In this episode, we interview Dr. Anthony Le Donne (of our very own United Theological Seminary) and Larry Behrendt about their new book, Sacred Dissonance: The Blessing of Difference in Jewish-Christian Dialogue. You can check out Anthony’s blog here and Larry’s blog here. None of us had met Larry before, and it was a joy to get to know…
Two days ago I went to a funeral for Dr. Newell Wert, who served as Academic Dean of United Theological Seminary for over thirty years. Having been dean for not nearly that long, I can only say that the man must have had skin of iron a kevlar vest a bulletproof ego a very sturdy…
If you’re going to claim that Jesus is worthy, then, you’d better be ready for conflict. Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Matt 10:34). He knew what it would mean to adopt his teaching and values in the midst of a sinful world.
When I was a grad student, I wrote to a couple of different biblical scholars for some additional information on pieces they had written. One–whose name I won’t mention– responded with a dismissive one-sentence reply, as if he could hardly be bothered to spend another second dealing with someone as unimportant as me. The second…
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…
Noted New Testament scholar Craig A. Evans will speak at United on April 14th for the annual J. Arthur Heck Lectures. His topic is “Jesus Outside the Bible.” He will discuss not only non-canonical texts, but sources such as Suetonius and Josephus that mention Jesus. Dr. Evans is a prolific author and a highly respected…