“Oh you mean when God was super angry and violent?” That was how one of my coworkers had described God’s behavior in the Old Testament. During my sophomore year at Biola, I worked part-time at Disneyland with people from all sorts of backgrounds. One night, while riding the shuttle back to the employee lot, I … Continue reading Is God A Violent Warrior?: A Look At “The Crucifixion of the Warrior God”
This is my Father’s world: Oh, let me ne’er forget That though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet. This is my Father’s world, The battle is not done: Jesus who died shall be satisfied, And earth and Heav’n be one. ~ Maltbie D. Babcock, "This Is My Father's World" I … Continue reading Let The Rapture Be Left Behind – Part 3
“Jesus's resurrection is the beginning of God's new project not to snatch people away from earth to heaven but to colonize earth with the life of heaven. That, after all, is what the Lord's Prayer is about.” ― N.T. Wright, "Surprised by Hope" If you have not yet read Part 1, read it first here. In … Continue reading Let The Rapture Be Left Behind – Part 2
I wish we'd all been ready Two men walking up a hill One disappears and one's left standing still I wish we'd all been ready There's no time to change your mind The Son has come and you've been left behind - Larry Norman, "I Wish We’d All Been Ready" Getting left behind. It was … Continue reading Let The Rapture Be Left Behind – Part 1
If you forget to buy candy for tomorrow tonight, I am sure you will certainly cringe with regret at each impending knock on your door. If that becomes you, know that you are not the only one regretting the knock on a door on October 31st. 500 years ago, the Catholic Church in Wittenberg, Germany experienced … Continue reading In Search of Reformation: 500 Years Later
My close friends know that I love aquariums and sea life. So, my wife and I bought a little 5-gallon fish tank a few months ago. This small tank has been hard to take care of because even the slightest change in temperature or chemical levels can harm for the fish. We had lost a … Continue reading The Beautiful Humanness of the Bible
There is probably a good chance that you are going to a Sunday service this weekend for Easter. And if so, you are probably going to be handed a little cracker and a cup of juice at some point in the service for communion. Have you ever wondered where we get the idea of the … Continue reading Message in a Meal: Passover and the Last Supper
