The correlation of the roles of king and shepherd precedes even the Old Testament Akkadian Babylonian and Sumerian texts including the Code of Hammurabi all invoke the king as shepherd Clearly this association emerges from the pastoral context of the time when sheep- and goat-herding were cent
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 Good Word
Acts of the Apostles Online Commentary (3)
This is the third entry in the Bible Junkies Online Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles The first entrycovered some of the major critical technical and background issues that will concern us as we read through and comment on the Acts The second post found here considered the prologue to the
Posted inThe Word
Talent Shows
To be ldquo awake and sober rdquo seems like a minimalist approach to the Christian life but it is a figurative sign of the Christian spiritual life engaged and diligent Paul exhorts the Thessalonians in the context of the parousia the second coming of Christ which the early Christians hoped m
Posted inThe Good Word
Acts of the Apostles Online Commentary (2)
This is the second entry in the Bible Junkies Online Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles The first entry covered some of the major critical technical and background issues that will concern us as we read through and comment on the Acts In this the second post we start to consider the text of
Posted inThe Word
Living Stones
The Lateran Basilica in Rome is not the home parish for many of us though some might have visited it It is the pope rsquo s own cathedral but we are parishioners at churches closer to home with less ancient and lofty origins and nicknames like St Joe rsquo s and St Mike rsquo s Our home paris
Posted inThe Word
Bodies and Souls
What happens when we die This is a question most people ask at some point perhaps especially Christians who look forward to the resurrection at the end of time But in the interim prior to the general resurrection what happens to those who have died Where do they go This is a confusing issue
Posted inThe Good Word
Acts of the Apostles Online Commentary
This is the first entry in the Bible Junkies Online Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles This will be a challenging commentary to take on in an online format because there are numerous technical issues associated with the text of the Acts of the Apostles which are not at the heart of this online
Posted inThe Word
God’s Interest
In the covenant code in Exodus in which Moses reveals God rsquo s prohibitions and commandments to the Israelites we quickly learn that God is a God who hears the voices of the powerless who sees the needs of the poor The terms of the covenant directed the Israelites not to ldquo wrong or oppre
Posted inThe Word
Payment Due
One of Jesus rsquo most famous sayings challenges us to consider a simple question what do I owe to whom The saying is mellifluous in the King James translation ldquo Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar rsquo s and unto God the things that are God rsquo s rdquo It is tea
Posted inThe Word
Invitation to the Feast
There is no more compelling image for the city of God than that of the banquet drawing as it does on the common experiences of good food and drink I remember the cities I have visited by the food I ate in them so this picture of the feast resonates at a deep human level Feasts recall times of j