Buddy Walk

My family and I participated in the Dayton area 2010 Buddy Walk yesterday. The Buddy Walk is an event that occurs all over the country to raise awareness and promote inclusion of people with Down Syndrome. There were several folks from the UTS community there who are not directly affected by DS but who came…

The Disabled God

This work began as Nancy Eiesland’s master’s thesis, but eventually became a classic work in the area of theology and disability. At less than 120 pages of text, it functions essentially as a programmatic call to rethink assumptions, practices, and theological models that are harmful to persons with disabilities. The actual constructive theological proposal is…

New book on Bible and disability

Some time ago, I read Amos Yong’s book, Theology and Down Syndrome. As noted in one of the posts below, I found this book extremely helpful. Recently, Prof. Yong was kind enough to send me a manuscript of his forthcoming book, The Bible, Disability, and the Church: A New Vision for the People of God.…

Should we preach on Mark’s longer ending?

After reading James Sanders’ Torah and Canon, I made my way through its brief companion and sequel, Canon and Community. Sanders holds that historical critics, whether they meant to or not, have effectively “de-canonized” parts of the Bible. If some part of the Bible is deemed to be an interpolation, spurious, or somehow later than…

A Masterpiece

I read James Sanders’ Torah and Canon during my first year of PhD work, but I don’t think I really appreciated it in the manner which it deserves. Recently, I reread it in my research on canon, and I’m very glad I did. Sanders demonstrates various ways in which Israel’s scriptures functioned in the lives…

The New Testament as Canon

I’ve been reading in the field of canonical criticism lately. When one begins to research in this area, Brevard Childs and James Sanders are at the top of the reading list. There are a number of other fine scholars who have done work in this field, however. One fine book that I recommend is by…

Upcoming lectures at UTS

We have some very nice lectures coming up at United in spring 2011. On March 27-28 we will have the first of what is planned to be an ongoing church renewal conference called “Light the Fire!” and the keynote speaker will be Leonard Sweet. We’ll also have Walter Brueggemann later that spring–May 11, to be…

Wesley, Wesleyans, and Reading Bible as Scripture

by Joel B. Green  (Author, Editor), David F. Watson (Author, Editor) The theology of John Wesley has proven exceedingly influential in the religious and spiritual lives of Wesley’s followers and his critics. However, Wesley did not leave behind a written doctrine on scripture. This collection presents an array of diverse approaches to understanding John Wesley’s…

The Messianic Secret

In 1901, William Wrede publish a book that we call in English The Messianic Secret. He called attention to passages, particularly in Mark, in which Jesus tried to conceal his deeds and identity, or in other ways tried to escape the public eye. Wrede’s book was very controversial in its own time, and the passages…