Jan van Eyck, "Adoration of the Mystic Lamb," c. 1390-1441 In the early chapters of the Book of Genesis, there are four rivers. Two are unknown to us today; the others are the Tigris and the Euphrates, flowing through present-day Iraq. At the end of the Bible’s narrative arc, there is also a river. John …
The politics of Jesus
He Qi, Peace, Be Still (1998) I can imagine it now: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese steps up to his despatch box in the federal parliament to claim Jesus as the hero of progressive politics: “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s” (Mt 22:21) – a tacit endorsement of big government as an instrument of …
The light of the kingdom
On Thursday, the nation stopped to commemorate a National Day of Mourning for the victims of the Bondi terrorist attack. Today, in solidarity with Indigenous followers of Jesus, we pause to honour another Day of Mourning, reflecting on the dispossession and ongoing injustices experienced by Australia’s First Peoples, acknowledging our shared history, and renewing our …
There’s some good in this world
Walter Brueggemann, one of the great Protestant theologians of the Hebrew Bible, died on Thursday, aged 92. Brueggemann is widely described as a modern prophet in the tradition of the prophets of the Hebrew Bible. He possessed the ability to explain the meaning of the ancient text with clarity and precision, and interpret its prophetic …
The vocation and mission of Jesus
The Hebrew Bible contains hints, types, allusions and prophecies relating to Jesus, but the New Testament is filled with references to Jesus, stories told by Jesus, wonders performed by him, and summaries of his teaching. The New Testament identifies Jesus as a carpenter and a teacher. He was raised in a poor Jewish home and, …
