Posts by Jon C. Olson
An Approach to Transgender Issues
If you swim to rescue a drowning person, they may put you in a headlock and try to climb onto you in an effort to keep their head above water. You should not fight to break loose or compete for breaths. Rather, you should dive. They will release you to stay on the surface. You…
Read MorePost-supersessionist Analogy between Welcoming Gentiles in Scripture and Homosexual Persons Today
Introduction During the last half century, sexual standards and behaviors in the West have changed dramatically: increased use of contraception, living together without marriage, delaying of marriage, increased divorce, childbearing absent a lasting relationship with the father, redefinition of marriage, and increased approval of casual abortion, casual sex, cross-dressing and other behaviors previously considered unacceptable.…
Read MoreBook Review: Bible Gender Sexuality: Reframing the Church’s Debate on Same-Sex Relationships by James V. Brownson
James Brownson’s Bible, Gender, Sexuality has gained a prominent place in church debates about homoerotic behavior. Brownson asserts that a revisionist view affirming same-sex unions can be just as biblical as the traditional view. However, his major premise is suspect. As Andrew Goddard puts it: Brownson has a commitment ‘to establish a wider, transcultural vision…
Read MorePursuers of Peace: A Response to Rabbi Paul Saal’s “Queer for Jesus”
I thank the Hashivenu board for inviting me to respond to Rabbi Paul Saal’s learned, provocative, and gracious essay.1 Let’s begin with a story. The Talmud (Berachot 61b) records that when the Romans forbade the teaching of the Torah, Rabbi Akiva continued to teach it. He explained himself by the following parable: Fishermen were casting…
Read MorePaul Employing Leviticus: Same-Sex Intercourse Considered Amongst Torah Commandments
It is sometimes argued that because the New Testament writers set aside circumcision, food laws, Sabbath, biblical purity laws, and welcomed Gentiles, anything in the Old Testament ought to be set aside if unsuitable for the ekklesia.[1] Recently, this argument has been raised with regard to the prohibition of same-sex intercourse in Leviticus. A seminary…
Read MorePaul within Messiah, Torah, and Judaism
Paul’s allegiance to Yeshua (Jesus) is often thought to have impelled him to break with Judaism and the Torah (Law). This article advances a contrary position to the traditional view, maintaining that Paul remained within Judaism. In writing about circumcision, Sabbath, Jewish dietary laws and meat offered to idols, Paul accepted the authority of Scripture…
Read MoreGentile Yeshua-Believers Praying in the Synagogue: Why and How
Introduction I have been praying in the synagogue for more than twenty-five years-yet I am not Jewish. This essay explains in both theoretical and practical terms how and why Gentile Yeshua-believers may pray the traditional Jewish liturgy in the company of Jews. It is with a measure of trepidation that I discuss how Jewish and…
Read MoreJohn W. Miller, How The Bible Came To Be: Exploring The Narrative And Message
(Mahwah, N.J.: Paulist Press, 2004. 188 PP.) John W. Miller, professor emeritus at Conrad Grebel University College/ University of Waterloo in Ontario and author of The Origins of the Bible: Rethinking Canon History, 1 has produced a simple proposal with broad implications in How the Bible Came to Be . The latter book was drafted…
Read MoreTwelve Ethical Interpretations for Matthew 1:1-2
This essay honors a traditional Jewish interpretive style used with the Torah, by imitating it with respect to the New Covenant scriptures. The twelve interpretations illustrate that God’s Word is an inexhaustible source of inspiration and instruction. My fanciful elaborations exalt the giver of the Word, much as the fanciful multiplication of the ten plagues…
Read MoreReflections On Michael Wyschogrod’s Critique Of Jewish Christianity
Is there any merit in an Orthodox Jew’s theological objections to Jewish Christianity? Much, in every way! Can believers in Yeshua agree with all these objections, and still be faithful? By no means! However, in several instances, the objections are closer to the truth than what they resist. Resources for responses of faithful discipleship already…
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