Tag Archives: Scripture

Book Review: Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism, by John Shelby Spong

In the early 90’s, I was still practicing law in St Cloud, Mn, but I was also taking graduate classes at the School of Theology of St John’s University in Collegeville. Located in a hardwood forest of the residual “Big Woods” and nestled amongst lakes and hills fifteen miles up the freeway from St Cloud, the campus was invigorating and study with the Benedictines enlightening. It was a time of intellectual awakening for me, a realization that I didn’t need to leave my brain at home when I went to church. My fascination with Scripture, theology, and church history burned hot.

That process took a significant step forward one day as I perused the cluttered bookshelves of the campus book store when I happened upon a paperback entitled, Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism, a Bishop Rethinks the Meaning of Scripture, by John Shelby Spong. Spong was the Episcopal Bishop of Newark who penned his book following a series of televised debates – first with Jerry Falwell (“Jerry [was] not well equipped for such a debate”] and then with other evangelicals. Spong suggested his motivation was “to place the biblical and theological debates that are commonplace among scholars at the disposal of the typical churchgoer.” Spong’s book became a national bestseller.

New Title: A Wretched Man, a novel of Paul the apostle

Based upon discussions with my publisher, I have decided to drop The Jewish Gentile as my novel’s title. The new title is A Wretched Man, a novel of Paul the apostle. This is based on the famous line in Paul’s letter to the Romans, “Wretched Man that I am! Who will save me from this body of death?”

The publisher is performing the final edit, and we are discussing cover designs.

Writing my novel: Part 4 (the daily process)

Sometime around 6 am most days, I bounced off the walls on my way to the kitchen, spilled coffee grounds, splashed water, and finally flipped the switch on the drip brew coffee maker. Then I impatiently stole a mug of black coffee long before the whole pot had dripped through the grounds.

Book Review: The First Paul by Borg and Crossan (Part 3)

In part 1, I introduced co-authors Borg and Crossan, and in part 2, I discussed their majority view treatment of authentic Pauline letters vs pseudo-Pauline writings that came later as “correctives” to the radical Paul, in the authors’ view. Today, in part 3, I will discuss their less orthodox view that the Roman Emperor and the Empire were Paul’s veiled enemies in his writings, and this discussion will include links to a number of discussions of this issue.

Borg and Crossan are first and foremost Jesus scholars who offer a low christology that is less divine and more human, less other-worldly than here and now, more about a social reformer than an end-times avenger. Whether one agrees or disagrees is not relevant to this book, but what is important to note is their attempt to have Paul fit the same mold. This is where they part company with their scholarly peers.

Book Review: The First Paul by Borg and Crossan (Part 2)

Tell slaves to be submissive to their masters and to give satisfaction in every respect; they are not to talk back, not to pilfer, but to show complete and perfect fidelity … Titus 2:9-10a NRSV

How can these words of Paul that were used to justify slavery a century and a half ago be excused as part of “Reclaiming the Radical Visionary”?

Book Review: The First Paul by Borg & Crossan (Part 1)

Original members and leaders of the Jesus Seminar, Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan have settled in as very popular authors, reaching beyond the academic community into the pews.

Writing my novel: Part 2 (the research)

In an earlier post, I summarized a few events of my life that brought me to 2006 and the decision to write the historical novel that had long been fermenting in my mind. Around Labor Day in 2006, the time was right – I closed an online business and began to devote full time efforts to the novel.

“Few born Angels” and Paul the Apostle

Paul will be a frequent guest/contributor/subject in this blog. Next to Yeshua of Nazareth, Paul is undoubtedly the most important person in the history of Christianity. And, apart from his importance, the apparent complexities and conflicts in his personality, as suggested by his writings, are fascinating subjects for speculation. I will indulge my own speculations in my forthcoming novel, A Wretched Man, which features Paul as the main character.

Book Review: The Robe, by Lloyd C Douglas

Published in 1942, The Robe soon achieved New York Times bestseller status. It remained number one on the list for a year, and it also became a popular movie released in 1953 starring Richard Burton.

Book Review: The Red Tent, by Anita Diamant

The Red Tent has achieved classic status even though it was first published barely a dozen years ago. It was recently reprinted in a 10th anniversary edition. It is a misnomer to call it Christian fiction, because it features characters and storyline from the Hebrew Scriptures (the Christian Old Testament), and the Jewish author’s earlier works were non-fiction treatments of contemporary Jewish life. This speaks to the commonality in the cultural and historical threads of Christianity and Judaism that should be emphasized, and the novel has been well-received in both traditions:

A richly imagined world … Paints a vivid picture of what women’s society might have resembled during Biblical times. Although it is a novel, it is also an extended midrash or exegesis – filling in gaps left by the Biblical text. Quoted from the Jewish Times.

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