What Killed Jesus Will Kill Us Too

History repeats itself, they say. They’re wrong. We’re just too stubborn to learn from history. The Maccabean period of Jewish history, which started with the revolt led by Judas Maccabeus in 167 B.C.E., is crucial in understanding the times in which Jesus lived and the New Testament was born. It also has a...

Beware of the Lions of Tribalism

When I was young I heard all the stories that make up the first part of the book of Daniel: Daniel and the Lion’s Den, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and the Fiery Furnace. Well, mainly those two. Not too much about the disembodied hand writing on the wall, even though that’s where we get the saying, “The...

Why God Hates Sameness

“Nature abhors a vacuum.” Or so we’ve been told. I read somewhere recently—I honestly can’t remember where—that some physicists or astronomists or quantum theorists or some other kind of -ists are questioning the foundation of that very firm law of the universe. But I don’t understand much of what I read by...

Why Different Doesn’t Matter

What distinction was Paul trying to make between the Law and faith in Romans? For years it was assumed that the Law was about earning your salvation while faith was about receiving it by grace. But Israelite religion was never about earning God’s favor—that favor was given to them through God’s choosing of...

One Kingdom, Many Languages

Apparently a lot of people were offended by Coke’s Super Bowl commercial, in which “America the Beautiful” was sung in eight different languages, one of which was Arabic. And because a good number of those who seem to be offended are evangelical Christians, I thought it might be good to take a look at what...