The whole notion of kingship is an odd one for someone living in the early 21st century at least it is for me nbsp What does kingship even mean to me As a Canadian I am technically governed by a monarch a Queen since 1953 but the monarch is almost strictly a figurehead in terms of government
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 (1)
I have started my reading of 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 At this point I have skimmed through most of the document and have read through about 30-40 pages carefully As a result my com
Posted inThe Good Word
The End
All three of this Sunday rsquo s readings put us in mind of the end the eschaton in Greek nbsp So much of the speculation about the eschaton in the modern world comes from those who would like to tell us exactly when and how it will come nbsp Yet the post-exilic prophets the Gospels and the l
Posted inThe Good Word
Verbum Domini
Austen Ivereigh has just drawn our attention at In All Things to the publication of Verbum Domini He writes the post-synodal apostolic exhortation Verbum Domini is the most important Catholic church document on Scripture since the Second Vatican Council s groundbreaking Dogmatic Constitution on
Posted inThe Good Word
What is the Good Word (4)? Revelation, Inspiration and Inerrancy (Part 2)
This is my last entry a little late in a series you can find links to all of the previous entries at What is the Good Word 4 Revelation Inspiration and Inerrancy Part 1 We are called to contemplate and to study the revelation we have been given ldquo This tradition which comes from the A
Posted inThe Good Word
Resurrection Body
The readings for this Sunday bring the idea of the resurrection to the forefront In a recent post at Commonweal Fr Joseph Komanchak with reference to this Sunday rsquo s Gospel reading in Luke 20 27-38 drew on the work of N T Wright in The Resurrection of the Son of God and St Thomas Aquinas
Posted inThe Good Word
Called to Be Saints
Last year for the Solemnity of All Saints I wrote on the first reading from Revelation 7 to which I referred again in the recent post on ldquo lukewarm rdquo Catholics Recently Fr James Martin drew attention to the saints as he often does in a short video examining the question of who and wh
Posted inThe Good Word
Zacchaeus, A Tree, and Me
Luke includes in his Gospel an account found nowhere else in the Gospel tradition a story which fits well with many of the Lucan themes regarding the value and danger of wealth and possessions ndash not to say that these are not concerns of Jesus himself or not found in the other Gospels just t
Posted inThe Good Word
“Lukewarm” and “100%” Catholics
In an interview reported in USA Today Archbishop John Nienstedt ldquo said Jesus Christ directed his followers to lsquo either be hot or cold but if you re lukewarm I don t want that So we want people who live their faith rsquo rdquo This interview was given in response both to a controvers
Posted inThe Good Word
“He was like ET, Edward Scissorhands and Marty McFly combined”
In the most recent episode of Community a comedy on NBC the character Abed who is both Muslim and has Asperger rsquo s Syndrome reads the New Testament The episode Messianic Myths and Ancient Peoples presents the character Shirley who is a devout Christian musing on the popularity of YouTube