ldquo You are a water jug carrying within you the living water but if water has lost its ability to quench thirst what use is it rdquo ldquo You are a sign but if the sign is hidden beneath seven foot banks of snow who will know the way to go nbsp Dig out the sign from the wintery snow an
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
Verbum Domini (2)
A long time ago in a blog far far away hellip I began to discuss the text Verbum Domini the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation of Benedict XVI on the ldquo Word of God in the life and mission of the Church rdquo Many things have intervened since then such as the end of one semester Christmas
Posted inThe Good Word
The Beatitudes
The readings for the Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time nbsp treat us nbsp to a surfeit of riches There is a beautiful passage from Zephaniah 2 3 3 12-13 another from 1 Corinthians 1 26-31 and the Beatitudes from Matthew rsquo s Gospel 5 1-12a The struggle this week is not what to say but wh
Posted inThe Good Word
“All of you be in agreement”
The second reading for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time comes from Paul s first letter to the Corinthians Now I appeal to you brothers and sisters by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you but that you be united in the same m
Posted inThe Good Word
Memorial of St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr
Today is the Memorial of St Agnes Virgin and Martyr whose life ended when she was just a girl 12-13 though in her own day she would have been considered a girl on the cusp of adulthood It was this precise fact that lead to her martyrdom and though many of the details of her life are shrouded
Posted inThe Good Word
Sex and the Married Deacon
Why should a biblical scholar take note of canon law We might equally ask why should the blogging son of a canon lawyer suddenly push onto the front stage an article written by his father almost six years ago Why now Thomas Peters who calls himself ldquo American Papist rdquo published a few
Posted inThe Good Word
Purgatory: Feel the Burn
The Pope rsquo s recent comments on purgatory were extremely helpful His statement on purgatory helped to clarify the reality of purgatory not as a place but as a process but also simply any comment on the reality of purgatory is helpful From a news report on the Pope rsquo s comments we receiv
Posted inThe Good Word
Authority in the Church: The Gospel of Matthew
In my NT class this week we discussed the Gospel of Matthew the ecclesial Gospel which alone amongst the four Gospels actually uses the word ldquo ekklesia rdquo or Church We had some interesting discussions about the nature and exercise of authority in the Church and students are often surpri
Posted inThe Good Word
“The Deceitful Tongue:” Political Speech and Biblical Speech
What does the Good Word have to say to current political events in the USA Not much in some ways but everything in other ways for the Bible has a lot to say about speech its purposes and misuses The Bible fascinatingly nowhere mentions the Democrats or Republicans though I am pretty certain
Posted inThe Good Word
The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord
The baptism of Jesus is the beginning of his ministry as all of the Synoptic Gospels Matthew 3 13-17 Luke 3 21-23 Mark 1 9-15 and Acts 10 37-38 demonstrate This is the point at which Jesus is called both to begin and to fulfill his mission One of the major questions must be quite simply why