The Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary causes difficulties for this biblical scholar for though biblical passages are read on the feast day none of them clearly support the doctrine as promulgated by the Church This is not to say that the Church through its Tradition does not have acces
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
Advent II
In the preparation and waiting of Advent both the waiting associated with the Incarnation and Christmas and the preparation for the Second Coming one of the questions that arises is how do you prepare How is anticipation channeled In the passage for the Second Sunday of Advent from Paul rsquo s
Posted inThe Good Word
Was Jesus Mistaken?
On November 15 I posted Apocalypse Now in which nbsp I stated that ldquo there is one line however that we must return to in another post ndash lsquo truly I tell you this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place rsquo – for it is a promise difficult to interp
Posted inThe Good Word
Advent
I love the Christmas season even if prior to becoming a Catholic I tried to invent it myself nbsp Admittedly it was an inchoate creation based upon buying little treats each week which I would hide away in preparation for Christmas day These were not mind you gifts for family members just
Posted inThe Good Word
Happy Thanksgiving!
It does not seem proper to leave the Good Word alone on Thanksgiving particularly with the last post clinging to the top of the list I have meant to post earlier but the end of semester and the Society of Biblical Literature meeting in New Orleans gobbled up my time Thanks so much for reading
Posted inThe Good Word
How Stupid Is The Conservative Bible Project? (2)
I took a course on law in high school In a mock trial I was haranguing a witness and I can still remember my teacher blurting out John you rsquo re flogging a dead horse I thought I might be flogging a dead horse with my first entry on the Conservative Bible Project CBP but I think there
Posted inThe Good Word
Apocalypse Now?
I have a feeling that this week rsquo s readings were not geared to the Hollywood release date of 2012 but it works out well for those with apocalypse on the mind The first reading from Daniel 12 1-3 and the second reading from Mark 13 24-32 a chapter known to scholars as the little apocalyps
Posted inThe Good Word
Hebrews 9:24-28
I am not privy to the ways of the lectionary either ancient or modern and sometimes I see the connections clearly between the readings and sometimes I do not I had a hard time making sense of how Hebrews 9 24-28 fits with the other readings for the Thirty Second Sunday and the responsorial Psalm
Posted inThe Good Word
It’s the End of the World as I know it (and I feel fine)
The first reading for the Solemnity of All Saints is Revelation 7 2-4 9-14 what has been omitted from this reading verses 5-8 is simply the listing of the 12 tribes of Israel by name and the numeration of the 12 000 called from each tribe The reading as it appears in the lectionary begins with
Posted inThe Good Word
How Stupid is the Conservative Bible Project?
No my title for this post is a good one and fair Michael Sean Winters writing at the In All Things blog has drawn readers rsquo attention to the Conservative Bible Project CBP The project is perhaps worse than he suggests The CBP first came to my attention through an e-mail sent by my co