martens1000

John W. Martens

John W. Martens is an associate professor of theology at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minn,where he teaches early Christianity and Judaism. He also directs the Master of Arts in Theology program at the St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity. He was born in Vancouver, B.C. into a Mennonite family that had decided to confront modernity in an urban setting. His post-secondary education began at Tabor College, Hillsboro, Kansas, came to an abrupt stop, then started again at Vancouver Community College, where his interest in Judaism and Christianity in the earliest centuries emerged. He then studied at St. Michael's College, University of Toronto, and McMaster University, with stops at University of Haifa and University of Tubingen. His writing often explores the intersection of Jewish, Christian and Greco-Roman culture and belief, such as in "let the little children come to me: Children and Childhood in Early Christianity" (Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 2009), but he is not beyond jumping into the intersection of modernity and ancient religion, as in "The End of the World: The Apocalyptic Imagination in Film and Television" (Winnipeg: J. Gordon Shillingford Press, 2003). He blogs at  www.biblejunkies.com and at www.americamagazine.org for "The Good Word." You can follow him on Twitter @biblejunkies, where he would be excited to welcome you to his random and obscure interests, which range from the Vancouver Canucks and Minnesota Timberwolves, to his dog, and 70s punk, pop and rock. When he can, he brings students to Greece, Turkey and Rome to explore the artifacts and landscape of the ancient world. He lives in St. Paul with his wife and has two sons. He is certain that the world will not end until the Vancouver Canucks have won the Stanley Cup, as evidence has emerged from the Revelation of John, 1 Enoch, 2 Baruch, and 4 Ezra which all point in this direction.
Posted inThe Word

Journey of Hope

martens1000 by John W. Martens

A summer ago my family set off on a cross-country car trip from Minnesota to Vancouver B C in part to pick up a wooden bench that my great-grandfather had made when my family immigrated to Canada It was the first thing he built when he arrived As an old man he was too old to work in the fields

Posted inThe Word

Children of Hope

martens1000 by John W. Martens

The truth of the supposedly clich d phrase ldquo every child is a miracle rdquo hits home for most people when a child is born to them or an adopted child is welcomed into the family The instantaneous recognition of the child never before seen is a spiritual experience made tactile as a mother t

Posted inThe Word

Waiting on Hope

martens1000 by John W. Martens

Christians read the Old Testament today understandably in light of Christ rsquo s fulfillment of the promises and prophecies found there It is a simple thing to do since the early church read the Old Testament in the context of Jesus rsquo incarnation and teaching and the experience of Easter a

Posted inThe Word

Fulfillment of Hope

martens1000 by John W. Martens

The fulfillment of hope especially divine hope fundamental hope does not rest on intricately calculated human plans in which we chart the future according to algorithms that never vary and on the basis of mathematical certainty await the fulfillment of our calculations Perhaps this works for 40

Posted inThe Word

Daily Distractions

martens1000 by John W. Martens

Pope Francis said on World Environment Day June 5 2013 ldquo We are losing the attitude of wonder contemplation listening to creation nbsp The implications of living in a horizontal manner is that we have moved away from God we no longer read His signs rdquo He was referring to the phys

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