It’s Wandering Web Wednesday, the Thursday edition! Here are some links that caught my eye while wandering the web over the past few days:
Bible/Theology
If you need a Romans re-cap, watch the video by Richard Bell, Professor of Theology at the University of Nottingham, which addresses the question Why Study St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans? (Youtube).
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In the church circles that I frequent, “gospel” is a code word. When someone refers to a “gospel sermon” or a “gospel service” it is understood that the purpose of the sermon or meeting is to get people “wet” i.e., baptized or saved. In other words, as Scot McKnight puts it in the second chapter of The King Jesus Gospel, when we say “gospel” we really mean “salvation.”
Although his name is often overlooked, the co-sender of the letter to Philemon is identified as Timothy. Timothy was well-known and respected in Colossae where Philemon lived; he is also named as the co-author of Colossians (Col. 1:1). Although he is identified only as a “brother” in this letter (Phm 1), Timothy’s name adds authority to whatever request Paul might make in the letter.
Not only is Timothy’s presence frequently overlooked, but also overlooked is the presence of “God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” that the letter invokes (Phm. 3). The mention of God the Father and Jesus Christ is more than a simple formality in the opening and closing of the letter (Phm. 25). For Paul, they are always a real presence and he wants Philemon and the entire church that meets at his house to be reminded of it.
Besides Philemon, who are the other recipient(s) of this letter?
Related Posts:
The Philemon Files: Introduction
The Philemon Files: From Paul
A video entitled Jesus > Religion has been linked to with some frequency over the past few days. In it, Jeff Bethke recites a written word piece. Both the title and the poem suggest that Jesus is opposed to religion and, in fact, came to abolish religion (0:23). Bethke claims that “Jesus and religion are at opposite ends of the spectrum. One’s the work of God, but one’s a man-made invention” (2:40).
The problem is that the accounts of Jesus in the New Testament Gospels portray one who was very religious. He can be found in the synagogue and in the Temple. He celebrated the major religious feasts of his day, including the annual Passover rite. He knew the Hebrew scriptures very well and engaged his contemporaries in discussion about how to practice their religion.
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The Big Question, according to the first chapter of Scot McKnight’s The King Jesus Gospel, is “What is the Gospel?” The reason McKnight asks the question is because he thinks that most evangelical Christians don’t know or have a poor understanding of what the gospel is.
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