that Jesus brings a message of an upside-down perspective on reality where the mighty are brought down and the vulnerable are lifted up. After reiterating his message of turned-around expectations in Luke 6:20-26, Jesus deepens his challenge even more by emphasizing that the human connection with God will be found in its most profound way when we love our enemies.

But is such love of enemies realistic? The sermon concludes with the story of nonviolent action at the center of the most successful phase of the American Civil Rights movement in the early 1960s.

The Bible’s Salvation Story

2 Replies

One of the areas with the intense debate in recent Christian theology has been understandings of salvation. Much of the debate has focused on theories of the atonement, theologies of the cross, interpretations of theologians such as Anselm and Luther, views of the doctrines of Christian tradition.

Not so much attention has been paid to the biblical portrayals of salvation, except as viewed through the lenses of the various atonement theories. I have been working on a book that does indeed focus directly on biblical theology. I have gotten quite a bit done on this project; I am calling it: Mercy Not Sacrifice: The Bible’s Salvation Story. I mostly need yet to flesh out the chapter on salvation in the book of Revelation and to complete a concluding chapter, “Is There an Atonement Theory in This Story?”

Since I am focusing my energies elsewhere for the time being (and since I have struck out so far in my tentative attempts to find a publisher), I will post here on Peacetheology.net the manuscript as far as it has been developed.

Theology for Restorative Justice

Leave a reply

I am working on a book with the tentative title, Healing Justice (and Theology): An Agenda for Restoring Wholeness.  This small book is meant to be both an introduction to the emerging practices of restorative justice that seek to provide an alternative to the spiral of violence characteristic of our current criminal justice system and an analysis of theological resources that might undergird a Christian approach to restorative justice.

I start with an summary of some of the current dynamics in North America that are placing us in an ever-deepening crisis. At the heart of this crisis, I suggest, is a problematic commitment to what I call the “logic of retribution” that rather than leading to healing of the alienation caused by crime instead mainly heightens the alienation. This logic of retribution has theological roots and hence needs to be challenged on a theological level.

The bases for an alternative approach to justice, one that focuses on restorative rather than retributive dynamics, may be found in the Bible. I look at the big storyline of the Bible and then more closely at the portrayal of justice in the book of Amos, the life and teaching of Jesus, and the early Christian writings of Romans and Revelation.

The concludes with a summary of present-day efforts to embody restorative justice practices and to provide alternatives to the spiral of vengeance.

These are links to the book’s nine chapters:

1. Introduction: An Agenda for Restoring Wholeness

2. Our Current Crisis

3. The Logic of Retribution and Its Consequences

4. Healing Theology: A Biblical Overview

5. Old Testament Justice (Amos)

6. Jesus and Justice

7. Justice in Romans and Revelation

8. Putting Restorative Justice into Practice

9. Restoring Wholeness: The Alternative to Vengeance

Bibliography


God’s Greatest Power: Mercy

Leave a reply

Does the story of Jesus speak to our need for healing in today’s world—healing our own hearts, healing our social world, the cosmic healing of the entire universe?

This morning, I presented the fifth in what will be a series of 13 sermons on why we pay attention to Jesus.  This one is called “God’s Greatest Power: Mercy.”

In this sermon, I focus on several biblical texts that speak to healing: Psalm 130 focusing on our own hearts, Isaiah 33 focusing on politics, and Revelation 21 focusing on cosmic transformation. Then I look at the story of Jesus healing the paralyzed man in Luke 5:17-26 and suggest that Jesus shows the core of how God heals: the presence of transformative mercy, God’s greatest power.

To Turn from the Abyss

Leave a reply

Does the story of Jesus speak to our struggle for hopeful living in today’s world? Maybe, but we must think about how. It may not be as obvious as pious Christians make it sound.

This morning, I presented the fourth in what will be a series of 13 sermons on why we pay attention to Jesus.  This one is called “To Turn From the Abyss.”

In this sermon, I focus on Jesus’ beginning proclamation according to Luke’s Gospel (4:16-21). I suggest that hopeful living will stem from embracing that Jesus’ message of jubilee—good news to the poor, release to captives, sight for the blind, and liberation for the oppressed.  We must simply believe that this message is true and begin to live as if it is true.

Lectures on Homosexuality

Leave a reply

The weekend of February 5-7, 2010, I presented three lectures as part of a conversation on homosexuality at Portland (Oregon) Mennonite Church.  Here are the three lectures, plus a fourth article where I sketch several of the issues that came up over the weekend that I would address could I give the lectures over again.

(1) The Evolution of My Views

(2) The Biblical Message

(3) Contemporary Issues

(4) Epilogue

The Book of Revelation Speaks to American Politics

Leave a reply

The book of Revelation does have prophetic bite, even if not as usually presented. Back in the Fall of 2006, I was asked to write an opinion piece on the 2006 election and the widespread defeat of Republican congressional candidates.  So I turned to Revelation for some ideas and ended up suggesting that the critique of the Beast in Revelation may certainly apply to Republican hubris, but when considered more thoughtfully also applies to all American Democrats who also support the American imperial project.

I called the piece, “The Lamb’s Power and Modern America.”

Rereading this essay now, after the Democrats greatly expanded their 20o6 gains in the 2008 election, including the presidency, I definitely think I was on to something. We, frustratingly, are seeing little diminishing in the commitment of the President and Congress to America as Empire.

Son of Adam, Son of God

Leave a reply

Why do we pay attention to Jesus? I think there are many good reasons people do—some not so good reasons, too, I suppose.  I am choosing to focus on the good reasons.  But I think that whatever reason we might have for paying attention to Jesus, we benefit from looking carefully at what the Bible tells us about him.

This morning, I preached the third of what I hope will be a 13-part series of sermons on Jesus.  I called it, “Son of Adam, Son of God.” My purpose was to consider what the Bible has in mind when it calls Jesus “Son of God.”  Actually, as this sermon focuses on Jesus’ temptations in the wilderness at the beginning of his ministry (Luke 4:1-13), the focus is on what the meaning of “Son of God” in relation to Jesus is not.  In a nutshell, Jesus is tempted with using his status as Son of God as a means of exercising power over in bringing in God’s kingdom.

“Son of God” in relation to Jesus has to do with his approach to politics—what kind of king will Jesus be?  Jesus is indeed political, but it’s a politics of compassion and empowering others, not a politics of domination and self-serving.

Healing Justice

Leave a reply

Here is a link to an article I published in The Mennonite, October 20, 2009.  The article, “Healing Justice,” is an introduction to a theological rationale for the concept of restorative justice.

The United States currently in the midst of a terrible crisis wherein our criminal justice system undermines public safety and violates the principles of genuine justice and fairness.  One reason people in our society accept such a destructive dynamic is theology that justifies a “logic of retribution” leading to strong support for violent punishment.

Biblically, justice has more to do with healing than with punishment—as we see in looking at several representative texts.  Jesus (echoing the Old Testament prophets) calls us to heal our concept of justice in order to embrace a justice that heals.

Singing Down Mercy

Leave a reply

Why do we pay attention to Jesus? I think there are many good reasons people do—some not so good reasons, too, I suppose.  I am choosing to focus on the good reasons.  But I think that whatever reason we might have for paying attention to Jesus, we benefit from looking carefully at what the Bible tells us about him.

This morning, I preached the second of what I hope will be a 13-part series of sermons on Jesus.  I called it, “Singing Down Mercy.” My purpose was to set the story of Jesus in its biblical context.  I did that by looking at the song of Mary in Luke 1:46-55 in relation to earlier songs in the Bible—Moses’ song (Exodus 15), Hanna’s song (1 Samuel 2), and one of Isaiah’s Servant Songs (Isaiah 49).

I suggest that Mary’s song gives us three important reasons to pay attention to Jesus: he questions authority, he brings healing to the “lowly,” and he calls all who would follow him to find their identity in a vocation of bringing healing to all the families of the earth.