Have you noticed how some people seem to focus chiefly on what differentiates themselves from others? “Those fitness freaks…” or “The 1% snobs…” or “The blue-collar, white-collar, no-collar, etc.” In some cases these differences can be good things. They might facilitate a stronger bond with others of similar interests (sewing circles, sport leagues, car …
Author Archives: joslund1
Despicable Generosity
In Matthew 20:1-16, Jesus presents a parable to help explain the nature of the kingdom of heaven, and indeed the nature of God Himself. It is the time of harvest so a landowner rises early in the morning to hire day laborers. (These would compliment the landowner’s full-time staff, who might otherwise be overwhelmed …
Literary Context
One of the most common mistakes I see when it comes to misunderstanding a particular Biblical passage comes down to a misunderstanding of its context. While there are many categories of context, one that is often forgotten is literary context – that is, understanding the type of literature in question. The arrangement and ordering of …
Practical Polytheists
From time to time I’ll overhear someone talking about how sophisticated we are in the modern era – particularly in comparison with the superstitious simpletons of the past. Those old cavemen went around worshipping the sun and hitting things with clubs. And so we can appreciate the first couple of commandments given to Moses and …
A Peaceful Triumph
As we’ve just completed our annual celebration/observance of the events of Holy Week (Palm Sunday, The Last Supper, The Crucifixion and the The Resurrection) I’m struck with how easy it is to simply “go through the motions” of observance, and in so doing to run the risk of missing the plethora of significant revelations and …
Context and Prooftext
I’ve written before on context and prooftext, and have quoted the adage, “A text out of context becomes a pretext for a prooftext.” And as a reminder, a prooftext is when we misread or misinterpret a text so as to take away the wrong meaning. I come across these on occasion when transitioning from …
To Prooftext or Not to Prooftext
A prooftext is when we misread or misinterpret a text so as to take away the wrong meaning. “Well then why on earth would anyone do that?” you might ask. Simply put, we usually do this sub-consciously. Our brains are hard-wired for efficiency, which is wonderful in many regards. We develop neurological “short cuts” …
New Year
A lot of people like the idea of fresh beginnings that come with a new year. Last year may have been this, that or the other, but THIS year all of that is going to change. And of course a lot of other people think it’s silly to place significance on any particular day or …
The Gospel is Good News
“In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; …
The Voice of God
I recently had a conversation that was all about prayer. Most of us hold at least a general intellectual ascent to the idea of defining prayer as our conversations with God, and as most of us would agree, healthy conversations are often dialogues – they involve both speaking/communicating and listening/receiving. The speaking/communicating part comes fairly …
Just for a Closer Walk 