Geza Vermes, a distinguished Oxford scholar first coined the term Galilean Hasid in his book Jesus the Jew, in 1973. Seen as revolutionary at the time, Vermes sought to place Jesus in his proper historical context as a covenant observant Jewish outlier from Galilee, a holy man, charismatic teacher, healer and prophet.
Let me begin with an inconvenient truth about this crazy life that we are all stumbling through together. Pretty much everyone eventually gets to spend some time in the wilderness! If, like me, wilderness becomes part of your lived experience – embrace it – because make no mistake you are in excellent company. In recent […]
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John Howard Yoder is amongst the prominent Christian scholars, who have argued that the ethics of Christian pacifism finds its foundation in the Hebrew bible. Himself, a pacifist from the Mennonite tradition, he was arguably America’s most influential pacifist theologian of the twentieth century. Michael Cartwright and Peter Ochs are among a growing number of
It is entirely appropriate that the Christians who adopt an active pacifist life, model their commitment on the life of the God with skin on man from Galilee, Jesus. He is for Christians the quintessential pacifist par excellence. Difficulty arises, however, when one enters the vast and varied terrain of Hebrew scripture. It is there
If you looking for a mission statement, that defines the life and work of the Galilean, the ultimate ‘God with Skin on man,’ that they nailed to a tree. It is all beautifully crystallized in Luke’s gospel, right at the get go of his modus operandi. The ethic supreme that must be pursued above all
Preferential Option for the Poor: The Real Deal Read More »