SICARIO, and being sent in the midst of wolves

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SICARIO, and being sent in the midst of wolves

You will not survive here. You are not a wolf, and this is a land of wolves now. 

A reflection on the final line of the excellent film, SICARIO and Jesus' sending of us into the midst of wolves. Why do we need the mix of dove and serpent, of shrewdness and innocence?

Serpents are wise to the ways of the wolves, to the darkness of the land, and because of that serpents can be subversive in their resistance, crafty in their struggle. The shrewdness of the serpents allows us to sidestep repaying like with like, of believing that the only way to stop a wolf is to become a wolf... 
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Introducing Christianity

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Introducing Christianity

As an intellectual exercise I chose 6 books from this millennium that I would pick as a kind of introduction/getting deeper into Christianity. Check out the what and the why and then sound off in the comments with what you would choose.

"After covering trends in world theology, the Godhead, and the crucifixion it's time to get into the Bible. Here, like with the following book, I decided that rather than an overview of the Old or New Testament I would go with a book on one book."
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James Cone and #BlackLivesMatter

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James Cone and #BlackLivesMatter

How James Cone's ground-breaking, earth-shaking, woke-inducing, God of the Oppressed connects with the #BlackLivesMatter movement and speaks into (or against) the unfortunately too common response of 'all lives matter'.

Image of James Cone speaking at the Rall Lectures in 1969 in the Chapel of the Unnamed Faithful.

"Cone’s work grants a new perspective on those who criticise “Black Lives Matter”, insisting on the adoption of the ‘universal’, “All Lives Matter”. Cone (dealing with this before we had #’s) counters, that yes, all lives do matter, just as all are oppressed, but when the person contending that is not a member of the oppressed it becomes another way to silence those crying for liberation."
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Showers and Suffering

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Showers and Suffering

I recently wrote a Biblical/theological reflection for Baptist World Aid Australia's BE LOVE magazine (exploring suffering and God). Click through to read my piece, as well as a bunch of great articles from other really tuned in folk, and check out/support the good work of BWAA. 

"Though it was not my only concern, I was haunted by the judgment brought down upon Job’s friends for their attempts to analyse and rationalise Job’s suffering – when God shows up in that story, these theorising friends are unceremoniously scolded (Job 42:7). A reminder to all who discuss suffering: Job’s friends were doing great, right up until the point that they opened their mouths."
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Tripp Fuller's Guide to Jesus as a movie

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Tripp Fuller's Guide to Jesus as a movie

What if Tripp Fuller's excellent guide to Jesus was reimagined as a movie about a competitive home brewer who reflects on his relationship with beer as he travels across the country to a prestigious competition? 

You'd see that right? Well, read all about a movie that will never be made about a book that can easily be read, right here!

"Finally, as the road trip ends we catch up with the present, arriving at the great brew-off. Our young man, drawing on his journey, the wealth of experience he has pillaged and plundered, presents his beer."
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Jesus the trump card

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Jesus the trump card

An extended reflection in two parts 1) why, despite the move away from Christianity and the church's diminishing public influence, do people continue to employ Jesus as an argument in political and cultural debates. 2) With that background in mind, what positive claims about Jesus can we contribute to these discussions (in an attempt to save Jesus from becoming just another trump card).

Image from Pinterest

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Proposing a Theological Task

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Proposing a Theological Task

I was recently trying to address to a question about how to nurture and create "effective and contextual mission and ministry practices". In thinking about how to respond to this, I began to think about how to respond to the question of the theological task; i.e. what is the task of theology in both communities of practice and the broader culture?

This post is an attempt at forming a helpful proposal.

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