The Pope has lashed out at world hunger and commodity markets which drive up the price of food for those in need nbsp This excerpt is taken from The Compass My thoughts turn toward the situation of millions of children who are the first victims of this tragedy condemned to an early death or t
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
My Body, My Enemy?
The second reading for the Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time Romans 8 9 11-13 speaks of the Spirit-Flesh antithesis yet nbsp it is difficult not to see the specter of Mind-Body dualism hovering over the passage which always winds up as bad news for the body The passage as found in the lectio
Posted inThe Good Word
The Apostle Paul as Coach
For the Solemnity of St Peter and St Paul I wanted to write about a man who puts the fear of God in you while he encourages you I have always loved the Apostle Paul even though he scares me a little when I read his letters since I fear he might step off of the page sit me down on the bench nbs
Posted inThe Good Word
Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
It is almost too much to comprehend the ways in which the Body and Blood of Christ are present and real to us and nourish us We have a type of this heavenly food in the manna in the desert which Deuteronomy 8 3 says is food nbsp ldquo which neither you nor your ancestors were acquainted in ord
Posted inThe Good Word
Reading with the Spirit II: A Response to Joseph Trabbic
I am honored by Professor Joseph Trabbic rsquo s generous response to me Reading with the Spirit A Response to John Martens and I am in agreement with almost all that he writes nbsp I sometimes wonder if a part of the problem under which I labor in discussions on biblical interpretation is that
Posted inThe Good Word
The Experience of the Trinity
One sentence one beautiful sentence at the end of Paul rsquo s second letter to the Corinthians 13 13 and it is clear that the notion of God has been transformed in the life and worship of the early Church The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spiri
Posted inThe Good Word
Bruins, Canucks and the Promised Land
I had been waiting weeks to write this blog post but it all came crashing down yesterday I wanted to write a blog post on my beloved Vancouver Canucks who have been in the NHL for 40 years and whom I have followed since I was 9 years old when boys follow their heroes with naivet eacute and chil
Posted inThe Good Word
Professor Trabbic’s Response, “Reading in the Spirit”
Professor Joseph Trabbic has responded to my comments on his blog post Aquinas and Modern Biblical Exegesis I am honored by such a significant response Reading in the Spirit A Response to John Martens and I will read it carefully before responding nbsp On first reading there is much with whi
Posted inThe Good Word
David Stanley, S.J. on the Holy Spirit
Is it too late for Pentecost Too late for tongues of fire and the rush of wind Never These are the two major physical realities which are described in the Pentecost account in Acts 2 1-11 When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled they were all in one place together And suddenly there came from t
Posted inThe Good Word
Conference on Verbum Domini
I was able this past weekend to attend a conference at the Monsignor Jerome D Quinn Institute of Biblical Studies at the St Paul Seminary School of Divinity where I also spend a part of my working week The conference The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church The Catholic Seminary