Aaron Simms's Blog, page 26

Interview

I did an interview a while back for Christine Henderson for her writer’s blog (TheWriteChris) to discuss how I write and manage time. The links are below. If you’re a budding writer, I encourage you to check out the rest of her blog.

Interview

Main blog site

[Pen image by Guillaume Carels (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aliceinw...), via Wikimedia Commons]

Merry Christmas!

Leading up to Christmas, we all tend to write lists of what we want for Christmas. We put things on our lists like toys, games, electronics, and other things we want. But, we don’t often put down things we need, like clothing or food. No kid I know of puts down things like soap and toothpaste and clothing on their Christmas list, even though they need these things. I know that when I was growing up I never really appreciated some of the gifts I received.

Yet, on Christmas morning we celebrate...

Reflections on Psalm 46

I recently preached a short homily on Psalm 46. The following are my notes on the Psalm, divided in the historical context, literary context, theological insights, and contemporary application.

Historical Context

The superscription of the psalm says, “To the choirmaster. A psalm of the sons of Korah, set to Alamoth. A song” (NASB). The sons of Korah were Levites who were commissioned by David to sing in the temple (cf. 1 Chronicles 6:22, 31ff). So, the psalm as a song makes sense in this contex...

Early Christianity and Today

I’ve been reading a book by Rodney Stark called “The Rise of Christianity.” Stark is a sociologist by training, so he approaches the subject from this perspective. He traces the rise of Christianity during the first few centuries AD.

There are a number of points he makes that are thought-provoking for our present context. Stark notes that the Roman culture of the first few centuries featured the following characteristics:

- Lack of value attached to human life

- Lack of emphasis on the virtues o...

Reformation Day

Today is Reformation Day!

On October 31, 1517 a young German monk named Martin Luther nailed his “95 Thesis” to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. He meant to call for a debate on abusive church practices regarding the sale of indulgences, but this particular debate never came. Instead, Luther’s challenge to the church began to be centered around the Gospel of Jesus Christ

This Reformation of the Church begun by Luther on that day was centered around the Gospel. Luther held,...

Review of Zealot – Summary and Conclusion

This is the conclusion and summary to my review of Zealot by Reza Aslan. If you don’t want to read through the more in-depth installments, then this post will summarize it for you.

One of the main problems with Aslan’s book is that there’s really nothing new in it. There’s no new scholarship, no real citations, and no strong analytical thinking. It is simply Aslan’s dramatic retelling of what other non-Christians writers have already claimed about Jesus and the early New Testament Church. The...

Review of Zealot – Fourth Installment

This is the fourth installment of my review ofZealot, by Reza Aslan. You can find the previous installments here:

http://lutheranchronicles.com/review-of-zealot-first-installment/

http://lutheranchronicles.com/review-of-zealot-second-installment/

http://lutheranchronicles.com/review-of-zealot-third-installment/

I’ve already covered Parts I and II of Aslan’s book, so this installment begins with Aslan’s prologue to Part III.

Most of his prologue is centered around the martyrdom of the disciple Step...

Review of “Zealot” – Conclusion and Summary

This is the conclusion and summary to my review of Zealot by Reza Aslan. If you don’t want to read through the more in-depth installments, then this post will summarize it for you.

One of the main problems with Aslan’s book is that there’s really nothing new in it. There’s no new scholarship, no real citations, and no strong analytical thinking. It is simply Aslan’s dramatic retelling of what other non-Christians writers have already claimed about Jesus and the early New Testament Church. The...

Review of “Zealot” – Fourth Installment

This is the fourth installment of my review ofZealot, by Reza Aslan. You can find the previous installments here:

http://lutheranchronicles.com/review-of-zealot-first-installment/

http://lutheranchronicles.com/review-of-zealot-second-installment/

http://lutheranchronicles.com/review-of-zealot-third-installment/

I’ve already covered Parts I and II of Aslan’s book, so this installment begins with Aslan’s prologue to Part III.

Most of his prologue is centered around the martyrdom of the disciple Step...

Review of Zealot – Third Installment

This is the third installment of my review ofZealot, by Reza Aslan. You can find the first and second installments here:

http://lutheranchronicles.com/review-of-zealot-first-installment/

http://lutheranchronicles.com/review-of-zealot-second-installment/

The second installment covered Part I of the book, and this installment begins with Aslan’s prologue to Part II.

In his prologue to Part II, Aslan tries to paint Jesus as a “zealot,” using the word “zeal” to understand “who Jesus was and what Jesu...