Been teaching a very fun introductory course on the Gospels, which in turn has provoked some excellent questions from the class. This one came up the other day – after an examination of Jesus’ ministry of casting out demons – and I thought I’d share. And I would like to begin my answer by thanking...
Tag: Jesus
Understanding the Bible 27: Who Truly Belongs to the Community of Salvation?
One of the most troubling images in Jesus’s teaching is the sorting of the sheep and the goats (the “sheep” being the “righteous” who are rewarded with eternal life, the goats the “unrighteous” condemned to punishment). At first glance the stakes appear to be “heaven” and “hell,” with our human actions the determining factor in...
Understanding the Bible 22: Why It Matters Jesus Can Calm a Storm at Sea
While the biblical story centers on God’s rescue of humanity, Gen. 3 (the Garden of Eden story) makes is clear that the entire cosmos has been affected by the curse of sin. Nature itself is broken, and thus the project of salvation must include the restoration the entire created order. In this episode we take...