Category Archives: Theology

N.T. Wright. Paul: In Fresh Perspective

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N. T. Wright. Paul: In Fresh Perspective. Fortress Press, 2005.

If this book were written by just about anyone but N.T. Wright, I would praise it to the skies as a clear, accessible, but substantial introduction to the Apostle Paul’s thought. The author puts Paul theology in the context of 21st century discussions about empire and Paul’s Judaism in a way that draws on the insights of these discussions without coming across as faddish. The Christian faith community both in Paul’s context and ours is taken as the locus for deliberations on Paul’s thought–an emphasis much to be welcomed.

Yet, since it is N.T. Wright that wrote this book, one feels a bit disappointed. Wright promised years ago that the next volume in his Christian Origins and the Question of God series would be on Paul’s thought. He ended up devoting his energies to a volume of Jesus’ resurrection instead. How many more of these massive, magisterial tomes does Wright have left in him? 

If Paul: In Fresh Perspective is a volume meant to tide us over for the main course, I am willing to be patient. It’s quite good for what it is, a popular-level (in the sense of being accessible to a general, non-specialist audience of thoughtful Christians) summary of some of the latest thinking about Paul’s thought. And we should appreciate this effort–even as it joins numerous other similar books in the field.

However, Wright is uniquely situated to give us more, something few other contemporary writers (if any) could–an epoch-defining treatment of Christianity’s most important theological writer that takes his historical and theological context into account and is also engaged with present-day concerns.

Wright has gained his current stature because of his unique combination of an engaging writing style, extraordinarily clear thinking, sympathy to theological and social currents in our contemporary world that highlight the need to read the Bible as a resource for present-day discipleship, and an unmatched engagement with just about any scholarly literature that matters.

If one is interested in Paul, this book is as good a place to begin in understanding the Apostle as any basic-level book I know of. And let’s hope the main dish will arrive in due course.

Reading the Bible with Pacifist Eyes

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One of the big debates in the history of Christianity has been whether or not the Bible clearly teaches that Christians should not take part in warfare–or otherwise engage in violence. Certainly the consensus belief in Christianity since the 4th century has been that Christians may (even should) go to war when called upon by their country to do so. But has that consensus truly been arrived at through the best reading of the Bible? Christian pacifists would say no.

Here is the first in a series of Bible studies that present the Bible as being in the side of pacifism. In this essay, “Reading the Bible with Pacifist Eyes,” I introduce the essays that follow by reflecting on what a pacifist reading strategy of the Bible might entail.

This is what I understand “pacifism” to mean. In a phrase, I mean by pacifism the love of peace. Pacifism is the belief that nothing matters so much as love, kindness, compassion, mercy, and care.  In the Old Testament, the word shalom is often translated “peace,” and it catches up these various values (love, kindness, restorative justice, etc.).  Close synonyms to peace would be “health” and “wholeness.”  To make peace is to effect healing.

Two key conclusions about pacifism follow from this understanding.  First, if nothing matters so much as love, no place is left for violence.  Nonviolence, though, is the consequence of having a love for peace, not the starting point.  A pacifist commitment is not first of all an avoidance of something bad; it is actively seeking something good.  Second, pacifism is about actively seeking healing.  Contrary to some caricatures of pacifism, the term as I understand it has absolutely nothing to do with passivity (beyond how the words sound) or with withdrawal.

Both friends and dismissers of the Bible are quick to point out that the Bible does not give us an obvious and detailed blueprint for thorough-going pacifism.  One cannot take up the Bible as the basis for one’s pacifism as if this is the obvious perspective. In the studies that will follow, I will focus on simply presenting a reading of the Bible that does lead to pacifism.  I offer this reading as a proposal, an encouragement for the examination of non-pacifist readings, an exhortation to those sympathetic to pacifism to seek to embody this message.

 

Jesus’ openness to diversity

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Here is an article I published in 1997 (Gospel Herald) called “Who are my mother and brothers?”  This article was assigned to me as part of a series of articles the magazine ran on questions Jesus asked. This article reflects on how Jesus challenged kinship-centered understandings of faith by opening his definition of “family” to include all who are faithful to his message. I then reflected on the significance of this challenge to Jesus to Mennonite church life.

Amy-Jill Levine. The Misunderstood Jew

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Amy-Jill Levine.The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus.  HarperOne, 2006.

This book addresses a crucially important issue–and from a distinctive point of view.  Levine is a prominent member of a pretty exclusive club, Jewish New Testament scholars with appointments at major Protestant seminaries (she teaches at Vanderbilt).

She is clearly highly qualified to address Christians on the issue of Jesus’ Jewishness and its significance for contemporary Jewish/Christian relations. She writes clearly and engagingly. She tells us many important things, especially about Jesus, including, for example, Jesus’ affirmation of Torah.

For Christians whose consciousness has been raised in the past generation by scholars such as Krister Stendahl and numerous others since, Levine’s argument won’t be earth-shaking. But the book aims at a wider audience, so it will surely be read by many who definitely need to be challenged to see Jesus as a Jew–and even more to be challenged toward a much less polarized view of Christianity’s relationship with Judaism.

I am totally affirmative of any careful and sensitive attempt to overcome anti-Jewishness among Christians. And I believe the best place to start is with Jesus and Paul. I appreciate Levine’s contribution to this work. She offers many good points to help Christians to understand the key differences between Christianity and Judaism even amidst the close links.

Yet, I did find the book increasingly annoying as I read through it. For one thing, while surely her critiques of many Christian perspectives are valid, I felt myself chafing because the kinds of generalizations she makes about “Christians” are not ones I accept as characterizations of my views (and I know I am not alone). I would have liked more nuance on her part.

And as the book proceeded to her recommendations for present-day practices, I felt myself being lectured to. I sensed a kind of condescension and self-assuredness of her standing on the moral high ground. I almost got the feeling that she wrote this book as a “favor” she is deigning to offer us, not as something that comes from her own passionate desire to meet Christians halfway and work together toward a world of peace, as task to which we each have distinctive contributions to add.

Healing Justice: Restoration, not Retribution

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Here is my recent sermon that critiques the death penalty and our American culture’s retributive mindset–arguing for a biblically-oriented approach that seeks healing for victim and offender. The sermon was presented at Shalom Mennonite Congregation, Harrisonburg, VA, January 11, 2009.

D. Seiple and Frederick Weidmann, eds. Enigmas and Powers

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D. Seiple and Frederick W. Weidmann, eds. Enigmas and Powers: Engaging the Work of Walter Wink for Classroom, Church, and World. Pickwick Publications, 2008.

Walter Wink has made a tremendous contribution to biblical studies, peace activism, and spirituality in his career at Union and Auburn seminaries. This short book contains 24 brief statements in tribute to Wink’s thought and life.  Most of the papers were presented at a May 2005 celebration of Wink upon his retirement from Auburn.

It is nice to have this collection to get a sense of the breadth of Wink’s influence. Several prominent scholars appear–such as Marcus Borg, Bruce Chilton, Joseph Hough, Amy-Jill Levine, Jack Miles, Robert Raines, and Wayne Rollins. 

Most of the pieces are quite short, so the book works much better as a series of “toasts” than as analyses uncovering or extending the depths of the implications of Wink’s scholarship. [Full disclosure: I have a small contribution in this volume, “Walter Wink and Peace Theology.” I have co-edited a more thorough tribute volume to Wink, Transforming the Powers: Peace, Justice, and the Domination System.]

Triumph of the Lamb: Conclusion—The Meaning of Revelation for Today

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The book of Revelation continues to gain a great deal of attention–for better and for worse. Back in the 1980s I paid sustained attention to this amazing piece of literature and wrote a short commentary.  Here is the conclusion to the commentary from Triumph of the Lamb (Herald Press, 1987; reprinted by Wipf and Stock).

Triumph of the Lamb: Revelation Twenty-One and Twenty-Two

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The book of Revelation continues to gain a great deal of attention–for better and for worse. Back in the 1980s I paid sustained attention to this amazing piece of literature and wrote a short commentary.  Here is the commentary’s discussion of chapters twenty-one and twenty-two from Triumph of the Lamb (Herald Press, 1987; reprinted by Wipf and Stock).

Triumph of the Lamb: Revelation Nineteen and Twenty

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The book of Revelation continues to gain a great deal of attention–for better and for worse. Back in the 1980s I paid sustained attention to this amazing piece of literature and wrote a short commentary.  Here is the commentary’s discussion of chapters nineteen and twenty from Triumph of the Lamb (Herald Press, 1987; reprinted by Wipf and Stock).

Triumph of the Lamb: Revelation Seventeen and Eighteen

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The book of Revelation continues to gain a great deal of attention–for better and for worse. Back in the 1980s I paid sustained attention to this amazing piece of literature and wrote a short commentary.  Here is the commentary’s discussion of chapters seventeen and eighteen from Triumph of the Lamb (Herald Press, 1987; reprinted by Wipf and Stock).