Introduction Broadly considering Jesus within his first-century context, a picture arises of him as an apocalyptic prophet heralding the Kingdom of God, Jesus maintained a positive view of the Temple while concurrently participating in the Temple cult, critiquing its corrupted practices, and reconstituting its central role and exclusive stance toward others. Jesus challenged the Temple … [Read more...]
Jesus’ Perspective on the Temple: A Reconsideration in Light of his Jewish Context
Becoming Great by Becoming Small
“If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.” Who said that? If you’re a Harry Potter fan like many of my children, you probably recognize this quote from a conversation between Sirius Black and Hermione Granger in The Goblet of Fire. Sirius was not the first to originate this idea, as many before him said similar things. … [Read more...]
How I Experienced New Life
I’ll never forget that day. The day I received a fresh start. The day I experienced new life. When I arose that morning I never would have expected for it to end the way it did. I awoke with a pit in my stomach. The feeling you get when you know you have to walk through something - but you don’t want to. When you would rather do anything else on that day, but that which … [Read more...]
Guns….According to Jesus
I live in Montana so as you might imagine, guns are just a natural part of living. It's almost as if one's first breath of Montana air – either as a transplant or native-born – triggers an automatic gun-toting, gun-loving mentality. Not quite, but almost. My friends from other states – states lacking equivalent gun-allurement – endlessly joke, and curiously question whether I, a … [Read more...]