Which enemies are we talking about?

I’ve always been a bit tripped up by Jesus’ instruction to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. This must have made good sense to folks living under Roman occupation, but it has never clicked for me. Who are these enemies? To be sure, no one is persecuting me. Living in a hyper-partisan and polarized US has given a little context for these words, as it can be a challenge to love those across the political aisle, but still I rarely think of anyone as an enemy.

The Century has some fascinating pieces that shed light on potential enemies past, present, and future. In a lively interview, scholar Amy-Jill Levine discusses the phrase “the Jews” in John’s Gospel and the ways it has contributed to anti-Jewish sentiment. Jason Byassee reviews a book by K. H. Miskotte—a 20th-century Dutch theologian who engaged Barthian thought while actively resisting the Nazis. My colleague Jess Mesman explores the looming future (and current?) threat of artificial intelligence.

No video this week, but here is a bonus blog post from me about my post-evangelical journey and the fear of death (responding to some ideas from Rachel Held Evans and Blaise Pascal).

Email me: Do you have “enemies”? If so, what does it mean to love them?

Jon Mathieu
[email protected]

What should churches do about the treatment of “the Jews” in John?

“Discernment continues. If it did not, churches would be putting the Holy Spirit out of business. If one church or denomination changes the lectionary and another does not, I doubt this will bring Christianity to a halt.”

Steve Thorngate interviews Amy-Jill Levine

Back to basics with a Dutch Nazi resistor

“Dutch pastor K. H. Miskotte was trying to reintroduce Christian faith to its Jewish roots and to lead the church in the Netherlands to resist the occupying Nazis, with his family taking the risk of sheltering Jews in their home. Miskotte channeled Karl Barth in his own work, now translated into English for the first time.”

The problem with artificial intelligence is us

“This isn’t a problem of some future dystopia; it’s one we’ve already been living with for years.”

by Jessica Mesman

In the Lectionary for this week

Maundy Thursday: Would Peter resist having his feet washed by another disciple?

Good Friday: Evil uses people’s anxieties, fears, and prejudices to twist good intentions into cruel deeds.

by Melissa Earley

Easter Day: In recent years, I’ve become somewhat of an Easter Grinch.

[Podcast] In search of truth in physics

“I went there originally to speak to him about the origins of space and time, but in the back of my mind, I wanted to ask him about his meditation practices.”

Amy Frykholm interviews Zeeya Merali

Priyanka Kumar considers the birds

“She eventually identified the inward chasm she had felt for years as a disintegration between herself and the natural world. It was her communion (and conversations) with birds that eventually inspired an awakening.”

review by Karen Milioto