Christians have long discussed and debated the best way to approach the Bible. In my own tradition, United Methodism, there is considerable ongoing debate about how best to interpret Scripture. I often hear claims that seem to have no relationship to our stated positions as a church. The debate, moreover, tends to devolve into whether…
Okay… so the title is a little ambitious… And yes, we mix up forth-telling and foretelling, BUT COME ON THEY SOUND JUST ALIKE! Anyway, in this episode, we take on prophecy, both biblical and contemporary. Let us know what you think. You can find the podcast here on iTunes, and here on Player F.M. And…
It’s been a long time coming, but it’s finally available for purchase: The Bible and Disability: A Commentary, ed. Sarah J. Melcher, Mikeal C. Parsons, and Amos Yong. I just received my author’s copy in the mail today (I wrote the section on Luke-Acts). It will be available in stores October 1, 2017, but you can order in…
Years ago, as part of my process for ordination, I was being interviewed by a committee. My interlocutors and I were talking about the resurrection of Jesus. One of them asked me, “How do you see resurrections in your own life?” It wasn’t a bad question, and I know the person who asked it meant…
This is a brief section of a book on biblical interpretation that I’ve been working on. If you have constructive comments and criticism, I’d be glad to receive feedback. We need to know who the true God is and what this God has done for us. We need to know this because it is more…
The fundamentalist reader and the modern biblical scholar using historico-critical methods are the obverse and reverse of the same coin. They are concerned with the Bible as fact, as real history; so the focus is on the truth behind the text, the exact reference of the words and narratives. Compared with early Christian interpretation, this…
How do we reckon with passages of the Bible that seem inconsistent with the way Christ wishes us to behave and think? In what ways does the Bible reflect the divine will, and in what ways does it bear the marks of fallen humanity? What are we to think when the Bible offers us two…
Your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins. This is what Paul teaches us in 1 Corinthians 15:17. Our entire salvation depends upon the resurrection of Christ. As we enter into Holy Week, there will be a number of posts in social media about how the resurrection of Christ is a metaphor…
Evangelicalism is changing. This is not necessarily bad. Traditions inevitably change over time. Right now, the change I see in evangelicalism relates mainly to the prevailing view of the nature and function of scripture. This could have massive consequences for the future of the movement. There are of course many different ways to define an…
I’ve been writing down some theological reflections on Mark’s gospel. Perhaps at some point these will constitute the makings of a short book, but for now they’re just reflections. Here are some brief thoughts on the scribes and Pharisees in Mark. I’d appreciate any constructive feedback you have. Let’s clear something up about the scribes and…