Managing Editor for mbird.com. Phd in New Testament and Early Christianity from Durham University, England. On Twitter @toddbrewer_
About Todd Brewer
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Another Week Ends: Jesus in the News, Body-Positivity, Unconditional Love, Score-Keeping, and Grace for Life-Wasters
1. Kicking off this week we take a bit of a deep dive into all the Jesus articles that appeared over the holiday season, which featured no small amount of controversy. On Christmas Eve, Peter Wehner wrote in the New York Times of “The Forgotten Radicalism of Jesus,” assembling a variety of gospel narratives to argue […]
Storming the Capitol in the Name of Jesus
The images from yesterday were unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Amid the certification of election votes, a mob descended upon the Capitol Building, broke through the barricades, and vandalized the place where laws are written. Congress was immediately disbanded and ushered into undisclosed safe rooms. Doors were barricaded, guns were drawn, tear gas fired. Seeing […]
The Top Theology Books of 2020
If there’s one thing this year has been good for it’s books. That, and the additional time to read them. The following are some of the most interesting theological books published in 2020 that made the forever staying-at-home life a little more bearable. Click here to see last year’s list. Paul and the Power of […]
Another Week Ends: A Darth Vader Nativity, Holiday Blues, Christmas Hope, the Star of the Magi, & the Parable of a Dirty Sock
1. Every year, the Vatican erects a different nativity scene in St. Peter’s Square. They’re kind of a big deal. Past displays have been politically themed, while others were more traditionally beautiful. But the chosen scene this year is causing quite the stir. Including a fire extinguisher, ring-wraith figurine, and an astronaut helmet, the New […]
Giving Tuesday Indulgences for Black Friday Guilt
Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and then Cyber Monday. For four days we buy, buy, and buy — for others (because we have to) but also for ourselves. Perhaps mostly for ourselves. The frenzy of spending is occasioned by the holiday season, but more and more of us have been self-gifting. With all the […]
Circles of Grace and the One-Way Love of God
In anticipation of the publication of John Barclay’s book, Paul and the Power of Grace, Part Six of our “Defining Grace” series concludes with my own post on grace and circularity. In his classic children’s book, The Giving Tree, Shel Silverstein tells the story of a young boy who is befriended by a tree. The tree simply […]
Can the Good Outweigh the Bad? The Case of the Philanthropist-Serial Killer
On the Balance Sheets We Live By and the Hope of Canceled Debts
Another Week Ends: Active Listening, Moral Injury, Salad Righteousness, Yoga Humor, and Fat-Shaming
1. Leading off this week, Carlen Maddux has a fantastic interview with none other than Mary Zahl discussing the practice of active listening and its transformative, healing power. While most of our daily conversations could be said to be two people waiting for the other person to stop talking, active listening is something else altogether: […]
What’s Your Starbucks Story?
If the Stories of my Coworkers are Remarkable at all, It Is for their Honesty.
Another Week Ends: Canceling Christmas, Acceptance Parenting, Emily Dickinson, the Church in 2020, Law and Gospel, and Myside Bias
1. Will COVID cancel Christmas this year? I certainly hope not, but that’s what Giles Fraser asks in his latest at UnHerd. Much about this year’s celebration will undoubtedly be different, if not cancelled; [The Grinch] COVID might steal our banquets, caroling, pageants, and large gatherings, but perhaps this year the pathos and joy of […]
Pirates, Parrots, and Plot Holes of Grace
“That Kid and His Monkey / Were Terrible Thieves. / Why Do They Get to Dance and Sing?”
What is Grace? Defining the One Word Everyone Needs to Know
On John Barclay’s landmark book, Paul and the Gift
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