Understanding the Bible 40: The Early Church’s Struggle for Unity

Jesus and the Revolution, Part 03 - The Enemy and the Allure of Now: The divine rescue - of which the ministry of Jesus is the decisive act - is not merely to be understood as the securing of a heavenly afterlife for the faithful, but the restoration of a fallen creation. To be "saved" is to be set free, to be healed... by Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith

44 min listen

Prophet of the Kingdom: Jesus and the Revolution, Part 02 - A Prophet as of Old: God's Revolution to Restore All Creation begins with a cry to all Israel to prepare for war. But not the war Israel expected... For decades tensions with Rome had been growing. Various political and religious sects (think Pharisees, Sadducees, et... by Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith

46 min listen

Prophet of the Kingdom: Jesus and the Revolution, Part 01 - A Call to Revolution!: At the heart of Jesus's ministry is the declaration that "the Kingdom of God has come near!" This is not merely a call for sinners to secure the afterlife, but the announcement that the fulfillment of the covenant of salvation is at hand! The... by Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith

46 min listen

Hope in the Time of COVID, Part 19 - Resting for the Kingdom: The one commandment I disregard without a second thought is the one about resting. The irony, of course, is that I often ignore this divine call to honor the sabbath in what feels like the work of the Kingdom. And it has been more clear in the last... by Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith

42 min listen

Hope in the Time of COVID, Part 18 - The Loving Road to Justice: No, your eyes do not deceive you...the podcast is back! (It never really left, but was definitely on leave of absence for a while...very sorry about that - some of the details are in the intro.) Then it's on to part 18 of our series: Hope in the... by Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith

56 min listen

Hope in the Time of COVID, Part 17 - Origin Stories: Does the 21st century nation state of Peru play an essential role in salvation history? Short answer: Of course not. God loves Peruvians! But Peru the cultural/political body is not critical to the plan redemption. So why do many American Christians... by Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith

51 min listen

Hope in the Time of COVID, Part 16 - Admitting the Problem (of Sin): For some very helpful resources, here is a link to How do I, as a white, well-educated, heterosexual, Protestant, cis male, who would never knowingly sanction racism of any sort, reflect on "systemic racism"? For those of us who try hard to so... by Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith

53 min listen

Hope in the Time of COVID, Part 15 - On Love, Hope and Change: Hope is the belief that things can change for the better. And it is the question the gospel persistently sets before us: Are we naive in thinking that meaningful transformation is possible? And more naive still to believe that love is the means by... by Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith

44 min listen

Hope in the Time of COVID, Part 14 - What God Wants? Justice, Mercy and Humility!: "How does one appease a deity? Gain a favor? Avert a curse?" Such questions stood at the center of Ancient Near Eastern religion (and of many cultures since...). And thus great effort has been dedicated to rituals and ceremonies and strict adherence... by Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith

41 min listen

Hope in the Time of COVID, Part 13 - Jesus and Divine Justice: As those called to share in God's project of restoration, justice is at the heart of our work. But what does the Bible mean by "justice"? The term easily conjures feelings and images not shalom (peace), but punishment - that divine justice is defined... by Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith

50 min listen

Hope in the Time of COVID, Part 12 - Hope and Vision: Essential to the life of faith is recognizing that hope is rooted in reality, in what is actually possible. The gospel has no room for fairy tales or wishful thinking, only for what can be accomplished in this time and place. And thus the work of... by Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith

42 min listen

Easter 2021: The Long, Slow Triumph of Love!: At the cross, Love and Evil went to war - the final confrontation between God and sin. And the question is: Who won? (It would be good to know, as the answer changes everything about how we live!) The New Testament, of course, argues passionately that... by Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith

43 min listen

Hope in the Time of COVID, Part 11 - Love and Revolution: APOLOGIES for being away so long. No...really. I'm sorry for the extended absence (more in the intro). But at last we continue in our look at hope in the time of COVID, and particularly how we make good use of a crisis. So far we've looked at the... by Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith

49 min listen

Advent 4 (2020) - The Name of the Game: The ultimate lesson of Advent, indeed the ultimate lesson of the whole of scripture and the life of faith, is love - the pure, open, unending and unconditional, freely-given love of God. It is the simplest of insights, and yet we can go decades - even... by Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith

52 min listen

Advent 3 (2020) - Come and Be Joyful!: If any emotion has been in short supply this year, it's joy. And yet Advent calls us to return to this central experience of the Christian life, whatever our momentary circumstances. Today we hear from Banning Cantarini, a young and gifted preacher,... by Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith

27 min listen

Advent 2 (2020) - Peace Within and Peace on Earth: Peace is the theme of the 2nd week of Advent and one of the central promises of the Bible. And yet for many of us, true peace - both inward and in creation - is very elusive. How can we find inner calm when so much of the world is hurting? Would we... by Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith

48 min listen

Advent 1 (2020) - God, Sosthenes and Hope: We begin Advent 2020 with a look (by our beloved Rev. Ian Farrell) at a Jewish official named Sosthenes. Originally mentioned in the book of Acts, he took part in bringing charges against Paul in Corinth, charges that could have had dire consequences.... by Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith

35 min listen

Hope in the Time of COVID, Part 10 - On the Difficulty of Discipleship and the Grace of God: If you find yourself having to learn the same lesson of faith a thousand times, following Jesus closely and then wandering off aimlessly, believing and not believing, trusting and doubting...this is the episode for you. And you happen to be in good... by Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith

49 min listen

Embracing Every Saint - The Church and the LGBTQ+ Community: Who truly belongs to the family of faith; how wide is the circle of God's people? This was one of the most contested debates in the early church, and remains so 2,000 years later. In this All Saints Day episode, we take up the question of... by Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith

50 min listen

Hope in the Time of COVID, Part 09 - The Love of a Mother and the Heart of Jesus: Continuing our look at the practice of being loved by God, we read the story of Jesus encounter with a young mother desperate for healing of her daughter. Everything about their meeting is a violation of cultural expectations, and the scene is wrought... by Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith

47 min listen

Hope in the Time of COVID, Part 08 - Love Embodied: Continuing our look at the practice of being loved - the work we can do on our side of the relationship to receive what God has already given us - we look, again, to Jesus. But we do so not so much in an effort to follow or obey, but simply to... by Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith

51 min listen

Hope in the Time of COVID, Part 07 - The Practice of Being Loved: That individual humans are dearly loved by God is central claim of Christianity. And yet many of us go through periods where we question even this foundational idea. Are we loved? Really? And even when we believe - intellectually - that we are, coming... by Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith

38 min listen

Hope in the Time of COVID, Part 06 - Hope and Holiness: Having established the content of Christian hope - the present assurance of God's ultimate salvation (see ep. 292) - we turn now to the Christian obligation to be instruments of hope to others. Amidst suffering, even suffering inflicted upon us, as... by Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith

40 min listen

Hope in the Time of COVID, Part 05 - What, Exactly, IS the Christian Hope?: For many of us right now, especially, hope can feel in short supply. Not just the amount of hope, but the content of hope. What are we actually hoping for? And what has Jesus got to do with it? What constitutes "Christian" hope? That we won't suffer?... by Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith

41 min listen

Hope in the Time of COVID, Part 04 - In Praise of the Saving God: This remains a very difficult time, as crisis seems to mount upon crisis, pain upon pain, fear upon fear. And the question that confronts us is: How do we remain people of enduring hope, while honestly enduring suffering? When we don't seek false... by Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith

40 min listen

Hope in the Time of COVID, Part 03 - Suffering, Character and Hope: What most of us want amidst suffering is for the pain to end - to be quickly delivered from our distress. And it is tempting to imagine that if God loves us, this must be what he desires as well - a quick and sudden end to our hardships. Perhaps that... by Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith

32 min listen

Hope in the Time of COVID, Part 02 - What We Know for Sure: One of the hardest parts of enduring this crisis is coping with so much uncertainty: How long will it last? Who will be affected? What about the economy? Will there be a vaccine? Who should I trust for information...? The questions can be dizzying and... by Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith

32 min listen

Hope in the Time of COVID, Part 01 - Never Waste a Crisis!: This is the first in an entirely ad hoc series on hope and transformation and how they fit together. It is born out of the pandemic that has swept our world, and my ponderings on what defines the Christian hope and how that hope can shape the world... by Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith

33 min listen

8 Questions on Life, Death, God and Faith, Part 08 - What Does God Really Want?: Isn't the main point of Christianity to be a good person (and thereby to secure my place in heaven)? I mean, if one is basically moral, reasonably charitable and occasionally saintly, doesn't that please the Almighty? Is the point to please the... by Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith

36 min listen

8 Questions on Life, Death, God and Faith, Part 07 - How Does Sanctification Work?: I know that as a Christian I am called to sanctification - to a life shaped ever more into the image of Jesus, in short, to a life of sinning less and loving more. And in some areas of my life, I see progress! But in other areas...not so much. Indeed... by Jesus at 2AM - A Humorous, Intelligent Look at the Bible, Church History & the Life of Faith

55 min listen

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Understanding the Bible 40: The Early Church’s Struggle for Unity

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