“God has shown me that I should no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean” —Peter to Cornelius (Acts 10:28) Conversion stories When I was kid, my family used to listen to a radio drama called Unshackled! every Sunday night on our drive home from Sunday night church. Unshackled! is the longest-running radio drama in history, having first aired on September 23, 1950, and continuing to this day. To date, over 3,700 episodes have been produced. Each half-hour episode... Read more
“They stood there puzzled” (v. 4, NLT). “The women were terrified” (v. 5). “The story sounded like nonsense to the men, so they didn’t believe it” (v. 11). “He went home again, wondering what had happened” (v. 12). Puzzled. Terrified. Nonsense. Didn’t believe it. Wondering. These are not words we normally associate with Easter. And yet, here they are in Luke’s Gospel narrative of that first Easter morning. Why would Luke include these details? At the outset of his Gospel,... Read more
In addition to writing and pastoring, one of the hats I wear is managing editor at the Institute of Mennonite Studies at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary. There I have the privilege of working on projects that center voices and perspectives that historically have been marginalized or silenced. One of those projects is the recent book Resistance: Confronting Violence, Power, and Abuse within Peace Churches, edited by Cameron Altaras and Carol Penner. Historic peace churches, like the Mennonites and Amish featured in... Read more
This Sunday, June 12, I’m speaking about Christian nonviolence with my friend Ryan Yazel at South Bend City Church, as part of a sermon series on their mantra “Everyone an Icon.” This is probably as good a time as any to mention that the book I coauthored with my friend Myles Werntz, A Field Guide to Christian Nonviolence: Key Thinkers, Activists, and Movements for the Gospel of Peace (Baker Academic, 2022), is now available! About the book The book arose... Read more
Paul as Champion for Christ When I was a kid, we used to sing a song in children’s church based on Philippians 4:13: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me; I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me; Day by day, hour by hour, I am strengthen by his power; I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me! This verse has become a motto for people pursuing great achievements in life. While “John... Read more
In the first week of May, 43% of baby formula supplies were out of stock across the United States. This followed a recall on formula by Abbott Nutrition, after four babies developed a bacterial infection after using the formula—two of them subsequently dying. Since Abbott Nutrition is one of only three major producers of baby formula in the United States, their recall created a nationwide shortage. Last Thursday, the governor of Texas issued a fiery statement about the federal government’s... Read more
On April 13, 1960, Christian Century magazine published Martin Luther King Jr.’s essay “Pilgrimage to Nonviolence” as part of their series “How My Mind Has Changed,” in which theologians and other public intellectuals reflect on their prior decade of intellectual development. In the essay, King describes how his view of nonviolence developed from understanding Jesus’s commands to “turn the other cheek” and “love your enemies” as applicable only to interpersonal situations to seeing its applicability to group conflicts and even international relations.... Read more
This past summer, some colleagues and I wrote a series of posts titled Fiercely Faithful: Rad Women of Scripture. For the series, we consulted a number of commentaries and other studies. Below is a bibliography of some of the works that focus specifically on (rad) women in the Bible, along with links to more information or ways to purchase them. Bach, Alice, ed. Women in the Hebrew Bible: A Reader. New York: Routledge, 1999. Caspi, Mishael Maswari, and Sascha Benjamin Cohen.... Read more
What is good news and how do we communicate it? David C. Cramer Read Isaiah 40:1–11 Isaiah 40:1–11 is addressed to a people—indeed, to a nation—that is slowly emerging from a prolonged, painful experience of collective trauma. Old Testament scholars observe that verses 1–11 serve as the prologue to the second major unit of Isaiah, chapters 40–55. The first unit of Isaiah, chapters 1–39, speaks words of judgment on Judah for its sin, idolatry, and oppression. This section leads up... Read more
Priscilla: Coequal Partner and Pastor By David C. Cramer Read Acts 18 This post concludes our summer series, Fiercely Faithful: Rad Women of Scripture. All summer long, we’ve explored how God is fiercely faithful to women throughout Scripture, and how they each respond with their own kinds of fierce faithfulness in return. We saw how Eve shows faith in God, becoming mother to all the living. Pastor Carrie preached on how Hagar gives God the name “the God who sees.”... Read more
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