Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith

If confessing the full divinity of Jesus, or God who is simultaneously three Persons in one, strikes you as quite an intellectual stretch, know that you are in excellent company! After all, it is one thing to regard Jesus as a great religious teacher, a political leader or perhaps even some sort of (human) messianic figure. […]

Every Sunday Christians all over the world gather to sing, pray…listen to (a brilliant!) sermon… Styles may vary, but the pattern and basic content is stunningly consistent.  The question for today is:  Why?  What are the origins of Christian worship?  Why these particular elements?  And how do we know if we are “worshipping correctly”?  Can […]

What does the mean by spiritual gifts?  Are we to believe that Jesus bestows super powers upon his followers – healing people by laying on hands, speaking in tongues, foretelling the future…???  Are spiritual gifts signs of true faith (those who really believe can be distinguished from those who do not by their display of gifts)?  Are they […]

How do we know the Bible is true?  That is to say, why should we trust the biblical vision of reality is anything other than wishful thinking?  Or is faith inherently “blind”? Such questions are often met – both inside and outside the church – with philosophical arguments about the nature of being, first principles, Prime Movers and so […]

It is one thing to be declared “family,” and quite another to live out the relationships implied – particularly when new siblings come from communities deeply divided with one another.  And yet this is the first work of the church.  Those who have been called to bear witness to love’s triumph, to carry on Jesus’s […]

“Saved by works or saved by faith?”:  It is one of the oldest debates in Christianity (albeit not the most helpful).  By now, I hope it is becoming clearer that the idea of “being saved” refers to far more than simply one’s fate after death and relies neither on obedience to a divine law nor […]

Before we can understand Paul’s letters, we must first understand the man: the Pharisee, the zealot, the convert, the missionary and indeed the church’s greatest theologian.   In this episode, we examine Paul’s early life, his fervent commitment to Judaism and the extraordinary humility he demonstrates in his willingness to be wrong.  Saul of Tarsus […]

So what now???  What happens after the Messiah has been raised from the dead?!?  Is this when God comes to establish the fullness of his Kingdom of earth?  Is Easter – the day of Jesus’s resurrection – also the day of  judgment?  No. No?  Really…?  Because from what we know so far, it kinda seems […]

At last we put all of the pieces together, and I offer my explanation of the atonement –  how it is that Jesus’s death and resurrection fulfills the covenant with Abraham and accomplishes the salvation of the world.  It was not by satisfying a wrathful God (as though God was saving us from himself!).  Nor was […]

The most distinctive act of early Christian worship was participation in sacrament of Communion.  Sermons, scripture readings, the singing of hymns and psalms were indeed a part of the church’s worship, but much of this was done – originally – in the synagogues on the Sabbath.  Christians would gather again on Sunday – in celebration of […]