It’s finally here! Faith and History, the devotional I edited with Beth Allison Barr is officially available from Baylor University Press, and it’s pretty amazing. Don’t believe me? Just ask some of our 40-some contributors: I’ve already written a long post about the origins and purpose of this book, and shared a couple more excerpts … More Publication Day for Our Devotional
In two weeks, Baylor University Press will officially release Faith and History, a devotional I edited with Beth Allison Barr that features contributions from forty-some Christian historians. Some of you (hi, Mom!) are even expecting to get pre-ordered copies before Thanksgiving. So before anyone actually reads their copy of Faith and History, today seems like … More Faith and History: The Story Behind the Book
For all the saints, who from their labours rest,Who Thee by faith before the world confessed,Thy Name, O Jesus, be forever blessed.Alleluia, Alleluia! William Walsham How (1864) Who are we remembering on this day dedicated to the memory of “all the saints”? I’m Protestant enough to think in terms broader than a who’s who of … More The With-God Life: All the Saints
Every once in a while, the readings from the daily lectionary just line up perfectly. See if you can spot the theme: • Today starts with the author of the longest psalm — whose “hope is in [God’s] ordinances” — pledging to keep God’s “law continually, for ever and ever” (Ps 119:43-44). • In case the people … More The With-God Life: “If you wish to be perfect…”
I groaned a little when I saw James 2 show up on the daily lectionary yesterday and today. As a historian who teaches about the Reformation and a Protestant who still (mostly) celebrates its legacy, I’ve wrestled dozens of times with Martin Luther’s disdain for this “right strawy epistle,” which insists that “a person is … More The With-God Life: Faith without (Political) Works
When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him.“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all … More The With-God Life: Love the Lord
I can put up with almost every other inconvenience, but not getting to sing as part of a group for the duration of COVID has been a tough pill to swallow. Whether in a choir or as part of a congregation, I love to sing the songs of the church with the people of the … More The With-God Life: The Song of Moses
Part of the power — and problem — of the psalms is that they were written in a certain context for a certain people at a certain time… but speak to, and for, other people living at other times in other contexts. Psalm 63 is described as being written by David “when he was in … More The With-God Life: “A Dry and Weary Land”
Behold, three ways I’m tempted to read and misread today’s lectionary selection from Revelation, which begins with an angel calling out: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! It has become a dwelling place of demons,a haunt of every foul spirit, a haunt of every foul bird, a haunt of every foul and hateful beast.For all the nations have … More The With-God Life: The Fall of Babylon
In Matthew’s account of the death of John the Baptist, I usually skip to the end of the story. Oscar Wilde and Norma Desmond can have Salomé. I’m more interested in Jesus’ response to learning of his relative’s murder: that he went off to mourn by himself, and that his grief soon turned to compassion … More The With-God Life: “Raised From the Dead”
