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Are we called to suffering?

Are we called to suffering?

What does it mean when we say we’re called to suffering? Does it mean that we should allow ourselves to be victimized or that God approves when we are abused? Here are Greg’s thoughts on this topic.

Related Reading

Is Having the “Right” Theology the Core of Christianity?

Last week, we posted a piece by Greg that challenges the practice being violent “in the name of Jesus” toward others who err theologically. (Click here to read this post.) Being that this piece got a lot of attention, we thought it worthwhile to provide some further explication to this point, especially in the light…

Jesus Did Not Teach Ethical Behavior

Image by  a2gemma via Flikr Paul teaches that love is not rude (1 Corinthians 13:4–5). If we forget that the New Testament is about the new life given us in Jesus Christ, we easily misinterpret this passage to be an ethical injunction. We read it saying, “Thou shall not be rude.” So in sincere obedience we set…

The Gift of Bearing Witness

Eustaquio Santimano via Compfight Our friend, Jonathan Martin, was featured in She Loves Magazine in a piece he wrote called At Least One Person Waiting. It’s an extraordinary reflection on sitting with the ones we love when they are suffering and we are powerless. From Jonathan’s reflection: We all have different skills, different things to…

Reflections on Divine Violence in the Old Testament

As some of you know, for the last five years I’ve been working on a book addressing the problem of divine violence in the OT. (For alleged violence in the NT, see Thomas R. Yoder Neufeld, Killing Enmity: Violence in the New Testament (Baker Academic, 2011).  It will be a highly academic tome, approximately 600…

How Should We Respond to Bullies?

Greg answers a question from parents as to how their child should respond to a bully.

Believing the Best About Political Opponents

The surprising election of Donald Trump to President of the United Stated has exposed a profound, anger-filled divide running through the center of the American population. I would like to speak to the many Christians who are on the side of the divide that is outraged by his victory. In light of the offensive things Trump…