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Tag: Difficult texts

Violence, Division, and the Kingdom of God

Violence, Division, and the Kingdom of God

On the last Sunday in June I preached a sermon on Matthew 10:24-39. That passage came to my mind again as I read about the events in Charlottesville last weekend. In part of that passage Jesus says the following: 34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her…

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Slavery in 1 Peter

Slavery in 1 Peter

Slavery is referenced over and over again throughout the New Testament. This is not surprising, because slavery was a pervasive reality in the ancient world, embedded deeply in the fabric of society. Historians estimate that one quarter to one third of the population of the Roman Empire were slaves. That is the context in which the early church found itself, and therefore it is part of the language early Christians used to express their faith. But we who condemn slavery…

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