As we ponder Jesus rsquo confrontation with the Sadducees regarding life in the world to come we are compelled to ask ldquo Do I believe in resurrection rdquo How one answers this question orients how we live today It is a question that is not so much answered intellectually though it is not
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
All the Nations
The question was put to Jesus ldquo Lord will only a few be saved rdquo His answer like many a teacher rsquo s regarding more mundane matters like quizzes and tests is a variation on ldquo study hard rdquo Jesus instructs the questioner and the crowd ldquo Strive to enter through the na
Posted inThe Word
The Flame of Truth
It can be hard to tell the truth Sometimes no one wants to hear it either because people have already determined a path they feel is more advantageous to them or they are more comfortable ignoring it Sometimes we are all those people For those who read Flannery O rsquo Connor the shocking real
Posted inThe Word
An Alert Faith
People of faith find themselves often perhaps daily tottering on the precipice of disillusion swaying from their own questions wondering if they have been suckered by some mug rsquo s game that tells them to be satisfied with God rsquo s promises instead of the cold hard reality of this world r
Posted inThe Word
The Inheritance
The Preacher Qoheleth says that ldquo all things are vanity rdquo His intent is not I think to be cynical though Qoheleth can provoke this among the world-weary His wisdom is rather the product of a hard-boiled realism which knows the truth of desires and ambitions that often consume us H
Posted inThe Word
The Innocent
In every age evil takes on a new name and a new face Auschwitz sexual abuse Sodom human trafficking The personification of God in the Old Testament takes many forms but goodness remains the same and unchanged God who loves us and desires relationship with us In Genesis 18 God is presented
Posted inThe Word
At Your Service
There is something charming about the account of Abraham serving the three men who suddenly appear at the oaks of Mamre It is not simply that Abraham offers unbidden hospitality and service or that they respond to his offer of food with a simple ldquo Do as you have said rdquo but that along w
Posted inThe Word
Put It On My Account
The Christian relationship to the law of Moses is complicated particularly in light of what the Apostle Paul said about the law in his letters But Paul understood that the law rsquo s origin lay with God and that it was not insignificant but rather was fulfilled through Christ Jesus ldquo the ima
Posted inThe Word
The Joy of Judgment
The English word crisis originates with the Greek noun krisis which is itself a derivative of the verb krin ldquo to judge rdquo A crisis is a time of decision encapsulating danger and opportunity in equal parts and the biblical eschaton the time of God rsquo s judgment is grounded upon t
Posted inThe Word
Prophetic Values
The language of the Bible can be gently potent Biblical texts are not usually wordy nor do biblical characters elaborate their feelings in lengthy soliloquies A few words are offered to be pondered measured and considered People speak directly but sometimes the meaning is mysterious or opposed