Sanctification of Soil
The parable found in Luke 8:5-8, Mark 4:2b-9, and Matt 13:3b-9 titled the “Parable of the Sower” by Snodgrass1 is much better titled the “Parable of the Soils” as it is called in Burton’s2 early 20th century gospel harmony, because the point of this parable has very little to do with the sower and everything to do with dirt.3 Snodgrass provides sufficient evidence that the nimshal found in Matt 13:18-23, Mark 4:13-20, and Luke 8:11-15 fits well within the bounds of what Jesus would have taught to his disciples. Read more...
More Than Bread
The interrogative parable found in Luke 11:5-71 is best interpreted not only in the assurance given in v. 8 and Jesus' sayings about the Father’s faithfulness in answering prayers in vv. 9-13, but also by Luke’s version of the Lord’s Prayer in vv. 2-4. Snodgrass notes that the parable and the Lord’s Prayer are connected because in each a request for bread is made.2 The connection goes much deeper than bread. Read more...
Mustard Seeds, Leaven, and the Present Kingdom of God
Though the Gospel of Thomas separates the parable of the mustard seed1 and the parable of the leaven2 and Mark does not have the parable of the leaven entirely3, the pairing of the parables in Luke and Matthew bring the similarities of both to light. The parables are connected in that both are about the small acts of women and men who, when paired with the mysterious acts of God, bring forth the Kingdom of God in the present world. Read more...
The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37)
Luke 10:25-37, to me, has always been a parable about a person who crossed cultural divides to serve and love another. My understanding of the parable of the “Good Samaritan” prior to this week was focused on my call as a Christian to serve others in need and not walk past them; plan and simple. This week, however, I am left with additional points of focus. Through Short Stories__1 I have been lead to explore the effect the parable would have on me if I identified with the victim instead of the Samaritan. Read more...
The Parable of the Dishonest Manager (Luke 16:1-15)
The parable of the dishonest manager has always been challenging for me to interpret. Is there a positive figure in the parable? Is there even a lesson in the narrative portion of the parable or does that only come after 8a when Jesus gives his interpretation? Does the narrative even fit with Jesus' interpretation, or was this explanation possibly a Lukan addition; his attempt to salvage a well-known story attributed to Jesus by the early church? Read more...
Wesleyan Theology, Reduced and Engaged
Introduction For a movement still in its infancy when compared against other traditions and movements within the Christian oikoumene the Wesleyan church tradition has already reached a high level of diversity both in theology and practice. John Wesley was not a systematic theologian. His theology, like the apostle Paul, came out of the practical needs of the people he ministered to.1 Wesley was more focus on what he need to teach his parishioners and how best to teach them along with what the entire revival should be doing to best serve God and neighbor. Read more...
The Apocalyptic-Eschatology of Jesus and Paul
Introduction The dominant worldview of Jesus, Paul, and the contemporary Hebrews was that of apocalyptic-eschatology. The prophets of the Hebrew Bible had spoken of the coming Kingdom of God and Jesus had declared himself a prophet who was the sign that the time of the end was coming for the world. Jesus, Paul, and their contemporary Judaism all have something to say about the Hebrew god’s revealing of the end of time. Read more...
Background on Klaiber and Marquardt's Living Grace
The selected readings from chapter two of Walter Klaiber and Manfred Marquardt’s Living Grace: An Outline of United Methodist Theology focus on two traditional flashpoints in Western Christianity’s tension between the ever-growing body of secular truths and theories about the natural world and the all-powerful, loving creator God of the Old and New Testaments. In the first selection - pages 93 to 102 - the authors focus on the tension between the Judeo-Christian belief in ex nihilo1 creation and natural science’s discovered truths and generally accepted theories over the last several centuries. Read more...
Background & Theological Analysis of "O For A Thousand Tongues to Sing"
Background “O For A Thousand Tongues to Sing” was written in May 1739 by Charles Wesley in remembrance of his moment of assurance and full conversion. The year before, Charles had become very sick and was cared for by a group of Christians. Their service, prayers, and testimonies during his sickness greatly affected Charles and caused him great reflection. While on the mend after the sickness, he was reading from his Bible and had an experience that would later be mirrored by his brother John at Aldersgate. Read more...
The Divine Plural in Early Genesis
The first four chapters of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible are interesting for many reasons. In these chapters the ancient editors have stitched together two even more ancient written sources — the Yahwist and Priestly — to give an account of the creation of the world and humankind. The saga of Earth’s first people and their dealings with God are masterfully presented to set the stage for the later patriarchs and the coming of Israel as a covenant people. Read more...
Review: Basil of Caesarea
In Basil of Caesarea: A Guide to His Life and Doctrine Andrew Radde-Gallwitz gives space to not only to the historical events and context of the life of Basil of Caesarea, but takes an extended look into the theology of Basil. However, unlike many books summarizing the theology of a great influencer of the church, Radde-Gallwitz doesn’t separate the human being from his or her theology. Radde-Gallwitz gives the context of the political and ecclesiastical world Basil lived in along with Basil’s various academic and personal relationships as a window into the place in life from which he approached the divine mysteries of God. Read more...
Essay in Answer to ¶310,2a UMC Discipline 2012
The path to ministry God set before me was indeed mysterious, but now – looking back – clear and obvious. God in his mercy saved me from the dark, uncertain lands of my youth. He offered me his only son, Jesus Christ, and filled me with his Holy Spirit. He nurtured me through his Holy Word and the saints of his Church. The joy in my life is now totally incomprehensible to my old self. Read more...
Humility in the Apophthegmata Patrum
The editor of the Alphabetical Collection of the Apophthegmata Patrum intended to record and share sayings ? small vignettes displaying mastery or deep knowledge of a Christian truth ? with fellow Christians living the monastic life. The ancient editor with his or her focus on the practical aspects of Christian mastery, not only the intellectual, shows his or her groundedness in the concerns of lay practitioners of Christianity rather than the more philosophic musings of the clergy. Read more...
Form Criticism
Introduction Form criticism is a way to approach the biblical text that focuses on finding the pre-written, oral origins of the various stories and episodes within text of the Hebrew Bible. First developed in Germany by Hermann Gunkel before the first World War, form criticism emerged from Gunkel’s realization that there were sections of text within the Hebrew Bible that likely had origins in an oral tradition before being written down. Read more...
The Bible in the Methodist Tradition
The Articles of Religion of the United Methodist Church were adopted in 1784 at the founding conference of the former Methodist Episcopal Church. John Wesley, the initiator of the Methodist revival within the Church of England, took the original thirty-nine articles establish by the English church and edited them to make them more concise and removed overly Calvinist language. Wesley compiled his revision of the Anglican thirty-nine articles, now pared down to only twenty-five, into his Sunday Service of the Methodist, a book similar to the common prayer book of the English church. Read more...
