Marginal Christianity

Usually the kingdom of God Jesus announced is presented according to an “already/not yet” scheme. It “dawned” or was “inaugurated” by Jesus’ earthly ministry but is not wholly present at this point. The fullness of the kingdom will become present when Jesus returns in glory at his second coming. Two scholars have recently challenged this usual way of understanding the kingdom. And their views are well worth considering. -the first scholar to consider is Andrew Perriman. In his book Re: Mission and a host of articles on his blog Perriman makes the case that the kingdom of God is a political term denoting God’s rule over his world. This happened in Jesus’ earthly ministry. Through him God reasserted his rightful but usurped rule, first over that portion of his people who remained resistant to and rejected Jesus. The judgment for their perfidy was that Israel as a nation defaulted on its commission to be God’s Abrahamic people through whom God would bless the world. This judg...

In 1999 Gerhard Lohfink published a wonderful book titled “Does God Need the Church?”   He answered yes and provided a great exegetical overview of this theme throughout the breadth of scripture.   I play off his theme here and note some key moments in its development in particular relation to the temple. 1.     In his eternal election God chose not to be God without us (Eph.1:3). 2.     In his creation dream God created a garden sanctuary/temple (place where God and his people meet) and appointed humanity to tend and extend that sanctuary over all the earth (Gen.2). 3.     In his effort to reclaim and restore his erring creatures and wayward creation God chose Abraham and Sarah to raise a people through whom he will bless the world (Gen.12:1-3). 4.     God rescues this people from Egypt in order to make them a people with and in whom his glory/presence may dwell (Ex.40). 5.   ...

November 19, 2012 By Christopher Smith http://www.patheos.com/blogs/slowchurch/2012/11/19/rooted-in-gods-abundant-provision-gratitude-series-1/ This week I am going to be doing a daily series on gratitude, since this virtue plays a vital role in our understanding of Slow Church, and since of course, our readers in the U.S. will celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday later this week… When reflecting on gratitude, it is helpful for us to begin by considering its roots in God’s abundant provision for creation. All major economic systems — and especially capitalism — are built upon the assumption of scarcity of resources, an assumption that when scrutinized in the light of the scriptural narrative is simply false. Walter Brueggemann observes in an essay entitled “ The Liturgy of Abundance, The Myth of Scarcity ” that he wrote for the Christian Century (which is well-worth your time to read in its entirety): “[The Myth of Scarcity] ends in despair. It gives us a prese...