Posts
Did Jesus Instruct Us to Arm Ourselves?
Category: General
Tags: Jesus, Kingdom Living, Non-Violence
Topics: Enemy-Loving Non-Violence
Verse: Luke 22
Over the past few posts, I’ve been dealing with the passages that are frequently used to argue how Jesus condoned violence. One of these takes place just after the last supper and just before Jesus and…
Jesus Came to Bring a Sword?
Category: General
Tags: Conflict, Jesus, Non-Violence, Peace
Topics: Enemy-Loving Non-Violence
Verse: Matthew 10
Jesus said: “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Mt 10:34). Some, both modern scholars along with church leaders…
Lighten Up: Imperfect People
Category: General
Just in case you were wondering if God could use you. Video credit: RightNow Media
Why Did Jesus Curse a Barren Fig Tree?
Category: General
Tags: Jesus, Non-Violence
Topics: Enemy-Loving Non-Violence
While no one argues that the NT advocates violence explicitly, many allege that some passages reflect violent attitudes toward outsiders, and especially toward non-believing Jews, while others detect an element of violence in some of…
Violent Parables?
Category: General
Tags: God's Character, Jesus, Non-Violence, Parables
Topics: Enemy-Loving Non-Violence
Some try to argue that Jesus did not make loving enemies and refraining from violence an absolute mandate. They make their case on the basis of several passages from the Gospels. The first concerns the…
Was Jesus Unloving Towards the Pharisees?
Category: General
Tags: Enemy Love, Jesus, Love
Topics: Enemy-Loving Non-Violence
Some claim that Jesus spoke to religious leaders in ways that did not reflect the love of the cross. In his climatic encounter with the Pharisees in Matthew 23, Jesus’ words were undeniably harsh. He…
The Cleansing of the Temple and Non-Violence
Category: General
Tags: Cross, Love, Non-Violence
Topics: Enemy-Loving Non-Violence
Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple is the most commonly cited example of those who allege that he did not absolutize loving enemies or refraining from violence. I submit that this episode implies nothing of the…
End of Year Reflection
Category: General
Tags: Kingdom, Kingdom Revolution, New Year, ReKnew, Thank You
As we approach the end of this year, I’d like to take a moment to personally thank all of you who are invested in ReKnew. Honestly, your prayers, your words of encouragement, and your financial…
The Accelerating Train
Category: General
Tags: Meaning, New Year, Resurrection, time
Topics: Faith & Doubt
If you aren’t experiencing it yet, you will. Each year goes by faster than the previous one. The reason is that, as you get older, each year is a smaller fraction of your life. I…
How to be Transformed
Category: General
Tags: Cataphatic Prayer, Imagination, Imaginative Prayer, Prayer, Rest, Transformation
We are transformed as we gaze upon the beauty and glory of God. Paul put it this way, “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image…
Your Prayers Matter
Category: General
Tags: Free Will, Open Theism, Prayer
My conviction is that many Christians do not pray as passionately as they could because they don’t see how it could make any significant difference. They pray, but they often do so out of sheer…
Merry Christmas from ReKnew
Category: General
Tags: Christmas, Daniel Bonnell, Eustace the Dragon
Bless you all as you celebrate the birth of Jesus today. Here’s another song by Eustace the Dragon to celebrate. Ten Grinches, plus two by Eustace the Dragon Said the night wind to the little…
The Cross in the Manger, Part 2
Category: General
Tags: Christmas, Cross, Jesus, Power, Upside-Down Kingdom
Topics: Christology
While some shepherds were tending their flock, an angel appeared to them announcing “good news that will cause great joy for all the people,” for it news about “a Savior…the Messiah, the Lord” (Lk 2:10-11)….
The Cross in the Manger
Category: General
Tags: Christmas, Cross, Incarnation, Jesus, Jürgen Moltmann, T. F. Torrance
Topics: Christology
There has been a strand within the Western theological tradition—one that is especially prevalent in contemporary American Evangelicalism—that construes the significance of the cross in strictly soteriological terms. The cross is central, in this view,…
Conservative/Liberal are not Theological Categories
Category: General
Tags: Jonathan Martin, Kingdom, Politics, Religion
We wanted to repost something by Jonathan Martin today that struck a chord with us about the theological emptiness of political boxes. It’s brief and beautifully written and we hope you’ll read the entire article…
Why Believe the Virgin Birth Accounts?
Category: General
Tags: Apologetics, Jesus, Reliability of the Gospels
Some skeptics claim that the story of the virgin birth of Jesus is derived from similar stories from pagan literature. While I won’t address here the details of the various parallels that some use to…
Christmas Music from Eustace the Dragon
Category: General
Tags: Christmas, Eustace the Dragon
Our friends Eustace the Dragon just released a second Christmas EP that we wanted to share with you. You can find the latest Christmas EP here, and you can find last year’s EP here. Merry Christmas…
A Non-Violent Creation
Category: General
Tags: Creation, Non-Violence, Peace, Warfare Worldview
Topics: Enemy-Loving Non-Violence
A biblical teaching that we often overlook regarding the centrality of non-violence concerns God’s original vision of creation. We have grown so accustomed to the violence we experience as a part of nature that we…
Faith or Magic?
Category: General
Tags: Covenant, Doubt, Faith, healing, Homosexuality, Magic, Salvation, Sin
Many Christians today treat faith like magic. While the content of what Christians believe is obviously different from pagan practitioners of magic, the way they believe and the motive they have for believing, seems to…