To say that Jesus is Lord is to echo one the earliest and most basic Christian confessions. Lordship language came right out of the Roman culture: Caesar claimed for himself the titles “son of God” and “Lord.” To claim the…
Jerry Falwell Jr., Franklin Graham and the sad effects of terrorism on Christianity
The goal of terrorism is far more complex and far more sinister than just the taking of human life, as painful and devastating as that is. It is to instill a fear — a terror — in those who bear…
Are we finally witnessing the death of Christianity in America?
Several months ago a Pew Research study sparked what almost seem like shouts of glee from those who were eager to declare the impending death of Christianity in America. According to the report, Millennials are leaving the Church in droves…
Santa, Elmo and Jesus
By R. Kevin Johnson Over Thanksgiving dinner this year, our friends asked my wife and me about striking a balance between secular and sacred influences during the holidays. They wanted to know about the “magical” part of this season and…
Looking for the ‘real’ Jesus
By Joe LaGuardia In the last 200 years of biblical research, scholars have outlined various “quests” for the historical Jesus. Each quest accompanies new insights into historical records and artifacts that emphasize some never-before-understood facet about Jesus of Nazareth. The…
Congregations without vision cannot see Jesus
Seeing Jesus is a powerful image in the New Testament. Matthew 25:37-40 as an example says, “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink?…
Who represents Jesus? It may not be who you think!
Who best represents Jesus? Those who profess Jesus as Savior, but side with the elite, the powerful, the rich, the oppressors? Or those who stand up for and stand with the little ones? Who is actually for Jesus and who…
If Jesus ran for president
First of all, I want to note that I don’t think Jesus would ever run for President of the United States. It wasn’t his thing. He didn’t come as a great political Messiah, and often he seemed ambivalent to the…
What the Bible is
The written documents that constitute our Bible are snapshots of an evolving, developing, dynamic faith frozen in time. The faith exhibited in these written sources thrived in an oral culture that did not depend on written materials. Writing materials were…