Like many people, I’ve been horrified at what has been happening in the war between Hamas and Israel. I find myself having deep conflicting feelings, emotions, and thoughts about what is happening. I am someone who is supportive and sympathetic to Israel and is quite critical and skeptical of Hamas. So, when this war broke […]
Our church is going through a series called “Wondering Why” where we are considering the question of, “If God is all knowing, all loving, and all powerful, why is there evil in the world?” The classic Biblical story that deals with this problem in depth is the Book of Job. If you haven’t read it, […]
Recently, I have seen lots of posts from people about immigration and how a Christian should think about immigration in America. As I read many of these posts, I have felt a conflict and maybe even a contradiction within myself. These feelings come up in relation to the deportation of immigrants who are here illegally […]
As a Christian who believes in an omniscient God, I’ve struggled with the idea of freedom/free will. How could I be truly free to do anything if God already knows what I’m going to do? If God knows what I’m going to do, then doesn’t that mean I have to do the thing that God […]
Instead of seeing prophets as primarily predictors of the future, Heschel wants us to see them as expositors of divine pathos. The prophets have a deep relationship with Yahweh and thus are attune to his emotional life. The Heschel quote for this paper states that a prophet is in “fellowship with the feelings of God”. […]
There are legitimate reasons for wanting to keep politics and religion separate. There are definitely ways of separating beliefs you have about the world into beliefs that are specifically religious. That being said, it is much more difficult and nuanced than it may seem for black communities to separate religion from political engagement. In some […]
One Christianity’s fiercest critics in recent history was none other than Malcolm X. Malcolm himself was a very religious man who admired and revered many figures in the Christian faith. He also was very familiar with the faith itself. His father was a pastor and Malcolm has spent much time studying the bible. This meant […]
In the ancient near east there were two common forms of treaties. One is the parity treatise, which happens between two social equals. The other is the suzerainty treatise, which is between the suzerain and their vassal. This latter form is the structure we see in the Sinai Covenant in Exodus 19-24. The suzerain treaty […]
One thing this class has made clear to me is that race is real. I’m not saying it’s real in any scientific or biological way, but real in the sense that people have different experiences in the United States, on account of their race. Thus, when thinking about effective and biblical ministry, it needs to […]
God’s church doesn’t have a mission, rather God’s mission has a church. I can’t underestimate the potency this change of perspective has had on my understanding of God’s mission on earth and my place in it. It has deepened and enriched my understanding of God’s fundamentally missional nature. It has also challenged some of my […]
Power of Words 