I thought a biblical conversation on peace in the Bible might be a good way to respond to current issues in Syria and elsewhere to focus on what we mean and what the biblical authors mean when they speak of peace Hebrew shalom Greek eir n This is not meant to be a thorough study simply a
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
Justification (It’s Still a “Thing”) 3
At the end of my second post nbsp on N T Wright rsquo s book Justification God 39 s Plan amp Paul 39 s VisionI asked whether ldquo there are things Wright has discovered in Paul which Catholic theology has not stressed enough It rsquo s all fun and games to point out where Reformation exege
Posted inThe Good Word
Justification (It’s Still a “Thing”) 2
nbsp When I said in my first post on N T Wright rsquo s book Justification God 39 s Plan amp Paul 39 s Vision that the book seemed ldquo Catholic rdquo in its understanding of Paul and in its conclusions I did not intend to indicate that Wright himself has stated this ndash which I was
Posted inThe Good Word
Justification (It’s Still a “Thing”)
nbsp I have just finished reading N T Wright rsquo s book Justification God 39 s Plan amp Paul 39 s Vision in which a teacher of mine is skewered Stephen Westerholm another one comes off in a fairly positive light E P Sanders and another is once cited kindly Ben F Meyer I mention th
Posted inThe Good Word
Speaking in Tongues, Now and Then
nbsp The New York Times Sunday Review published a short article by T M Luhrmann a professor of anthropology on speaking in tongues titled Why We Speak in Tongues nbsp August 17 2013 In the article Luhrmann who has published a book length study on glossolalia ldquo speaking in tongues
Posted inThe Good Word
The First Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians Online Commentary (11)
The study of 1 Thessalonians offered here is in the form of a traditional commentary although secondary scholarship is engaged more intermittently than would be the case in a commentary published in a regular print series This is the eighth entry in the online commentary on 1 Thessalonians In the
Posted inThe Good Word
The First Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians Online Commentary (10)
The study of 1 Thessalonians offered here is in the form of a traditional commentary although secondary scholarship is engaged more intermittently than would be the case in a commentary published in a regular print series This is the eighth entry in the online commentary on 1 Thessalonians In the
Posted inThe Good Word
The First Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians Online Commentary (9)
nbsp The study of 1 Thessalonians offered here is in the form of a traditional commentary although secondary scholarship is engaged more intermittently than would be the case in a commentary published in a regular print series This is the eighth entry in the online commentary on 1 Thessalonians
Posted inThe Good Word
The First Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians Online Commentary (8)
nbsp The study of 1 Thessalonians offered here is in the form of a traditional commentary although secondary scholarship is engaged more intermittently than would be the case in a commentary published in a regular print series This is the eighth entry in the online commentary on 1 Thessalonians
Posted inThe Good Word
The First Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians Online Commentary (7)
The study of 1 Thessalonians offered here is in the form of a traditional commentary although secondary scholarship is engaged more intermittently than would be the case in a commentary published in a regular print series This is the seventh entry in the online commentary on 1 Thessalonians In th