You can tell that the earliest Christians were inspired and not just because Pentecost was about to fall upon them you can tell they were inspired because of their nicknames Some of these were given by Jesus himself Peter for Simon and Sons of Thunder for James and John jump immediately to m
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
Aquinas, Modern Biblical Exegesis and Dei Verbum
At nbsp The End of the Modern World etc Joe Trabbic a philosopher at Ave Maria University nbsp posted on ldquo Aquinas and Modern Biblical Exegesis rdquo nbsp on May 25 2011 It has generated no comments on the site which is odd since it is a lively and helpful piece Thomas on Scriptur
Posted inThe Good Word
Ascension 2011
One of the great beauties of the Church is the liturgical calendar and the eternal rhythms to which one becomes attuned One of the realities of writing with the Church rsquo s calendar is that soon you have written on almost every feast day It is a wonderful thing to turn one rsquo s mind to writi
Posted inThe Good Word
Visitation
We usually focus on the Visitation Luke 1 39-56 due to the extraordinary meeting not only between Elizabeth and Mary but between Jesus and John both still in the womb It is a nascent meeting of the key players in the culmination of salvation-history Yet it is also important to see this at the
Posted inThe Good Word
Harold Camping and Historical-Critical Biblical Studies
This might seem self-serving but I want to give everyone a warning there is a role for historical critical biblical studies Many theologians Catholic and otherwise decry disparage deprecate and condemn the guild of biblical scholars and the role of historical critical scholarship in understan
Posted inThe Good Word
Maranatha
Here is the balance one must strike when speaking about the end of the world no I do not think that the world will end tomorrow but yes as a Christian the hope that Christ will return and establish the Kingdom of God is a hope that Christians today and Christians before us cherish as a ground
Posted inThe Good Word
The End of the Semester…I mean…World
The past week has been a difficult one for blogging as final papers and final exams pour in It is not necessarily an onerous task it is just that there is so much Writing on the Scripture even in a blog format requires time and thought and for the next week or so that will be given over to gra
Posted inThe Good Word
“Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
Saul rsquo s conversion experience described in the readings for today nbsp is amongst the most shocking events in early Christianity which is saying something but Thomas Aquinas would not call it miraculous as each soul is prepared to receive grace which Paul received in abundance Thomas say
Posted inThe Good Word
Apocalypse on Fox 9
There will be a story on Fox 9 news the local Fox affiliate in the Twin Cities on recent disasters claims that the end will occur on May 21 2011 with the final end on October 11 2011 and apocalyptic thought in relation to these events and claims The reporter on the story Tom Lyden intervi
Posted inThe Good Word
Back on the Chain Gang
In the readings for the Third Sunday of Easter the promise of life beyond this one is explained and offered It is the very nature of loss in life which draws us to the hope and promise of the world to come There is an ache that yearns for more life is good and so we want more of it especially t