One of the major themes of the readings appointed for the Easter season is vindication. As we saw last week, this is a prominent theme in the sermons towards the beginning of Acts: Humanity put Jesus to death as both a criminal and a cursed victim of sacred violence, but God vindicated him by raising … Continue reading Vindication: A Reflection on John 21.1-19 and Acts 9.1-6
Over the past two thousand years, Christians have interpreted their Scriptures in many different ways. These different interpretive methods and traditions didn’t arise out of nowhere, however. For the most part, Christians have used the methodologies of the cultures in which they’ve lived. But, they have also done this within an interpretive trajectory that began … Continue reading ‘As it is written’: How the New Testament reads the Bible
One thing all Christians agree on is the central position of the Bible in the teaching, life, and faith of the Church. This may be a bold statement: Certainly it’s been a historical claim among Protestants that Roman Catholics don’t value the Bible, and today many self-identified evangelicals claim that progressive Christians don’t ‘believe in’ … Continue reading The Bible and the Problem of Interpretation
There’s been a battle of sorts waging within Christian theology over the past few decades about the cross. The basic question behind this controversy is: Who put Jesus on the cross? The dominant strains of theology in the West over the past thousand years or so have said, essentially, that it was God the Father … Continue reading Whose Cross is it? A Reflection on Acts 5:27-32
Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! This traditional Christian Easter greeting is, when it comes down to it, everything you need to know about our faith. For us as Christians, everything is about Easter. Easter changes everything. If Christmas is like D-Day, Easter is VE-Day; if Christmas plants seeds, Easter is the … Continue reading The Game-Changer: A reflection for Easter Sunday, 2022
Matthew Root 