“When people deny the humanity of others, they become evil themselves.” -N.T. Wright
I’m preparing to do a quarter of a year (January-March) teaching with the themes and the companion videos of Tom Wright’s book Evil and the Justice of God.
We’ll be tackling some tough territory:
• Why is there so much Evil in the world? (More than ever?)
• Why does God let it happen and what, if anything, is God doing really about it? (What’s going on?)
• How does the Bible approach the subject? (Whoa. Lots of common misunderstandings here!)
• How does Justice work? (Revenge, Justice, Mercy, we’ll be sorting that out.)
• What is our role or best response with regards to Evil? (Do we stand against it, roll over, avoid it, bear it? The answers may surprise you.)
If you can’t make the classes Sundays 9:30-10:15 a.m. at Bethesda, I’ll be highlighting items here as I work on it and as I teach.
Here’s an intro video trailer. The book is remarkable. I highly recommend it.
Amish being arraigned for hair and beard cutting attacks. A sticky situation.
Have you heard about the Amish-on-Amish hair and beard cutting violence? (You will if you read this.)
And, like me, have you ever wondered if the Amish read Amish romance books?
Watch and listen to writer Shawn Smucker‘s unique take on these topics in a limited-time release of epic bonus video material. This video will not be available as usual on the NiNJA interviews youtube channel. It will not be shown here, or released to the general public. To view this bonus video, click here.
If you enjoy it, remember there’s more to come. You won’t want to miss it. To get unfettered access on all future bonus videos use the contact form on the right. (It’s your ticket to FREE Savvy! Boo–yah!)
SO — Who’s Shawn, exactly, and is he related to the SMUCKERS JELLY people…you know…the “With a name like Smuckers, it’s gotta be good” folks?
Shawn Smucker has Amish roots, and can trace his ancestry back almost 400 years to 1620 German farmers. He’s written several books on the Amish, including Think No Evil on the tragic Nickel Mines Schoolhouse shooting and forgiveness in Amish culture. His latest book My Amish Roots details the culture, traditions, stories of this intriguing Christian subculture that shun modern conveniences, and live a slow-paced agrarian lifestyle rich in community, Christian values, and tight generational family bonds.
Shawn Smucker
January 23, I’ll post Shawn’s Ninja Interview video in 2 parts (viewable here and on youtube). We chat about the Amish culture, forgiveness, his not yet widely known upcoming book project, and more.
(It’s so good, I couldn’t limit it to the typical 5-6 minutes.) Tune in and you’ll find out if Shawn also has Jelly roots, too.
(pppsst. The best way to see it right away is to subscribe here, or on the youtube channel.)
Current “FREE SAVVY” members, your access is already in place. Enjoy.
Don’t be tempted to …ahem… peg Jael as the Biblical forerunner of the fierce “Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling”. She was a nobody who cared for sheep and endured the harsh elements.
As a tent dweller of the Kenite clan, she was riffraff to the nth degree. (The spiffy clothing you may see her depicted in is just wishful thinking. A bath would be hard to come by, let alone silk fineries, and dainty hairstyling.)
So-NEVER doubt this, Jael is one shrewd and formidable female; and she clobbers an expert of war, with her own violence, as a part of God’s plan.
She’s sharp, very sharp.
Here lies the mighty Warrior, Sisera…almost pinned down.
Could this be one instance (of many) where a Bible story may effect an impressionable mind?
Perhaps envision the scene following a Bible study at a female penitentiary … “Yo, ladies, are you ready to get your Jael on!? Wooo…” Okay, maybe not. But, I can totally see a Bible inspired video game for Christian families….rated T for Teen (of course)… that includes this scene. The object would be to get in the most spike poundings before the warrior wakes up. That’s completely obvious, right?
Incidentally, this story also proves how brilliantly somniferous warm milk can be. Note to self.
Most importantly, this story begs us to root for Jael, and everyone like her. She’s an impoverished foreigner. A diminutive herding woman. And she triumphs in a crucial battle to save a whole nation. Underdog doesn’t begin to describe her.
This isn’t just an astonishing battle tale, or reversal of fortune story, it’s a message of hope for all of us up against the odds. God gives us the strength to peg and conquer our obstacles. God’s character is shown in this and the many underdog stories in the Bible.
Literarily unheard of, this story is like no other. No other ancient literature in the world included women very much, let alone wrote them up as full- blown heroines. But, God captures his heart for us within this story of an unlikely woman who saves an entire people group from destruction.
Remember this:
Undoubtably, you have God’s camaraderie when the odds are against you, or when your foes or circumstance seems too great to overcome.
God has mercy for your “type,” and it is his joy to help you prevail. Keep your hope in the Lord, the Almighty King.
Do you ever feel like an underdog?
What would you like to pin and conquer?
Don’t miss that next post. Get the RSS feed in your reader or get the next post sent straight to your inbox. (sign up in the right sidebar, up top)
