The metaphor of blindness and seeing is not only prominent in the teaching of Jesus, but also found in stories about his giving sight to blind people. There are three, two in Mark and one in John. They clearly have a metaphorical meaning, even as one or more may well...
In his nonviolent teaching, life, and death, Jesus revealed a God of nonviolence. The God who delivered an enslaved people in the Exodus was now seen as the deliverer of all humanity from oppression. The violence associated with God in the biblical tradition was...
One reason that the world finds the New Testament's message of peacemaking and love of enemies incredible is that the church is so massively faithless. On the question of violence, the church is deeply compromised and committed to nationalism, violence, and idolatry....
Jesus' message is shocking not because he extends the boundaries to include outsiders. His message shocks because it doesn't recognize boundaries at all.
If we were to set out to establish a religion in polar opposition to the Beatitudes Jesus taught, it would look strikingly similar to the pop Christianity that has taken over the airwaves of North America.
We need some Christians who are as crazy as the Lord. Crazy enough to love like Jesus, to give like Jesus, to forgive like Jesus, to do justice, love mercy, walk humbly with God--like Jesus. Crazy enough to dare to change the world from the nightmare it often is into...
When we limit our understanding of neighbor to our church, denomination, nationality, or religious persuasion, we take Jesus' name in vain. When we lift up this commandment of Jesus--to love our neighbors--we draw all people to God and one another. The chief...
As a company of Christ's people we should accept those who hold another view from our own in a spirit of Christian tolerance--which is not something that tolerates anything because it doesn't care which is right, but a spirit which accepts that as human beings we...
If we are faithful to Jesus, we will also be faithful to one another. We belong to one another. [Anyone who dedicates himself or herself to Jesus] will be united with other believers, and they will become so united that they are like one body. In the human body, if...
Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be broken. This beatitude cannot be found in Matthew 5's listing, but it certainly has clear biblical principle behind it. Dr. David Schroeder, in his study on discipleship, asserts that discipleship is not so much about...