Violence
Are You Guilty of Marcionism?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Bible, Cruciform Theology, Heresy, Jesus, Non-Violence, Old Testament, Violence
Topics: Interpreting Violent Pictures and Troubling Behaviors
Greg responds to the question of whether or not his cruciform hermeneutic is anything like the heresy of Marcion, who basically advocated throwing out the Old Testament. (Spoiler: it’s not.)
The Phinehas vs. Jesus Conundrum
Category: Essays
Tags: Cruciform Theology, Essay, Jesus, OT Violence, Phinehas, Violence
Topics: Interpreting Violent Pictures and Troubling Behaviors
I’ll be frank. This is not a blog that will be easy for some people to read. But it’s a blog I believe every follower of Jesus should read – even if you have to…
The REAL Problem with Divine Violence in the OT
Category: Essays
Tags: Bible, Crucifixion of the Warrior God, Cruciform Theology, Essay, God, Jesus, Violence
Topics: Interpreting Violent Pictures and Troubling Behaviors
As I mentioned in my previous blog, while I will continue to offer video-blogs responding to questions that come in, I’m also planning on sprinkling in reflections based on my forthcoming book, Crucifixion of the…
Reflections on Divine Violence in the Old Testament
Category: Essays
Tags: Cruciform Theology, Essay, Jesus, Love, Old Testament, Picture of God, Violence
Topics: Interpreting Violent Pictures and Troubling Behaviors
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…
Uncrossed
Category: General
Tags: David R. Henson, Jesus, Mark Driscoll, Picture of God, Religious Idolatry, Violence
Did any of you catch SNL this weekend? They did a parody of Tarantino’s DJango Unchained called DJesus Uncrossed. Many were deeply offended by the depiction of Jesus in this, but David R. Henson blogged…
Cruciform Aikido Pt 1: Jesus and the Violent God
Category: General
Tags: Cruciform Theology, Old Testament, Violence
Note: Today, we are beginning a 4-part series on the subject of divine judgement called “Cruciform Aikido.” We will be publishing this once a week alongside Greg’s introduction to ReKnew series. When most people think of God…
God’s Warriors
Category: Sermons and Video Clips
Tags: Politics, Violence
Greg’s ideas on faith and politics were featured in the Peabody Award-winning CNN Presents: God’s Warriors. Watch the full video below. For more information, including behind the scenes footage, visit God’s Warriors – Special Reports from CNN.com.
Caught Between Two Conflicting Truths
Category: General
Tags: Cruciform Theology, Jesus, Old Testament, Scripture, Violence
In my previous blog I tried to show that adopting a “Christocentric” approach to Scripture isn’t adequate, as evidenced by the fact that people adopting this approach often come to radically different conclusions. In fact, it seems…
The Magi and an Arbitrary Massacre
Category: General
Tags: Problem of Evil, Violence
On a cool fall night in Bethlehem, late in the 34th year of the reign of king Herod, a peasant family of five sleeps quietly in a one room shanty at the edge of town….
Should churches have armed security guards?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Christian Life, Church, Peacemaking, Q&A, Social Issues, Violence
Topics: Enemy-Loving Non-Violence, Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
Question: Recently (December, 2007) a security guard at New Life Church in Colorado Springs shot and apparently killed a man who was shooting people in the church parking lot. The pastor (Brady Boyd) hailed her…
Does the Bible teach total non-violence?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Christian Life, Peacemaking, Q&A, Social Issues, Violence
Topics: Enemy-Loving Non-Violence
I wouldn’t say the whole Bible teaches non-violence, for you find Yahweh engaging in quite a bit of violence in the Old Testament. But I would say that the whole Bible clearly presents non-violence as…
What did Jesus mean when he said he came not to bring peace, but a sword (Mt 10:34)?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Christian Life, Q&A, Social Issues, Violence
Topics: Enemy-Loving Non-Violence
Verse: Matthew 10
Given Jesus’ uniform teaching about loving enemies and abstaining from violence, and given that his followers were known for their refusal to engage in violence for the first three hundred years of church history, it’s…
Can Christians serve in the military?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Christian Life, Peacemaking, Q&A, Social Issues, Violence
Topics: Enemy-Loving Non-Violence, Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
Question: Jesus ministered to military people (e.g. a centurion) and didn’t tell them to leave their military post. So do you think Christians can serve in the military? I believe it’s a Christians duty is…