I’ve been thinking lately about the debates in Christian circles (especially in the US) about “socialism.” By “socialism” I mean the basic idea that some justice can be preserved in a community if our government redistributes wealth — takes money or property from the wealthy and gives it to the poor. This socialist model has been…
Read MoreMy Sermon on the Historical Jesus
Here’s my sermon preached at St. Paul’s-on-the-Hill Anglican Church on Sunday, Feb. 14th. Yes, I drew the short straw and preached on Valentines Day! Enjoy.
Read MoreThe Holistic Kingdom of the Gospels
One student recently suggested that there might be a progression in the Gospels from earlier books that are more this-worldly in focus to later books that are more “mystical.” I don’t think I’d agree that the later Gospels become more mystical, if by that you mean more “other-worldly.” On the one hand, I think all…
Read MoreWhat Does the Lamb Do?
In my course on New Testament Theology and History I pointed out that Mark’s Gospel depicts Jesus’ death primarily as a Passover offering, not as a sin offering. One student asked me to elaborate on this and I thought I would share my thoughts here as well. If you go back to the book of…
Read MoreMy Sermon on James
Here’s the sermon I preached this past Sunday at St. Paul’s-on-the-Hill Anglican parish in Pickering (my home parish). The text was James 2:1-17.
Read MoreIs Luke a Primary Source for the Historical Jesus?
I was asked a question about whether Luke’s Gospel would be considered a primary or a secondary source, historically speaking, for the life of Jesus. Here’s my answer: In my own work as an ancient historian I find that a “primary” source is not so much the first to record some information but rather a…
Read MoreHow to Get Your Annotations Out of a Kindle Ebook
One of the things I love about reading ebooks is that I can so easily highlight sections and make notes in the margins, without having to scrounge around for a pencil or have my hand cramp trying to draw a straight line on a curved page while lying in bed. The question is, then, how…
Read MoreHear My Interview on the WikiGod Podcast
Back in June I had a wonderful conversation with Mark Groleau about everything from my experiences growing up to my book Paul’s Way of Knowing. You can find the interview in two parts here (part 1) and here (part 2).
Read MorePython Programming: Proper Alphabetical Sorting for Polytonic Greek
I just spent an afternoon figuring out how to get Python 2.7 to sort some Greek (unicode) strings according to the Greek alphabet. Strangely, there wasn’t very much help for this online, so here is what I figured out if anyone else is facing the same task. There are actually three different resources I looked…
Read MoreOn Grades: An Open Letter To My Students
I often find students discouraged by their grades, particularly in their first few courses at Tyndale. This disappointment can become a source of resentment and conflict with professors. It can also sap our motivation and make material that we once found fascinating suddenly taste like sawdust. But we can avoid much of this disappointment and its…
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