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This is a post that I have needed to write for a long time. I’ve put off writing it until now, however, because I’ve been carrying on an argument with myself about what the best way to organize it would be. I’ve spent a lot of time with Gollwitzer over the past half a dozen years or so, and it’s hard to boil down everything I want to say about Gollwitzer into some clear, straightforward advice. Of course, if you want the long version, you can always read my book: Our God Loves Justice: An Introduction to Helmut Gollwitzer (Fortress, 2017) . It just so happens that this is the best secondary source on Gollwitzer available in English so, you know, it’s a must read. But don’t take my word on it. Heath Carter agrees, as the photo below shows: Anyway, back to the task at hand. You, gentle reader, want to read Helmut Gollwitzer. Perhaps you’ve already read my book and are now ready to dive into Golli himself and get a first hand picture. Maybe you want to form some of your own opinions...

Medieval illumination of Jesus exorcizing the Gerasene demoniac from the Ottheinrich Folio By unknown (Markusmaler) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons The story of Jesus liberating the Gerasene demoniac (Luke 8:26-39 and parallels) has long bedeviled modern interpreters (stop groaning at the pun, please, gentle readers). A New Testament scholar as esteemed as E.P. Sanders once had to admit he wasn't quite sure what to make of this story (see his The Historical Figure of Jesus ). Is this vignette simply a case of ancient superstition, or might it have something to say to us directly today? Deeper Waters: Sermons for a New Vision , By Nibs Stroupe (edited by Collin Cornell) (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2017). Nibs Stroupe, a Presbyterian preacher from Georgia, has some perceptive insights here. (For some background on Stroupe, see my previous post .) Like many other Western readers today, he reflectively recoils from exorcism stories, yet he invites us to take a closer ...

It’s been a long time since I’ve done a post giving you, gentle readers, a peek into a book that I’ve been reading. In fact, the last time I did so was back in May of 2017 ( index of book reviews here ). But that doesn’t mean that I haven’t been reading: I have been. And I’ve been reading some interesting and thought-provoking stuff, including the book that I want to highlight for you today. Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation (Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2016). This book taught me a great deal about the black American experience, about the history of the struggle for black liberation, about the important role played by black urban rebellions of the 1960s and the successes of the Civil Rights movement, about how electoral politics has failed black America and castrated the hard-won gains of that earlier generation, about how “colorblindness” coincides with victim blaming and how it dovetails with the legitimization role played by the black elite, and...

That's right, gentle readers, it's the post that you've all been waiting for! Now, I grant that you might not have known that you were waiting for this post. But ever since my original post on 10 Reasons You Should Assign Our God Loves Justice in Your Class , I know that your deep subconscious has been tormented by the question: WILL HE GIVE US 10 MORE REASONS?!?!?! In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you had nightmares in which you were tormented by a desire, or a fear, or an existential threat that lurked just out of your vision and stalked you in the proverbial night. And, of course, then came the post where you learned that there is a Free Study Guide for Our God Loves Justice . How you were able to stand the suspense, the interminable waiting in uncertainly, I'll never know. But you did! I'm here with good news in answer to your inquiry of ultimate concern: YES, YES HE (I mean, I *ahem*) WILL!!! And here it is! Like I said in the first post, I t...