Category Archives: Paul Nuechterlein’s Blog

“It’s not what’s wrong with you — it’s what happened to you.” Last week I attended a community event to learn about Adverse Childhood Experiences — ACEs. The featured activity was to view a recent documentary by James Redford (Robert’s … Continue reading →

Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth [‘mammon’].” — Matt. 6:24; … Continue reading →

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matt. 5:48) I nominate Matthew 5:38-48 as the most important passage in Scripture for our time. It conveys the element in Jesus’ teaches ministry which most distinguishes him in human history. … Continue reading →

A Challenge to Girardian Peacemakers to ‘Up Our Game’ I’ve been working on this blog for more than a month. It began with my struggle to muster the customary “Happy New Year!” this year. Under the shadow of Donald Trump … Continue reading →

The significance of the Christmas season of celebration took on new clarity for me in encountering a quote from the influential New Testament scholar Walter Wink (who was also among the founders of the Girardian ‘guild’, the Colloquium on Violence … Continue reading →

As I read this Sunday’s Gospel of the Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector (Luke 18:9-14), I’m also reading and digesting N.T. Wright‘s brand new book The Day the Revolution Began: Reconsidering the Meaning of Jesus’s Crucifixion. Based on a thorough … Continue reading →

You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour. — Luke 12:40 This Sunday’s Gospel is one of many in the Synoptic Gospels with an apocalyptic feel to it, ringing out a sense … Continue reading →

As we get ready to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation (October 31, 2017), it might be timely to significantly advance reform of Christ’s church, guided by correctly translating two crucial Reformation verses — Gal 2:16a and Rom 3:22a. … Continue reading →

Holy Thursday Reflections: Instituting a New Religious Practice, Not a New Religion Holy Week 2016 When Jesus and his disciples, all Jews, sat down to the Passover meal on the night of his betrayal, was he starting a new religion? … Continue reading →