These are a few musings that were stoked by the comments on ldquo Send Lazarus rdquo or ldquo Now You Remember My Name rdquo and the ideas are just beginning to take shape so please feel free to comment on and correct what you read here I had focused on the concrete use of material wealth f
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
“Send Lazarus” or “Now You Remember My Name?”
My post on The Dishonest Manager generated some discussion on the nature of wealth our relationship and use of it and Jesus rsquo condemnation of wealth at least in certain circumstances In one of my comments to Marie Rehbein I stated that ldquo Jesus does condemn the improper use of wealth in
Posted inThe Good Word
God and Mammon in Caravaggio’s “The Calling of St. Matthew”
I followed a link from David Mills at First Things to a post by Sandro Magister on Giorgio Alessandrini s analysis of Caravaggio s The Calling of St Matthew If you ever have a chance to go to Rome make certain that amongst the many other artistic treasures and wonders you visit St Louis of th
Posted inFaith, The Good Word
Top Twelve Parables
I was thinking of a Top Ten Parable list, but for some reason a Top Twelve List seemed right to me.
Posted inThe Good Word
Pope Benedict XVI on the Bible
This article has been online for a little while but it seemed right in light of Pope Benedict rsquo s recent visit to the United Kingdom to post a link to it here for readers who have not seen it In this article in the Homiletic and Pastoral Review Fr Joseph T Lienhard S J reflects on ldquo P
Posted inThe Good Word
“His master commended the dishonest manager”
The Gospel readings for today suggest either Luke 16 1-13 or Luke 16 10-13 I can easily understand why a Priest or Deacon might elect to preach on 16 10-13 today omitting the whole of the parable of the dishonest steward or manager Most commentators see the parable itself running from verses 1-
Posted inThe Good Word
Your Favorite Parable
In a previous post on this blog I asked people for their comments on their favorite book of the Bible I received thought provoking responses with readers choosing the Gospel of John the Gospel of Luke the Gospel of Mark the Psalms and even Paul rsquo s short letter to Philemon If you have not
Posted inThe Good Word
“Really, Jesus, Really?”
Some of you might be aware of SNL rsquo s Really With Seth and Amy in which they express their incredulity with the fantastic incredible and implausible nature of current events nbsp Let rsquo s imagine for a moment that there was an ancient Jewish version of this given in the town square of
Posted inThe Good Word
What is the Good Word (2)? The Old Testament
This is the second in the series What is the Good Word Here is how I learned the number of books in the Bible there are 39 in the Old Testament if you multiply 3 x 9 you get 27 which is the number of books in the New Testament when you add the two together you get 66 which is the number of
Posted inThe Good Word
Hate Your Family?
The Gospel reading for the Twenty Third Sunday of Ordinary Time Luke 14 25-37 is one of those passages that I just ache to cut down to size to make certain that it says something more palatable easier to handle than what it seems to be saying nbsp Jesus speaks to a crowd ldquo now large cro