The Bible
Exploring the dark, redemptive, thorny, beautiful literature of God’s people
FEATURED POST
Preaching the Household Codes in the #MeToo Era
I need your help to get a new book published… #ChristianBookKickstarter
My new book: Fandoms & Faithful Reading, is coming-out via Substack! BUT, I need your help (with a few clicks) to get it published to a wider audience in a traditional book format.
It’s Hard to Write a Novel about Jesus
My first book looks at how Victorian novelists explored the Incarnation through fiction. In doing so, they shifted the focus from what Jesus did to who Jesus was: a real man in real history.
Literate But Not Literary: Learning to Re-Read the Bible
Being literate but not literary is a problem that plagues readers of the Bible. Watch & Listen as I explain why using a re-reading of the Binding of Isaac in Genesis 22 as an example.
Have Christians profoundly misunderstood the Pharisees?
Have Christians profoundly misunderstood the Pharisees? What if they were actually insightful and humane interpreters of scripture, breaking down barriers between the Temple and the populace because they believed holiness was for everyone, not just the elite?
God with Us
Mary’s son was not the first time God dwelt with humans. An Advent Reading originally published in George Fox Universities’ Advent Project 2021.
Is the Bible Safe for Sunday School?
Christianity…particularly Protestant Christianity…and particularly Evangelical Christianity claims to take the Bible “seriously.” Yet, we seldom trust the text, particularly the harder passages, and particularly when our children are involved.
Celebrating a Badass Princess: Esther & the Feast of Purim
[Guest Post] A 10 Year old girl inhabits Esther’s story as we celebrate a two-day holiday dedicated to a girl whose courage and determination saved herself and her people.
Backstory Pt 3-of-3: Practicing Sabbath
My families’ journey to Practicing Sabbath… I watched as my daughter set the table and chose the nicest hand-painted plates. Upon finishing her work she smiled and said, “There, now we’re ready to welcome our special time.”
Backstory Pt 2-of-3: Remember the Sabbath Day, keep it holy…
My children dust, vacuum, clean the bathrooms, and do all the laundering every Friday morning just because they are so committed to PRACTICING SABBATH together. How did this happen?
It all began when my kids started discovered the 10 Commandments, or the 4th one at least.
Backstory Pt 1-of-3: Bats & the Bible (how our family started practicing Sabbath)
“You mean, if all those stupid people…had only…been smart and…listened to God….and done what the Bible said…then I wouldn’t have to stay home? Read the full story of my son discovering that bats aren’t kosher and how that is changing our family rhythms.
What does it mean to be blessed? and what was Jacob wrestling for?
Depending on how you look at it, Jacob is a pretty lucky man… He’s become rich off the herds of his father-in-law Laban. He has 2 wives, 2 concubines, and many children. His household is marked by wealth. If this isn’t blessing, what is?
The binding of Isaac & the dance between Faithfulness & Righteousness
A Homily for the St. Michael – San Miguel Episcopal Church in Newberg, Oregon. Lessons from the Lectionary readings for the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost.
John 21, A Narrative Approach | Jesus, His Friend Peter, and Us
What is your favorite story about Jesus?
Jesus cooking breakfast on the beach for Peter, in the Gospel of John’s final chapter is one of mine.
The Bible & The Novel: The Gospel of Mark 11-16 (& Netflix’s Messiah)
Ever wished there was a gospel written specifically for those really bleak, hopeless moments when all appears lost? A gospel writer that seems to...
The Bible & The Novel: Mark’s Gospel (& Netflix’s Messiah)
Resurrecting Jesus from the fog of familiarity can be hard—so hard, in fact, that we often gloss over the way each individual gospel text portrays...
Preaching the Household Codes in the #MeToo Era
Sometimes the Bible can be really difficult, especially when it talks about things like wives submitting to their husbands and slaves submitting to their masters. These “household codes” seem antiquated at best, and downright offensive at worst…
The Bible & The Novel: Netflix’s Messiah (& Mark’s Gospel)
Stories that reimagine Jesus, considering what his life would look like if lived in the modern world, have a long history in the Christian...
The Bible & the Novel: Ruth & Marilynne Robinson’s Lila
Too often texts fall silent because we think we know the story. Or because we find the barriers of time, place, and culture insurmountable. At...
The Professor and the Pastor — An Experiment in Conversational Preaching
What happens when two trained theologians—one a pastor and one a literary scholar—work together to preach a text? Calls for...
#metoo
But of course… me too. This month’s scandal of a powerful man, Harvey Weinstein, using that power to manipulate, harass, and assault women spread...
Making Old Truths New: Jesus and the Transgressive New Story
I recently got to be the keynote speaker for Saints and Scholars on the importance of literature for the church. As part of that, I found myself...
What do you want to be when you grow up?
“What do you want to be when you grown up?” This question is the favorite for primary school programs and end-of-academic year reflection. The...
God Has a Plan for Your Life—And It Might Be Horrible!
I hate it when well-meaning people tell me that God has a plan for my life. Why do I hate it, you might ask? Because it is exactly what I’m afraid...
Creation is Good (but my kid’s bible got it wrong!)
A few nights ago, I was reading a popular children’s Bible with my kids. We read through the creation story describing how God made the light,...
The End of Narrative
I have often wanted to ask my theologian-friends if narratives can exist apart from sin. I use the word sin because of its suggestion of brokenness,...
God Sucking a Nipple
August was world breastfeeding month, which meant that breastfeeding―and controversies surrounding feeding (especially in public) helped fill the...
What I learned in my First Half Marathon
I recently ran my first half-marathon...well, “jogged” is a more accurate verb since I run very, very slowly—but I ran/jogged the whole thing....
Jesus According to Charles Dickens
Between 1846 and 1849 Charles Dickens wrote The Life of Our Lord, a simplified version of Jesus’ life for his children, who ranged in age from...