In Cardinal Sean O rsquo Malley rsquo s Blog entry On Senator Kennedy rsquo s Funeral one line stood out for me our task is to build a civilization of love This has ever been the task of the Church especially when teaching hard truths that run counter to the tenor of the culture and the politi
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
Church Music
Years ago as a teenager I used to listen to the music of Larry Norman perhaps the first of the Jesus rockers Norman now deceased has been the source of much controversy in the Christian rock world including an unflattering portrait in a recent documentary film One thing that could not be sai
Posted inThe Good Word
Memorial of Saint Augustine, bishop and doctor of the Church
A few years ago a reading group to which I belong took on the task of reading The City of God by St Augustine Every Friday we would meet to discuss the twenty pages we had set for ourselves that week the next week we would move on to the next twenty pages By the time the academic year was windi
Posted inThe Good Word
“Wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything”
I consider myself a rather conservative scholar on matters of interpretation though honestly I do not think labels such as conservative or liberal ought to be applied to interpretation of the Scriptures The real issue in interpreting the Scriptures the major dividing line is whether one
Posted inThe Good Word
“Watch Carefully How You Live:” Ephesians 5:15-20
The second reading for the Twentieth Sunday in ordinary time continues with Ephesians chapter 5 15-20 and the exhortation for holy living The NAB translates the first phrase in v 15 as watch carefully how you live which the NRSV translates be careful then how you live I like the translation
Posted inThe Good Word
God’s Bailout (and Ours)
The Gospel reading for the Thursday of the Nineteenth Week of Ordinary Time Matthew 18 21-19 1 comes at the end of what is generally considered to be the fourth discourse in Matthew the Church or Ecclesial discourse The parable that is told is found only in Matthew rsquo s Gospel and is told by
Posted inThe Good Word
Memorial of St. Clare, a “Little One”
I must admit that I do not know much about St Clare whose Memorial we celebrate today though I had the distinct joy of spending a January day wandering with my wife and youngest son through Assissi in 2008 and learning something about St Francis and St Clare I have only the knowledge I gained
Posted inThe Good Word
The Clarity of God’s Ways
Some passages seem to need so much commentary to enter into their complex recesses to pull out hidden guidance while others seem to hide their wisdom in plain view shimmering on the surface Let s try this one as a test case All bitterness fury anger shouting and revilingmust be removed from
Posted inThe Good Word
Parenthood & the Transfiguration
I always remember the Feast of the Transfiguration for my oldest child was born on August 6 1988 August 6 the date on which we celebrate the Transfiguration became the date that my life was changed I became a parent In many ways of course there is no comparison between my experience which
Posted inThe Good Word
Have You Been Transformed?
Have I been transformed Have you been transformed In both 2 Corinthians 5 17 so if anyone is in Christ there is a new creation everything old has passed away see everything has become new and Galatians 6 15 for neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything but a new creation is e