Cultivating Peace – Page 6 – Forging Ploughshares

Chapter 3: A Conversation with Friends

This piece is a part of a larger project which dreams of the peace of the Resurrection.

Chapter 3: A Conversation with Friends

It is appointed for each person once to die…and then the judgment.

“Well, she’s coming for a visit.” I said with some anticipation to my little raccoon friend as we crossed the valley on my way back to our mountain. He’d managed to find me on the way out of town and had been following at a short distance, pausing only when he found something along the way more interesting than me. Most likely what kept him following was the smell of food coming from my pack. She had packed a few lunches for me for the trip back: some cheese and bread, one of those caramel apples from the fair wrapped in wax paper, and a bottle of fresh water. The bandit (I had taken to calling him that) stopped and gave me a quizzical look when I spoke. I’m never sure whether he’s really understanding me, or just being a raccoon. But, for a moment, I got the feeling that he was puzzled by my sense of excitement and my anticipation at her visit. Continue reading “Chapter 3: A Conversation with Friends”

Trust in God: Lessons in Being Small from David and Goliath

The following is a guest-blog by Tyler Goss, converted from a sermon he preached at Berea Mennonite Church in Atlanta, GA, June 24, 2018.

I have a hard time understanding what complete trust in God looks like. I mean—I trust that God cares about me…I trust that God pours out unconditional love for me…but, what about when it comes to a big situation that seems out of my control, like a car accident or a robbery? What about the risk of nuclear war in my lifetime…? I don’t know what completely trusting God looks like. Why do some die, and some escape death? Why do some suffer and others live extravagantly? In a war, both sides may trust in God to see them through the fight…but it’s a battlefront, people will die, loved ones will not return home. Does my trust in God lead to my safety? Or, looking at trust from another angle, if I trust in God, what is it that I am to trust God with? My future, my finances, my health, my plans? What does it mean to trust in God? Continue reading “Trust in God: Lessons in Being Small from David and Goliath”

Chapter 2: Going to the Fair

This piece is a part of a larger project. First published on Thinking Peacefully on September 27, 2013, it is the second chapter in a larger ongoing work which dreams of the peace of the Resurrection.

Chapter 2: Going to the Fair

Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” Continue reading “Chapter 2: Going to the Fair”

Chapter 1: Moving In

This piece is a part of a larger project. First published on Thinking Peacefully on September 22, 2013, it is the first chapter in a larger work which dreams of the peace of the Resurrection.

Chapter 1: Moving In

“We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” Continue reading “Chapter 1: Moving In”

The Men and Women of Pod

The following is a guest blog by Bret Powell

There’s nothing new about podcasts, but the subscription-based digital downloads seem to be opening a new door into something that looks an awful lot like “community.” More than just a cult-following of artistic enthusiasm—of the kind that develops around eccentric films, music, television dramas, and many other types of media—these podcast communities are tuning in for a no-boundary brand of discussion and post-modern explorations of society. While the fear to express alternative political and religious opinions has left many feeling marginalized or “herniating on the fence of ambivalence—” teetering somewhere between definitive party platforms and the complexity of social issues, or between denominational identity and the failure of religion to meet the challenges of the culture in a way that does more than simply inoculate it with nostalgia for some golden era of the past—such frustrations are now the vital pulses of a different kind of community: a church. Instability and doubt are now a cause for gathering and commonality. This is the church of honesty and empathy, of expressiveness and profanity, of nuance and complexity, of story and therapy. Here, Jesus is still the Son of God…if you want him to be. But without a doubt, Satan is any semblance of hatred or shaming. Continue reading “The Men and Women of Pod”

Why Is the Church So Violent and What Can Be Done about It? (Part 2 of 2)

The following is a guest blog by Eric A. Seibert

When people look at the church, I want them to see a community that rejects violence and is committed to peace, justice, and reconciliation. Christians should be part of the solution to what ails the world, not part of the problem. In order for that to happen, the church needs to prepare its members to follow the nonviolent way of Jesus. Thankfully, there are many practical things the church can do in this regard. Continue reading “Why Is the Church So Violent and What Can Be Done about It? (Part 2 of 2)”

Why Is the Church so Violent and What Can Be Done about It? (Part 1 of 2)

The following is a guest blog by Eric A. Seibert

Among Christianity’s most notable teachings are commands to forgive wrongdoers (Col 3:13), love enemies (Matt 5:44), and serve others (Matt 20:20–28). Christians, empowered by God’s Spirit, should exhibit “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Gal 5:22–23 NRSV). Retaliation, retribution, and revenge are forbidden (Matt 5:38–42). Believers are never to “repay anyone evil for evil” (Rom 12:17 NRSV) but rather are to “overcome evil with good” (Rom 12:21 NRSV). Love is the quintessential virtue of Jesus’ followers and the identifying mark by which the world will recognize them as his disciples (John 13:35; 1 John 3:11–24; 4:7–12). Christians are to love their neighbors (Matt 22:39), treat others as they wish to be treated (Matt 7:12), and be merciful (Luke 6:36). They are to live such exemplary lives that others see their “good works” and glorify God (Matt 5:16 NRSV). Continue reading “Why Is the Church so Violent and What Can Be Done about It? (Part 1 of 2)”

Colin Kaepernick as Minor Prophet

Of the “controversy” surrounding the “take-a-knee” protests among certain players of the NFL (beginning with Colin Kaepernick), much noise and political commentary has already been made. As is usual, social media and the blogosphere have been lit up with shrill opinions since Kaepernick first refused to stand during the playing of the national anthem in protest of repeated examples of egregious police violence against young black men and boys. Because opinions on this topic tend to be immovable, I don’t doubt that my contribution here will have little impact. Yet, I can’t help feeling that the perspective I wish to share here may be very different from the ones typically shared—certainly in “evangelical” circles. Continue reading “Colin Kaepernick as Minor Prophet”

The Final Parable

The following is a guest blog by Brett Powell.

The Synoptic Gospels of Matthew and Luke share alternative adaptations of a parable told by Jesus in which a master, in preparation for a journey afar, temporarily entrusted various amounts of wealth to his servants. In Matthew’s version, eight talents (a unit of weight) are distributed among three servants: the first servant receiving five, the second receiving two and the third receiving only one—each according to his proper dynamic. In terms of wealth, it’s impossible to say just how much Jesus was imagining. The idea, so it would seem, is that each servant received, not just slight gradations in pay, but measurably different degrees of resources. Such that, the first servant is entrusted with a sum of resources which could potentially employ or support a multitude, the second is entrusted with the resources to support many and the third servant is given the means to support only a few. Continue reading “The Final Parable”

Why Ploughshares Bible Institute?

Disenchantment.

If I had to describe my experience in getting my education (I have a BA in Biblical Research and an MA in Theology) and what I had once thought it would bring me in one word, I think “disenchantment” is the one which sums it up the best. Why? Continue reading “Why Ploughshares Bible Institute?”