Seeing the form

De Lubac on Platonism and Stoicism in the Bible and the Fathers

2012-01-31T21:26:00.001-06:00

"It is a commonplace to allude to the Platonism of the Fathers in connexion with these doctrines [of the cosmic body]. But instead of invoking the Platonic doctrine of essential being, we should do better to account for them--to the extent that they are dependent at all on a philosophic basis--by looking rather to the Stoic conception of universal being. There are many expressions in Marcus

John Ashton on Demythologization

2011-09-15T07:36:00.001-05:00

In his splendid book on the Fourth Gospel, John Ashton has some truly wonderful turns of phrases. It is one of the most erudite and humane books in biblical studies I have ever read. One of the hidden gems can be found in his discussion of John 1.51 ("Amen, amen I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man"): "One of the

Incidentally...

2011-07-19T10:34:00.000-05:00

Remember when I posted about "Constantinianism"? I vaguely do, so I won't blame you if you don't. Well, I have been enjoying (when not reading about Paul or writing about the Encratites) Peter Leithart's Defending Constantine. Leithart draws on an impressive array of evidence and scholarship in his sensitive treatment of Constantine. Let me humbly advise all who think Constantine was the

Why pray? Oh, right.

2011-05-25T20:14:00.000-05:00

The monastic literature of the fourth and early fifth centuries develops the pattern of a contemplative ascent through the moral life to the perception of reason and order in creation and thence to that openness to God as God which evades all conceptual definition and is true theologia. In other words, the person who prays is the person who both in behaviour and in understanding restores

Methodist seminaries (and ministers), take note

2011-05-18T21:22:00.000-05:00

"Do I understand Greek and Hebrew? Otherwise, how can I undertake, as every Minister does, not only to explain books which are written therein but to defend them against all opponents? Am I not at the mercy of everyone who does understand, or even pretends to understand, the original? For which way can I confute his pretense? Do I understand the language of the Old Testament? critically? at

Mythologies and Metanarratives

2011-05-13T22:08:00.000-05:00

The historical investigation of the life of Jesus did not take its rise from a purely historical interest; it turned to the Jesus of history as an ally in the struggle against the tyranny of dogma. Afterwards when it was freed from this pathos it sought to present the historic Jesus in a form intelligible to its own time. …Thus each successive epoch of theology found its own thoughts in Jesus;

Changing Educational Paradigms

2011-02-12T09:23:00.000-06:00

Got this in an email from my sister-in-law (that still sounds weird in my ear). Fascinating. Both the animation and the talk.

My big bro

2011-02-12T09:06:00.000-06:00

My brother is currently in India on a Rotary Club exchange. Putting this video of him up (from before he left) just so I remember where to find it...and if anyone is interested.

Balthasar and Barth: Some suggestions

2010-06-08T16:13:00.000-05:00

Just a brief note of frustration. Why is it that whenever you mention Balthasar to a Barthian, they inevitably (almost nervously) remark that Balthasar was much indebted to Barth, but not vice versa? It is true that Balthasar was more influenced by Barth than the other way around. But it is not clear to me that Barth was a very strong influence (meaning: source) for Balthasar's theology. If

Participatory Biblical Exegesis

2010-06-04T22:13:00.000-05:00

Thank you, Professor Levering!!! I have had a love-hate relationship with the signs of renewed interest in "theological exegesis/interpretation" since the topic landed with Joel Green's and Max Turner's Between Two Horizons. That relationship has grown from early fascination to critical irritation. There are two aspects in particular that have caused me irritation. First, those who advocate

Pure Mathematics of the Spirit

2010-04-16T11:28:00.005-05:00

"The spirits of the living world were never meant to be so neighbourly with the spirits of that other. "Grant to them eternal rest, O Lord. And let light eternal shine upon them." Let them rest in their own places of light; far, far from us be their discipline and their endeavour. The phrases of the prayers of intercession throb with something other than charity for the departed; there is a fear

Austin Farrer, A Rebirth of Images

2010-04-05T08:00:00.000-05:00

Austin Farrer, A Rebirth of Images (London: Dacre, 1949).No one has applied himself to the question of the literary art of the Apocalypse with more relentlessness than Austin Farrer. The book is a masterpiece and a puzzle, at once impressive and bemusing. The entire book is dominated by the conclusion (or shall we say, conviction) that the Apocalypse “is the one great poem which the first

Peter of Damascus a propos the day

2010-04-03T07:32:00.004-05:00

Today is Holy Saturday. It is a day for remembering yesterday and hoping for tomorrow. Funerals are interesting times, usually filled as much with laughter and smiles as with tears and weeping--and all of that is mourning. But I suspect the laughing and the weeping, the chattering and the condolences are basically a way to fill the silence. Not silence in general, but a specific silence. We

What Did Herod Expect?

2010-04-02T17:08:00.002-05:00

The following is a meditation on Herod's role in the passion narrative I gave at church today. The meditation is based on Luke 23:4-12.Well, what did Herod expect?He had heard such great stories of this magician, this healer, this thaumaturge named Jesus. He had heard about Jesus healing the blind, healing lepers, healing multitudes, droves of the rabble, and even stilling storms with his words.

Rowland, "Things into Which Angels Long to Look"

2010-03-30T08:00:00.002-05:00

Christopher Rowland, “Things into Which Angels Long to Look: Approaching Mysticism from the Perspective of the New Testament and the Jewish Apocalypses,” in Christopher Rowland and Christopher R. A. Morray-Jones, The Mystery of God: Early Jewish Mysticism and the New Testament (CRINT, vol. 12; Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2009), pp. 1-216.In this study Christopher Rowland provides an

Atheist Delusions

2010-03-26T18:14:00.005-05:00

I try to read as much of David Bentley Hart's work as I can. He is about the finest public Christian theologian I have read. Since I have taken back up with historical studies, I have little time for works of theology. But this is one I could not resist. In Atheist Delusions, Hart takes on the so-called New Atheists and their popular proclamations and pontifications.The book is arranged in

The Historical Jesus: Five Views

2010-01-15T19:22:00.004-06:00

Ordinarily I find these 'four views' or 'five views' kind of books a little contrived. Usually published by evangelical publishers and edited by evangelical editors, I think they are intended to show the superiority of the evangelical position. But this volume comprises a nice cross-section of current historical Jesus research.The introduction to the volume is judicious and offers the basic

Stark, Statistics, and the Early Church

2009-12-27T21:59:00.004-06:00

In Cities of God (New York: HarperCollins, 2006), popular sociologist Rodney Stark attempts to bring quantitative, statistical analysis to bear on the study of the history of early Christian expansion. The description of the 'triumph' of Christianity, Stark argues, is incomplete, indeed unscientific, without the utilization of quantitative methods. "A major purpose of this book," writes Stark,

Define Irony

2009-11-18T17:25:00.002-06:00

iro-ny... 3 a (1): incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the normal or expected result (2): an event or result marked by such incongruity.So as I was walking from the bookstore to class, I saw a man at the end of the courtyard giving out books. Since I am a sucker for free books, I decided to walk in that direction. As I was approaching the vicinity of the

Imperial Christianity?

2009-11-17T11:59:00.002-06:00

I just looked back at my earlier post about "Constantinian" Christianity. In my comment to a reader, I lamented the construction of a sort of edifice of "anti-imperial" Christianity (popular in post-Evangelical and emerging circles). The important part of that comment is the parenthetical remark that wonders what that means in our current context. So, here's a question. How do we live a kind

What's all the fuss about?

2009-11-16T11:46:00.003-06:00

So, about a week ago the Vatican released the official Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus. The annoucement of this AC caused a great deal of consternation and much ire all over the blogosphere. I'm not entirely sure why. Now, Hans Kueng has offered what I think is probably the best critical comments, but even his take is only one side of the story. Reading the actual text, I find

DeConick vs. National Geographic: Round 2?

2009-11-16T11:21:00.002-06:00

This post is very good. April DeConick famously protested against the characterization, translation, and publicization of the Gospel of Judas a couple of years back. Now she's concerned about their take on the Apocalypse of Gabriel.I'll try to add background links when I have some more time.

Musings on 'Constantinianism'

2009-08-22T16:29:00.002-05:00

A few days ago I was reading Shane Claiborne's inspiring book, The Irresistible Revolution. I love Shane. He's a great guy doing really good things in the world and for the church. But as a historian of early Christianity and as a theologian, I had to sit up in my Amtrak coach seat a bit when I read this footnote on page 106:For many, the fourth-century reign of Constantine, the first

Moving...and then?

2009-07-28T09:48:00.002-05:00

Alright, so working often, planning a wedding, and not having home internet for most of that time makes for bad blogging. I recognize that. But I hope to be back up and blogging soon, since my beautiful bride and I are moving to Virginia, where I will begin my doctoral studies in the Judaism and Christianity in Antiquity program. After six (yes, six!) years of applications, I am so excited to

Farrer on form and content of early Christianity

2008-11-21T21:50:00.003-06:00

After mentioning 'the common hypothesis' that the transformation of images of the Old Testament that flowered in Christianity originated not with Jesus, but with his disciples, Farrer brilliantly observes,This elaborate and uneconomical supposition was the product of a prejudice which ought to outworn now. It was supposed that the Christian Faith could be divided into two parts, a vital content

SBL 2008

2008-11-21T21:30:00.003-06:00

Where has the time gone? Now that I have effectively alienated probably all of my readers by not posting in many, many moons, I have returned to say...well, not much. I'm in Boston, at a youth hostel surprisingly crowded with SBL attendees.After four years away from SBL (or is it five?), I've come to Boston to meet, greet and buy books. Oh yeah, and to hear papers. ...I guess.As I arrived in

Elshtain on the bonds of civic affection

2008-08-06T08:39:00.002-05:00

"Auden writes of 'blind skyscrapers' that 'use Their full height to proclaim/The strength of Collective Man.' I have a contrary thought. Skyscrapers are about power, no doubt. But they are also about freedom, and ingenuity, and beauty. They are not about the strength of an indistinguishable collective, but about the combined power of many men and women. There is something exhilarating about

Elshtain, Billy Graham, 9/11

2008-08-05T18:47:00.002-05:00

"Finally, the Reverend Billy Graham, dean of American evangelism, reminded us of the fog of history's unfolding in his remarks at the service in the National Cathedral for the National Day of Prayer and Remembrance on September 14, 2001. Reverend Graham insisted that he did not know the answer to why God allows tragedy, and that there is a mystery at the heart of this question. September 11 did

A Problem with Sola Scriptura?

2008-07-04T09:45:00.002-05:00

"The construction of new models of early Judaism and the circumstances of the rise of Christianity raise important questions for theologians. What happens, or should happen, when one discovers that theology is based on wrong history? It bears some serious reflection that the church has canonized documents that were written in its youth, in the heat of a polemic begotten of its identity crisis

1 Peter and "selective accomodation"

2008-07-04T09:41:00.003-05:00

"First Peter had to help its readers justify their existence as Christians living as a 'holy community' within society. It was a single strategy with two interlocking components: creating an identity that separated them from Roman culture, and yet showing how they, as a 'community of the elect,' upheld the best of Greek and Roman values by 'living honorably among Gentiles.' First Peter does

yes, yes, i know...

2008-03-10T11:05:00.002-05:00

Where have you been?It is a season to remember the Greek axiom, "ou poll' alla pollou": not many things, but much. I've been doing many things but not as much as I'd like.If there is really anyone out there who savors every word from my blogging pen, I suggest you keep your eyes out for my involvement at the Balthasar blog conference over at The Fire and the Rose. I'll be responding to the

Don't vote for Kant!!!

2007-12-12T12:58:00.000-06:00

Hard As Nails

2007-12-12T11:27:00.000-06:00

While trying to make the extended argument that Slavoj Zizek is a Gnostic and persuade PhD programs I'm their guy, I've had the opportunity to see a few things on HBO out of the corner of my eye. Here's one. Hard As Nails Ministry. There will be an HBO documentary airing on December 17 in the states (already aired at the Tribeca Film Festival). You can see the trailer on the site. Or you can

charles williams explains it all

2007-09-22T23:00:00.000-05:00

At a recent book fair I stumbled across Charles Williams' Descent of the Dove: A Short History of the Holy Spirit in the Church in paperback for fifty cents. I call that a bargain. The first Charles Williams I read was something like three years ago, when I read All Hallows' Eve in preparation for the All Saints'/Halloween celebrations. I had only begun to learn about the Inklings (through my

Passion Play

2007-09-22T18:51:00.000-05:00

Last night I had the good fortune to be taken to the theatre by a stunning benefactress. After a quick mimosa, we were drawn into a web of politics, religion, and theatricality in Sarah Ruhl's three-play cycle, entitled simply, Passion Play. Currently in production at the Goodman, Passion Play portrays three communities and their passion plays: the first in 1575 northern England; the second in

...and taking names (4)

2007-09-19T11:03:00.000-05:00

The most recent of Jamie Smith's published works is a fine little volume entitled, Who's Afraid of Postmodernism? Taking Derrida, Lyotard, and Foucault to Church. I found the expositions of recent films that opened each chapter a fitting tribute to Francis Schaeffer, not to mention a fine practice of cultural interpretation. But quite beyond this fitting structural element, the book is a

...and taking names (3)

2007-09-13T21:05:00.000-05:00

Having indicated my suspicions that a Leibnizian-Deleuzian ontology offers itself to as many slippery slopes as a Platonic one, it is now time to turn attention to the heart of Smith’s creational ontology. I indicated that the basic attempt at a creational ontology is brought into question by two ontological events and an array of biblical aesthetic. Before I arrive at these three, let us

random fun

2007-09-01T12:52:00.000-05:00

I have returned from NYC. Good times. I'll put up a separate post about my time in the Big Apple. But in the meantime, I bring you a brief meditation on the ever-addictive blog surveys. I can't not do them. Especially when other people I know or really really like (voted best girlfriend ever in another recent survey by...well, me) do them. So I came across this one on Daily Cornbread.I

...and taking names (2.75: Herbert Excursus)

2007-08-24T10:18:00.000-05:00

I am sorry to have to keep interjecting poets into theology (ok, not really), but I was reading George Herbert this morning and came across this gem. It seemed a fitting follow-up to Donne and a nice intimation at a response to wtm's questions regarding my Interlude."The World"Love built a stately house, where Fortune came,And spinning fancies, she was heard to say,That her fine cobwebs did

...and taking names (2.5: Interlude)

2007-08-22T22:07:00.000-05:00

This is my playes last scene, here heavens appoint,My pilgrimages last mile; and my race,Idly, yet quickly runne, hath this last pace,My spans last inch, my minutes latest point,And gluttonous death, will instantly unjoynt,My body, and soule, and I shall sleepe a space,But my'ever-waking part shall see that face,Whose feare already shakes my every joynt:Then, as my soule, to'heaven her first

Which flute? The Magic Flute.

2007-08-06T15:52:00.000-05:00

So I keep forgetting to tell everyone in the NYC area to check out this really fun young opera company, Project Opera of Manhattan. Opera by young artists, for young artists, and the public benefits by seeing promising young singers and actors at bargain prices. Their newest show is Die Zauberflote (I can't get the umlaut to work, sorry). For those of you unfamiliar, this was Mozart's final

...and taking names (2)

2007-07-31T14:00:00.000-05:00

Another of Jamie Smith's remarkable achievements is his fine introduction to Radical Orthodoxy (RO). Introducing Radical Orthodoxy is the best overall introduction to the themes and major figures of RO. An added bonus of the volume is the interaction Smith develops between RO and the continental Reformed tradition. One particular aspect of RO with which Smith expresses some reservation from his

Harry Potter month, continued...

2007-07-24T20:15:00.000-05:00

...and that's how she ended it. Great book, huh?Of course I will not tell you how what happens! Of course I will not tell you what parts I found interesting for what reasons! But I will say I loved the book. While I am sad the Harry Potter saga will not continue, I am glad for the very wonderful contribution J. K. Rowling has made to the world. For those of you still unfamiliar with the

Sorting Hat Says...

2007-07-17T22:13:00.000-05:00

The sorting hat says that I belong in Ravenclaw! < Said Ravenclaw, "We'll teach those whose intelligence is surest." Ravenclaw students tend to be clever, witty, intelligent, and knowledgeable. Notable residents include Cho Chang and Padma Patil (objects of Harry and Ron's affections), and Luna Lovegood (daughter of The Quibbler magazine's editor).

...and taking names (1)

2007-06-21T21:03:00.000-05:00

A good friend of mine in the homiletics doctoral program at Vanderbilt has some fondness for Jamie Smith's work. In fact, a cadre of the Vanderbilt graduate students in religion apparently nicknamed him "Kick Ass" after his official literary moniker: James K(ick). A(ss). Smith.I confess that I, too, enjoy Smith's work. Well...some of it. Speech and Theology is an exquisite little book, for

New posts

2007-06-20T14:59:00.000-05:00

Although I appear to have fallen off the face of the planet, I assure you I have not. For one thing, the planet is not flat, and gravity prevents us from ascending off of the sphere. But if you need more assurance, you can find a little taste of my work on the Karl Barth Blog Conference going on over at Der Evangelishe Theologe. Travis has graciously published a somewhat smarmy account of F. C

Long time coming...

2007-04-23T20:47:00.000-05:00

Yea verily, I have been gone for a long time. I'll be blogging again soon, I hope. I've been trying to convince grad schools not just to accept me but offer me money. I've also been attempting to land one of those elusive things from the land of Uz...a job. Both proving difficult for some reason, though no one seems to know why...myself included.In the meantime, things are going fairly well.

got doctrine?: a premature rant

2006-12-14T18:49:00.000-06:00

Pete Rollins, one of the rockstars of the Emergent conversation, recently published the literary condensation of the constellation of ideas that have been percolating at the Ikon community in Northern Ireland.In learning of Rollins' publication, I read on to discover what a pathbreaker Rollins is. Now, before I get to my rant, I have to say that there are many fine, wonderful people who are

Advent approacheth

2006-11-27T12:53:00.000-06:00

Advent has drawn nigh.And who may abide the day of his coming?In advent the alpha meets the omega, the end and the beginning are drawn together by the gravity of the divine kabod resting in a manger. The parousia of G-d, Immanuel, collapse together the genesis of we mortals and the revelation of the ends of the cosmos.More terrible than dragons and portents of destruction, more peaceful than a

false interpretations...

2006-11-07T23:39:00.000-06:00

hey mr. tangerine man...hey rodrigo, days when the rains came...shot through the heart and you're too late...all wrong.makes you wonder what else people misread. i'm quite certain people misread other people all the time. i'm more convinced of it every day. and it's really a little saddening, because most of the time all we have to do is listen and learn.listen to the homeless lady on the

Quizzes

2006-11-01T20:58:00.000-06:00

You scored as Roman Catholic. You are Roman Catholic. Church tradition and ecclesial authority are hugely important, and the most important part of worship for you is mass. As the Mother of God, Mary is important in your theology, and as the communion of saints includes the living and the dead, you can also ask the saints to intercede for you.Roman Catholic71%Neo orthodox68%Emergent/Postmodern61%

apocalypse: bored with being god

2006-10-17T14:15:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I view my own myspace profile just so I can listen to my profile song (currently "Punkrocker" by Teddybears). I should probably just buy the album, but I can't justify the expenditure.I love the song because it has some great lyrics: "See me walking down the street / I'm bored with lookin' good." "See me die on Bleeker Street / I'm bored with being god." Just two such lyrics.I'm bored

Tracking Hyde

2006-09-27T00:39:00.000-05:00

"There's a beast at the door / and he's wild and free / but we don't let him in / 'cause we don't want a scene."From the musical Jekyll and Hyde. The "Strange" case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is strange because it is only half the story. Dr. Henry Jekyll, the idealistic man of science, unleashes his "darker" side: Mr. Edward Hyde. Hyde is truly evil: a murderer and philanderer, we might say a man

I HATE inspirational books...

2006-09-25T16:17:00.000-05:00

...because sometimes they're right.I really want to hate the popular tripe that gets billed as Christian inspiration. And most of the time my prejudice is justified. Unfortunately, I was browsing through one of my favorite Chicago used bookstores, and I came across this book. Just like John Eldredge's Wild at Heart, No More Christian Nice Guy by Paul Coughlin reached past both my scholarly

A new year...

2006-09-08T19:44:00.000-05:00

One of the wonderful things about moving to a new place is that it feels like hitting the reset button on my VCR counter. I may be temporarily unemployed and poor, but I get to begin again. Given the year I've had, that's good news. Chicago is treating me well so far. I do have a serving job lined up; I start training in a week. I'd like to do something more ecclesiastical (cf. my last post)

NYC Therapeutic

2006-08-26T22:26:00.000-05:00

Ah yes, as Winston Zeddemore exclaimed at the end of Ghostbusters...I LOVE THIS TOWN!The new profile pic is from my recent trip to NYC. Good times. Let me run it down for you. Decided to go on Saturday. Flew out on the red-eye on Sunday. Spent Sunday getting some really good vegan eats at Kate's Joint (review) with Tricia (friend from Coe). Then just hung out with some friends (Tricia and Chris--

Now that I'm moving...

2006-08-16T17:10:00.000-05:00

Word. Chicago it is. I signed my lease for September 1 yesterday. I'll be living in Uptown. Decent little apartment in a decent little location. Good times.Not sure about the job (pronounced "yawb") situation just yet. A couple of possibilities, but some difficulty getting them off the ground. But now that I'm moving to Chicago it's time to investigate the important things. Where are the

People are crazy

2006-07-17T16:12:00.000-05:00

That's my decision. After dealing with customers at the OG (Olive Garden for those not hip enough to work there :)), dealing with women (yes, you're all crazy), dealing with my own issues (yes, I too am absolutely nuts), dealing with friends and co-workers, my scientific conclusion is that people are crazy. Now maybe that's an unfair sampling, so I'll qualify. In the culture I inhabit, people

Booya!!

2006-06-18T14:04:00.000-05:00

I don't know if that's how you spell it, but life is decent right now. Thanks for all the support. I am hoping to get to Chicago soon, for those of you who are asking and pushing me in that direction. But I won't be going at least until November. Why? Because I'm currently teaching Religion in Western Civilization at Iowa Wesleyan College. The summer session is just wrapping up. I've

Disregard my last

2006-05-02T21:55:00.000-05:00

Ok, maybe don't disregard that last post. But I'm feeling much better now. Why? Why not?Anyway, let's weigh in, everyone who reads this--that's right, all three or four of you. What should I do for a year? I've applied to teach theology at a couple of Catholic HSs in the Chicago area. Failing that, any suggestions? And no, drinking myself into oblivion is not an option. I've already

Status report

2006-03-21T00:46:00.000-06:00

I know some of you would like to know what/how I am faring these days.Here goes.Life has not been so kind to me lately--hence, my relative silence. Between romantic abortions, a fair measure of poverty, and the status of Ph.D. applications, my emotional stability has suffered. It has been a very trying year for me--or at least a trying five months. I have not consistently been what one might

a propos, Jets to Brazil

2006-03-16T14:39:00.000-06:00

"everything here's about to break. i'm one inch from more than i can take. and it's beautiful and sad, but it's all that i have...""Further North", from their album, Perfecting Loneliness:

LENT! Live and Cruelty-free

2006-03-01T17:14:00.000-06:00

That's right, I have officially begun my veganning ways as of today. Of course, Ash Wednesday is easy since it's a fasting day anyway.But let's talk about easy for a moment. It would be a mistake for me to tell you that being a vegan will be hard. Hear me now and smell me later: it's not that hard. I have been in-process for about a month now (that is, weaning myself from dairy and meat while

On Love

2006-02-05T18:20:00.000-06:00

Some thoughts On Love by Alain de Botton (commentary forthcoming):"There is the old joke made by the Marx who laughed about not deigning to belong to any club that would accept him as a member, a truth as appropriate in love as it is in club membership. We laugh at the Marxist position because of its absurd contradictions: How is it possible that I should wish to belong to a club and then lose

What I did...

2006-01-30T17:51:00.000-06:00

yesterday:and today:

Things that should not have been forgotten...

2006-01-28T16:11:00.000-06:00

One of the key issues for compassion toward animals is their sentience. It is easy to ignore animal suffering if we don't think animals suffer. I may expand on this in future blogs, but for now I will simply index some key memories of mine in which I am pained by my awareness that animals suffer (often combined with a sense of my own guilt).Let's start small. I've never been a friend of spiders.

In the veganning...

2006-01-14T18:07:00.000-06:00

To vegan or not to vegan, that is the question. So I have a darling of a friend in Chicago who is a vegan. She gives me gentle nudges toward becoming a vegan myself. She suggested I read a book called Dominion, written (please note) by a speechwriter for our dearly beloved "W". Yes, conservatives can indeed be concerned with animal rights and will expose injustice in the food industry. Thank

That ledge

2005-12-03T10:10:00.000-06:00

And there's this burning, like there's always been. And I've never been so alone, and I've never been so alive.That's Third Eye Blind, folks, "Motorcycle Drive By." But I know what he means.It snowed here last night and Wednesday. I'm in a coffee shop sipping Peppermint tea and looking out the window at the snow on the ground. And it feels a little like love. Love? Well, the potentiality of love,

Update

2005-09-03T18:10:00.000-05:00

I don't normally post personal information, but it occurred to me that it might be a relatively easy way to update everyone.I've obviously (or is it apparently?) moved from Jersey. I have an apartment in North Liberty, Iowa (near Iowa City)--a two-bedroom that costs almost half as much as my one-bedroom in Jersey! Hallelujah! Unfortunately, I have no job yet. So I shouldn't be rejoicing too

Luke Timothy Johnson and the New Gnosticism

2005-04-23T16:11:00.000-05:00

On Monday (April 18) I heard Luke Timothy Johnson lecture on "The Da Vinci Code, the Culture Wars, and the New Gnosticism." It was a very fine lecture. Here are the highlights (for the protection of the innocent I must make the disclaimer that most of what follows is in my own words, and that Prof. Johnson may not agree with some of the phraesologies I have adopted here):Prof. Johnson's point of

Requiescat in pacem

2005-04-02T18:24:00.000-06:00

John Paul II...Requiem aeternum dona ei, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei.Amen.

Resurrection Redux

2005-03-31T19:32:00.000-06:00

In 2001 a promising young scholar at Coe College (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) authored a phenomenal thesis in which he examined three different views of the resurrection of Jesus. The young scholar concluded that the results of the three scholars under examination, with respect to Jesus' resurrection, depended heavily on their presuppositional pool and their trajectory toward the subject matter. Gerd

On deconstruction, interpretation, and preaching

2004-12-17T12:02:00.000-06:00

This is part of an email I sent to a friend:I'm still not persuaded that deconstruction is a necessary function in biblical interpretation or preaching. In the first place this is so because deconstruction is supposed to be something that the text does to itself, not something the interpreter/preacher does to it. The most a preacher can do is point out the text's self-deconstruction and

On the importance of preaching...

2004-12-13T17:40:00.000-06:00

I have mentioned the private necessity for preaching.But what of the public importance of preaching? I have stated why I, as theologian and preacher, need the discipline of preaching, but why do others need to hear what I preach? For that matter, affianced as I am to liturgy, why does the community need a preacher in general? In other words, why include preaching in our worship at all (beyond the

On the importance of homiletics...

2004-12-11T01:17:00.000-06:00

I have been wrestling with questions of how useful or worthwhile exegesis and academic theology are.I think what I really want to know is whether or not it is ethical or good to be among the litterati, illuminati, intelligentia...however one wants to put it. Maybe that's not a question to ask, since I am de facto among that group. Perhaps what I should be asking is how to remain ethical (if I

On recovering God...

2004-12-06T13:11:00.000-06:00

This is a slightly modified part of an email I recently sent to a friend. It's all pretty flow-of-thought and disorganized, but the best I've come up with so far: On God['s distance]: Seminary is interesting because it is almost universally accompanied by an experience of the utter absence of God ar at least an utter absence of the experience of God. I have a feeling you can resonate with

Welcome...?

2004-12-04T22:25:00.000-06:00

Well, I have a blog. Will I ever use it? Depends on too many variables to say right now. But here I am. If you have comments on this post, you are sadder than I.