Category Archives: Exhortations

Growing up somewhere in between fundamentalist and Evangelical Chrisitanity, I was taught that depression was a sin. Depression was the end result of self-focus. Someone who claimed to hate himself was really in love with himself. Someone who wanted to … Continue reading →

One of the first things they teach you at the Baptist seminary I am attending is that every man must be a theologian. This wording is taken from John H. Gerstner, who really believed that every person must be a … Continue reading →

I like Rabbi Shammai. I know, I know, he’s supposed to be a “bad guy.” Beit Shammai is supposed to epitomize the kind of xenophobic, ritualistic Pharisaism that Jesus condemned; this is part of Harvey Falk’s thesis in his book … Continue reading →

It seems like every discussion on every Messianic blog, every “innovative” (I use the term somewhat pejoratively) theology in the Messianic movement, every controversy that I come into contact with currently boils down to the idea of Jewish and Gentile identity.

Studying modern scholarship on Second Temple Judaism is kind of a brain drain. From what I can tell, there is a strong consensus around Ed Sanders’s portrayal of Judaism, based on Jewish sources ancient and modern, as a religion based … Continue reading →

During World War II, Hitler planned an operation called Operation Greif, in which a group of Germans dressed in American uniforms and driving American vehicles caused havoc in the American ranks. The German commandos would cross over enemy lines into … Continue reading →