Yesterday, Chad, Kurk Gayle, and I sat down for coffee (for me, it was iced black tea since Starbuck’s ran out of green tea yesterday–I’m serious) and a good conversation about life at Texas Christian University, church, and family.
One of the topics that came up was my personal history of blogging, how my blogging style has changed, etc, from Hope and Theology blog to Echomen Elpida to Black Libertarian Theology blog to now, Political Jesus. Why Political Jesus? The name is inspired by theologian John Howard Yoder’s The Politics Of Jesus, a book I hope to someday go back and read over and over again.
The other idea that came up was the subversiveness of Jesus’s parables. Jesus took stories that his crowds were familiar with, and gave them a twist. It was a shock factor that made his parables and ministry quite controversial. I mean, just think about the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Would a second century Jewish father run to hug his disgraced son? One has to wonder.
After the meeting and much reflection, really, shouldn’t Christians do as Jesus do with their lives? Shouldn’t they recite narratives that are all too familiar to their culture, and but with a Gospel twist? Is not this what Christian witness is all about?
I like the idea! I tried to do that last 9/11 with the Good Samaritan. Jesus knew how to really mess with people didn’t he!
He did! I actually presented the Good Samaritan (with an Afghanistan twist) last year at church.
Great minds:
The Good Samaritan Woman
think alike, or something like that…
perhaps we should have parable Tuesdays on PJ!
Yes, great idea. Email me, we will decide which to do first. I was also leading toward Mondays with Moltmann.
Great conference!
Some of us can’t wait ’til Tuesday:
“put the flowers in my vases” (just to remind us that “Semen-aries” and their “Semen-ars” are part and parcel of the Patri-Archy).
Black Comparisons
Great thoughts, thanks for that!
Though I do think that “Is not this what Christian witness is all about?” is a bit strong, I do appreciate your thoughts and look forward to reading parables in this new light.
Yeah I meant it to be strong. Thanks for stopping by Jon!