Reading the Church

"In our fragmented, post-Christian culture, . . . what is demanded is a theology of orthopraxy more than orthodoxy. Again, this is not to dispense with the need for orthodoxy as a foundation for faith. It is, however, to make the practice of the Christian faith the ultimate concern of theology. What really matters now is how the church is able to articulate and demonstrate a transformative spirituality. If people are going to consider Christianity as a religion, the first text they may read is not the Bible but the church."

The Church in Exile, p. 162

The Firstfruits of a New Creation

"Gandalf! I thought you were dead! But then I thought I was dead myself. Is everything sad going to come untrue? What's happened to the world?"

-Surprised to be alive, Sam addressing Gandalf in Return of the King

"And he who was seated on the throne said, 'Behold, I am making all things new.' Also he said, 'Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.'"

-Revelation 21:5

Good Friday

“[In anticipation of the coming Christ], God's Shekinah suffers the exile of his people. . . . has become homeless, and wanders restlessly through the dust of this world’s streets."

-Shekinah: The Home of the Homeless God, by Jürgen Moltmann

"Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?' that is, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'"

-Matthew 27:45,46

Banal "Politics as Usual"

". . . American Christians too often find themselves in deep regret at the loss of the privileges of being the chaplains to power. The Religious Right in the United States grasps desperately for nostalgic signs of 'influence' and occasionally works up enough political influence to warrant the passing notice of partisan machines. But their accomplishments are heralded by the world not because of their unique Christian witness, but precisely because of their ability to express support for the gods of the state and engage in banal 'politics as usual.'"

A Biblical Theology of Exile, p. 202