This is a guest post from Eric A. Seibert, adapted from Disarming the Church: Why Christians Must Forsake Violence to Follow Jesus and Change the World (Eugene, OR: Cascade 2018) In 1978, Michael Hart published an intriguing book titled The 100 in which he ranks the one hundred most influential people in history from his […]
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The Path of Wisdom: The Bible Actually Invites Us on a Quest
If we take Scripture seriously, we will find our expectations challenged & come to see that the Bible invites us to join an ancient sacred quest to follow the path of Wisdom.
King David, Time Travel, and Whoa, What the Heck is Going on Here!?
It was more important to these ancient editors who produced the Old Testament to preserve conflicting traditions and put them together somehow, even if awkwardly, than to eliminate them for the sake of achieving logical coherence.
There are No Contradictions in the Bible (Yeah, You Heard Me)
1. If I say, “I hate oatmeal” and then turn to someone else and say “I love oatmeal,” I am contradicting myself. 2. If I said 20 years ago “I hate oatmeal” and now say “I love oatmeal,” I am not contradicting myself. Rather my view of oatmeal changed over time. 3. If I say […]
Can We Cool It with Whole Marcionite Accusation Thing? Thanks.
To say that there are two Gods, one of the Old Testament and one of the New, is Marcionism. To say that the one God is portrayed in various—even conflicting—ways is simply a matter of reading the Bible in English.
Why Abraham Pimps Out His Wife and His Wife Pimps Out Her Slave (or, This Week’s Children’s Bible story)
While I don’t think there is any intention here to present Abraham as a model of virtue, neither do I think Abraham is simply kicking into fight-or-flight reptilian brain mode.
Who’s Up for A Little New Testament Quiz? (Sure you are. Do it.)
We’re in finals week here at Eastern University, so I am in testing/grading mode. So here you go (all answers must be completed in the space provided): What do all of the following words have in common? baptism centurion crucifixion demons devil exorcism Gentile messiah Pharisee rabbi Roman Sadducee Samaritan synagogue tax collector If you […]
For Those of You Wondering Why I Interpret the Bible the Way I Do (Which I Assume Means the Entire Internet)
In an effort to clarify for both crazy and non-crazy readers alike, here are 5 words that summarize my approach to biblical interpretation, in no particular order.
Facebook Live with Pete Enns: Jesus and the Old Testament
Questions that Pete addresses in this Facebook Live video: In the Christian’s common understanding of Isaiah 52 and 53 referring to Jesus the Messiah, is that an accurate and fair application? How do I talk to friends about double predestination? Where is the line drawn between prophecy and creative use of scripture? If Adam and the Genesis […]
What Permanently Screwed Me Up about the Bible (but it turned out well)
The New Testament writers had a habit of saying things about the Old Testament that are not in the Old Testament but are in these creative, Jewish writings of the period.
