Matthew interprets Isaiah creatively, not in keeping with what Isaiah meant. The child’s birth is not miraculous in Isaiah, but the deliverance of Judah from a military coalition is.
New Testament
The “Pete Ruins Christmas” Series: For Unto Us A Child Is Born
Jesus isn’t true because he is miraculously predicted 700+ years before his birth. Rather, because Jesus is true, Israel’s story gets reframed around him.
“Come Worship our Crucified God”: Not the Best Lead for Starting an Ancient Religion
“Hi everyone! The one we worship was crucified by the Romans. Come follow us.” This might not be the best way to start a religion in the ancient world.
Why It’s Important that Jesus Didn’t Know Everything
Much is at stake theologically for Jesus not knowing everything. It means grappling with the implications of the incarnation, no matter how challenging those implications may be to our own theology.
Zacchaeus: A Story of How to Get Saved—Every Day
If we think of salvation as a one-time deal, a transaction with God, the ways that the Bible speaks of salvation, save, savior, etc. (Old and New Testaments) won’t make very much sense—like this story of Zacchaeus.
Land and the Transformation of Israel’s Story in the New Testament
The early followers of Jesus, like the Gospel writers and Paul, took up the challenge of transforming Israel’s scripture—with its focus on Land, Temple, and Law—to connect it to the story of Jesus, where those elements were no longer central.
3 Simple Things I’m Learning About the Lord’s Prayer
I’m really getting to like the Lord’s Prayer. Not in the slightest bit boring. Here are three things in particular have struck me these past couple of weeks (even though the prayer has a lot more going for it that just three things).
Does Jesus Disagree with Himself?
Hahaha. Funny meme. But seriously. Many of us have been taught to think something along these lines, that the Gospels are basically on the same page and any differences are either imagined or inconsequential. Maybe. That works for some things. But the problem with that way of thinking is that it presumes that “saying the same thing” […]
Forgetting Jesus—a Christmas resolution
A few years ago, 10 perhaps, I was at an academic conference that featured a debate of sorts on the resurrection of Christ between N. T. Wright and John Dominic Crossan, well-known scholar of early Christianity. I say “debate of sorts” because I think the evening was billed to be a dual between the forces […]
Paul, Adam, and Salvation: maybe Augustine really did screw everything up and we should just move on
I just caught a 2015 article scrolling down my Facebook feed by Orthodox theologian (and walking thesaurus) David Bentley Hart. The article is called “Traditio Deformis,” and in it Hart explains in no uncertain terms, and with his usual wit and punch, that St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430) really screwed up our understanding of the story of the “fall” of […]
