What if our modern theology of politics is far too simple—and dangerously wrong? The Bible doesn’t paint a picture where every ruler is handpicked by God in a neat, predictable way. Instead, it reveals a cosmic drama of spiritual powers, human leaders, and seats of authority that can be used for justice—or deeply abused. To…
In poorer communities, burial arrangements are sometimes just as last minute as the funeral. When someone passes away, the person may not have any arrangements made at all—no money for a casket, no plot of land to be buried in, and no life insurance to put things into place. They have to scramble for money…
When Saint Teresa of Avila died, the room was filled with a sweet scent of something akin to lilies—an odd, spiritual manifestation of smell that at least three friends of mine have experienced. But that wasn’t all that was reported to have happened with her passing. Apparently a nearby tree burst into bloom and a…
In her book, The Crucifixion, Fleming Rutledge fills in the fine details of the cross, reminding us of the full horrors Jesus had to endure on our behalf. First, the Romans would have stripped Jesus naked and tied him to a post (likely while making plenty of sexual jokes) and then flogged him with a…
Inaugurations are always spectacles. This was also true for Jesus’ inauguration as King of the Earth, but unlike the pomp and circumstance of most inaugurations, Jesus’ was a spectacle soaked in irony and insults. Yes, he wore a crown, but it was constructed out of thorns that jabbed into his scalp. Yes, he was given…
On August 2nd, 1990, Saddam Hussein ordered an invasion of Kuwait, which led to his soldiers breaking into Maurice Graham’s apartment, a missionary located in Kuwait City. Once the soldiers left, Maurice and his family managed a rather miraculous escape where they all crammed into a car and drove past soldiers who didn’t even seem…
After Jesus had been taken, Peter certainly went the distance to separate himself from Jesus. The third time he denied knowing Jesus, the Bible actually says he invoked a curse on himself. This often sounds dumb to us, as we imagine Peter wearing a witch hat and standing in front of a big boiling cauldron…
There’s a movie that likes to flashback to various moments in people’s lives to show you how all of the character’s pasts fit together in the plot. At one point the movie comedically zooms in on a water bottle and tells us all the things that happened to it since it was bought and how…
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What would you do if someone told you they were God? If you weren’t religious, you’d probably think they were crazy and laugh. But if you were religious, you’d likely be offended and appalled. The religious leaders were looking for any reason they could to kill Jesus and stop his movement. It didn’t matter that…
Trauma has a way of trickling down into our psyche and shading the world we see with dull colors. Even if we haven’t had anything overly traumatic happen to us specifically, we still find ourselves born into a world of trauma and carry it in our various national, ethnic, and socio-economic identities. As scholar Shelly…
Jamin Bradley 