Tag Archives: Jesus
Is God Dead?
This weekend our inclination is to move right to Sunday, with its spring flowers, chocolates, and promise of new life. On Friday we might pause to reflect a moment on the cruel reality of death, but by Saturday our sights are already set on the morrow, preparing our Sunday best, hiding eggs, planning to attend a celebratory service. Continue reading
Filed under Philosophy, Pub Theology, Theology
What Would Jesus Deconstruct?
The early church is a lot like the characters in the hit TV series Lost – the title is appropriate! – waiting to be “saved,” which is the soteriological significance of that show where everyone is given a new being, a fresh start. At first, the survivors hang around on the beach waiting to get “picked up” (in a cloud, St. Paul said). After a while, they conclude that the rescue is not going to happen anytime soon and so they reluctantly decide to dig in and prepare for the long haul. Hence the existence of the church is provisional – like a long-term substitute teacher – praying for the kingdom, whose coming Jesus announced and which everyone was expecting would come sometime soon. Continue reading
Filed under Culture, Economy, Philosophy, Politics, Pub Theology, Readings, The Text, Theology
Jesus in the Desert: A Midrash?
My community has been spending some time with Jesus in the desert for Lent. It is a powerful story of a desert experience – fasting, hunger, spiritual experience, temptation. I have tended to look at this story as a straightforward historical account, that Satan actually encountered Jesus in the desert in bodily form. The more I study and meditate on the text, however, its story elements seem to point more toward parable or midrash. Continue reading
Pub Theology Recap March 10
The topics:
1. How can deprivation connect us to God?
2. Ignatius: “We must never seek to establish a rule so rigid as to leave no room for exception.” Never?
3. Does God force people to believe in him? Or does he let them choose? Discuss the differences.
4. “Trust in God could impose an additional burden…” Could it? How so? Continue reading
Filed under Culture, Relationships, The Text, Theology
An Angry God?
If you’re a parent – when your child does something wrong, how does it make you feel? Upset. Let down. Maybe angry. But are you angry at the child, or, angry that they’ve made an unwise decision? Maybe sometimes it’s a mix of both…
It is often said that Jesus died to save us from God’s anger, God’s wrath. In other words, if it weren’t for Jesus, God would be ready to pounce, angrily and happily casting us all into hell.
So did God need to save us from himself? Continue reading
Filed under Readings, Relationships, The Text, Theology
