Lighten Up: Jesus VS The World

A Foolish and Weak-Looking God January 31, 2017

The New Testament assumes that the God of Israel and the God revealed in Jesus Christ are one and the same God. But there also can be no question that the portrait of God that was unveiled when the Messiah arrived on the scene was in some respects quite different from what the OT had…

Does God Have a Dark Side? February 10, 2014

In the previous post, I argued that we ought to allow the incarnate and crucified Christ to redefine God for us rather than assume we know God ahead of time and then attempt to superimpose this understanding of God onto Christ. When we do this, I’ve argued, we arrive at the understanding that the essence…

Look at Jesus December 2, 2012

Here’s a lovely reflection by N.T. Wright for your Sunday. When in doubt, look at Jesus. You can’t go wrong.

What I Am, and Am Not, Doing In These Blog Posts March 18, 2013

In this post I’d like to try to help some potentially frustrated readers by explaining what I am, and am not, trying to accomplish in this series on the violent portraits of God in the OT. First let me explain something. My forthcoming book, The Crucifixion of the Warrior God, fleshes out and defends a…

You’re Not a Pacifist Are You? November 20, 2013

 Jayel Aheram via Compfight Brian Zahnd wrote a great piece the other day on this topic. He contends that when he is asked this question, it often has the same flavor of the question, “You’re not a pornographer are you?” Why is this question so contentious among believers? Brian has some interesting ideas about it.…

Lighten Up: Worst Evangelism Idea EVER February 7, 2014

This is profoundly confusing. Has this ever inspired anyone to become a Jesus-follower? We’re thinking no. Especially if it was left in place of a tip at a restaurant.