Posted by Mary Hess on 11/1/2014 1:00 AM
Podcast discussion features Kathryn Schifferdecker, Cameron Howard and Mary Hess. Article written by Mary Hess.
It is difficult to write a short piece about a term like “justice” in the Bible, because the concept is at once so central to the entire Bible, and yet so far from our contemporary understandings of that term.
We have to start with the fundamental heartbeat of the biblical text, a thrum which underlines our relationship with a living God who continues to reveal Godself to a …
Posted by Eric Barreto on 10/15/2014 3:16 PM
Eric Barreto, Associate Professor of New Testament at Luther Seminary, talks about Jesus and widows in Luke 7 and Luke 21.
"Wealth and possession in Luke isn't just about the money you have in your checking account, isn't just about the ability to buy bread every day. It's also about power, and our ability to live in this world in all its fullness," said Dr. Barreto.
Posted by Alan Padgett on 10/1/2014 5:00 AM
Podcast discussion with Kathryn Schifferdecker, Cameron Howard and Alan Padgett. Article written by Alan G. Padgett.
When I converted to Christianity as a young man, I was new to the Bible and to the social conventions of the evangelical Baptist Church I soon joined. My long, flowing locks were troubling to many of my new church community (not to say my attire and attitudes) and I was approached by some who made the case that I should cut my hair. They did so on the basis of a single verse (1 Corinthians …
Posted by Eric Barreto on 9/10/2014 11:17 AM
Eric Barreto provides insight on Matthew 20 -- the parable of the landowner and the day laborers -- and what it tells us about God’s justice.
Watch this brief video to find out how different readers come to different conclusions around the same parable.
Tags: Justice, God, Matthew 20, class, ethnicity, interpretation, parable, landowner, Jesus, Videos, Eric Barreto
Posted by Amy Marga on 9/1/2014 6:00 AM
Podcast discussion with Eric Barreto, Cameron Howard and Amy Marga. Article written by Amy Marga.
The Bible has quite a bit to say about sex. It depicts the benefits of human sexuality as well as its use as a tool of power that protects male honor. However, the only template for human sexuality in the Bible is God’s faithfulness to humanity as God’s covenant partner.
The Hebrew people gave sexual activity a worthy purpose: it was to provide families with children and increase Israel’s …
Posted by Kathryn M. Schifferdecker on 8/4/2014 12:53 PM
Kathyrn Schifferdecker, Luther Seminary associate professor of Old Testament, talks about the conversation that God has with Job in Job 38.
"These speeches can easily be read as God beating Job down," said Schifferdecker. She also talks about how the divine speeches can also be seen as a way to view the creation, and humanity's place within that world.
"God shows all this to Job ... to expand his vision, to see the beautiful and wild and ordered world that God has created," said Schifferdecker. …
Posted by Matt Skinner on 8/1/2014 6:21 AM
Podcast discussion with Eric Barreto, Cameron Howard and Matt Skinner.
Article written by Matt Skinner.
Can we experience unified communities and faithful living when people disagree? If Christians take differing positions on ethical issues or can’t agree about a particular course of action, have they failed at listening to the Holy Spirit?
We do not always hear the Holy Spirit as an unmistakably uniform voice. What if that’s part of how the Spirit works? What if Christians can still …
Posted by Enter the Bible on 7/8/2014 11:50 AM
Dr. James Boyce offered the following notes in his Lay School of Theology class in Spring 2012, "How the Bible Came to Us: Its Writing, Use, and Authority."
See the June 2014 Bible Reading Tip for more from this presentation.
ReadING assumptions
- We all interpret when we read.
The church has from the beginning and still regularly differs in its hearing of Scripture
- We debate meaning for today.
- Experience and knowledge matter.
Meaning comes out of reading the Scriptures, …
Posted by Matt Skinner on 7/8/2014 8:29 AM
Matt Skinner, Luther Seminary associate professor of New Testament, talks about the words that Paul passes along in 1 Thessalonians 5 to encourage Christians in their everyday life with one another.
Posted by Michael J. Chan on 7/1/2014 5:39 AM
Podcast discussion featuring Eric Barreto, Michael Chan, Terri Martinson Elton, and Cameron Howard. Article written by Michael Chan.1
One day after class, a colleague asked about the day’s lecture topic. “Esther,” I replied. Smiling, she announced that Esther was her preschool daughter’s favorite story. “It’s a delightful story,” I said agreeably. Despite my cheery tone, I was quite certain that the version of Esther I discussed in class was not the same …