The Christian Weekly

  What Is Civil Disobedience? When the sentries are sleeping soundly and an angel shows up, Peter doesn't leave a note on his way out of prison. He thinks he's seeing a vision, and he just goes. In doing so, not only has Peter defied the authorities by preaching the death and resurrection of Jesus, but he's now escaped from imprisonment. I'm not an expert on the law, but I'm pretty sure that escaping from prison is against the law. So why did Peter do it? Because we know that Christians don't always try to escape from prison. In fact, when an earthquake happens and Paul and Silas could have walked away without any issue, they stay put (see Acts 16). In Paul and Silas's case, they want to help the jailer believe in the merciful God they know, and eventually they want to make a point to the authorities about their unjust, illegal arbitrary arrests of people. But in Peter's case, he understands that he's not above the law, but he breaks it anyway. Why?...

  What Is Clean or Unclean? I have heard many bad explanations of the meaning of the Old Testament dietary laws. Why does God forbid his people from eating the meat of animals that do not "part the hoof and are cloven-footed and chew the cud." (Leviticus 11:3). Here are two of the claims I've heard most often: 1. This is proof that the Bible is not really the word of God. This is arbitrary and only unenlightened, ignorant people would obey this - we're more sophisticated today. Unfortunately for this argument, we know that one of these unenlightened, obedient people was Jesus - so I think we might have to seek a more serious answer. 2. This is a form of ancient FDA rules. Pork and pigs were more likely vectors for disease than sheep or cows, so banning their consumption helps keep people healthy. This probably isn't how the dietary laws are presented, but it might be right (I don't personally know anything about the relative safety of different meat products ...

What is the Gospel?  It's the day of Pentecost. The first Christians are running about, telling and possibly shouting in a multiplicity of languages the amazing things they've seen God do (this is probably the first time that the faithful people of God are properly called Christians, even though they didn't have that term yet). And with all that excitement, all that confusion, Peter gets up to speak.  Peter tells them the Gospel message.  Christians talk about that a lot. "The Gospel." It's what Christians believe, right? It's what ministers tell people they should believe, right? "Repent and believe in the good news" was a refrain during Lent at my childhood church. Gospel means good news. But what news?  Peter gives us a brilliant line summing it up right at the end of his speech: "Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified." - Acts 2:36 God has mad...

  Who is the Holy Spirit? So you think you know who the Holy Spirit is: a dove, a flame, a feeling, or nothing worth considering at all. The Holy Spirit's apparent absence from American Christianity led Francis Chan to write the book "Forgotten God". Some will describe themselves as spirit-filled. Others will imply that the Holy Spirit has spoken directly to them - which, if true, would justify new additions to scripture. I admit I'm skeptical. Still others connect the Holy Spirit to glossolalia (speaking in tongues) and believe that spiritual languages incomprehensible to human ears are necessary to show someone's faithfulness to God. Again, I'm skeptical. So who is the Holy Spirit? "He [Jesus] had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles. [...] He ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, 'you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy...

" Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! " Psalm 100:1 When I was a high schooler, I decided that, since the Bible was apparently such an important book, I would read it all the way through. I got as far as Psalms. As a kid, I hated poetry. It was boring, it either didn't make sense or it said something so obvious there was no reason to put it in verse. So when I got to Psalms, I gave up and stopped. Today, the Psalms are one of my favorite books of the Bible. Later on, I discovered that in the Psalms, God has given us two things: a prayer book, and a hymnal. There's a reason that the Psalms are the book the New Testament quotes from the most. People know it, and God speaks to us in it. The Psalms have many authors – sometimes the author is named (David wrote quite a few), and sometimes they are anonymous. But they were brought together because they were all inspired by God and resonate with God's people. Like modern music, the Psalms come in a...

“ For by grace you have been saved through faith.   And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God. ”   Ephesians 2:8 I suggest you read Ephesians at home. It’s not that long. Honestly, it’s only the length of a “long read” article, or a couple newspaper columns. And this is a really rich letter. Paul writes to the church in Ephesus, to his own old, dear friends whom he served as pastor years before. He  reminds them the incredible things that God has done and will do for them, and reminds them who they are in Christ. He tells them what God is blessing them with, and what following Jesus means in their lives. And it is written for us today as well. This is the letter that gives us the verse that is at the core of what Christians believe: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” - Ephesians 2:8. This was the theme verse at Lutherans Outdoors church camps this summer, with th...

" In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. " Genesis 1:1 The book of Genesis is a genuine pleasure to read. From the majestic, poetic opening as God forms and fills the universe, to the embarrassing nitty gritty of a broken (but still blessed) family, Genesis tells the beginning of God's epic love for human families in all their sin and struggle. You're familiar with many of the stories, for sure, but there are so many sides to them that jump out - something new every time you revisit it. You know God created the universe and calls it good, but did you know that he waits until humanity is created to say that it is very good? You know that the flood devastates the earth, but did you know how carefully God instructs Noah to make sure his family will be saved? You know that Abraham has faith, but did you know how faithfully God sticks with him even when he's behaving awfully? Genesis tells these grand stories of God's amazing...

" The Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. " Jonah 1:17 From the Old Testament, after Psalms, Jonah is probably the book that had the greatest influence on early Christians - which isn't what you'd expect, right? Early Christian art, in the catacombs and so on, really frequently featured images of Jonah in the belly of the fish.     And that's fitting, since when people asked him for a miracle to prove who he was, Jesus told them he would only give them "the sign of Jonah". But what is the sign of Jonah? Jonah goes on a boat, where what God does to him inspires the crew and fellow passengers to believe. Jonah is, of course, swallowed by the fish, where he prays words that are heartbreaking but full of faith. Jonah's "sign" in the city of Nineveh brings the whole city and even the king to repentance. And then Jonah is left alone, frustrated...

" Nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord! " Romans 8:39 All roads don't lead to Romans, but all of Romans leads to God. That's what we see in Paul's letter to the Romans. This letter is a theological masterpiece. Many say it's Paul's magnum opus. It's scripture and it teaches who God is and who we are in Jesus Christ. It is bold. It is powerful. And it is unrelenting in making its central point: God has chosen people, called them, and saved them. God has staked a claim on our hearts and our lives, and nothing is ever going to stop his irresistible grace. Reading Romans, you're not going to find a to do list. It's not going to tell you what to do. It's going to tell you what God did for you. It's going to tell you who you are, which is so much better and so much more moving (and ultimately so much more challenging) than some simple instructions. If you read R...