Most readers of this column have been in a position of authority at some time I rsquo m sure and some of us this writer included enjoy a constancy of authority because of education ordination position or wealth Though we might not speak of it often even quietly to ourselves it is a delight
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
Do the Right Thing
The common understanding of the relationship between Onesimus and Philemon in Paul rsquo s letter to Philemon is that Onesimus was a slave of Philemon Though it remains a debated issue Onesimus had either run away from Philemon or had been sent by him to render service to Paul while he was impriso
Posted inThe Good Word
The New Testament Portrait of Jesus for Muslim Theologians
John W. Martens asks readers for essential Bible passages for Christian-Muslim dialogue.
Posted inThe Word
The True King
The whole nature of kingship can be confusing At least it is confusing to me raised as I was in Canada a democracy that nevertheless retains a monarch as head of state It does not necessarily get clearer in the United States whose founding as an independent nation goes back to the casting off o
Posted inThe Word
The Coming of the King
The Greek word that refers to Jesus rsquo arrival most often translated as ldquo second coming rdquo is parousia The term was adopted by Christians from the common Greek usage and imperial Roman ideology of the day in which a city prepared for and eagerly anticipated the arrival of a major po
Posted inThe Word
The Small Matter of Sin
The passage from the Book of Wisdom about God ldquo overlooking rdquo sins has a wry humor when juxtaposed with little Zacchaeus too small in stature to be seen That is not true of course for no matter where Zacchaeus was standing hidden among the crowd or walking away from Jesus God ldquo
Posted inThe Word
Who’s Missing?
When you rsquo re lost it rsquo s good to be missed it rsquo s even better to be found At the heart of spiritual lostness though is our collusion in our own absence People are not inanimate objects like coins things that can fall unwittingly into corners nor are they like sheep animals with
Posted inThe Word
Tired of Sin
Sin is attractive I have watched a lot of television shows in my life and a lot more commercials and the one thing I know for certain is that sin is fun often accompanied by happy young women and men and there are no absolutely no consequences for bad behavior If you want to be justified in y
Posted inThe Word
A Little Faith
lsquo The apostles said to the Lord lsquo Increase our faith rsquo rdquo What rsquo s the equation for increasing faith ldquo The Lord replied lsquo If you had faith the size of a mustard seed you could say to this mulberry tree ldquo Be uprooted and planted in the sea rdquo and it wo
Posted inThe Word
Life in the Balance
There is an inherent tension in Christianity between the indicative and the imperative what we are and what we are intended to be between the present and the future the life we are now living and the world to come If we focus only on this world or only on the world to come the Christian life is