Voices
John W. Martens is a professor of theology and director of the Centre for Christian Engagement at St. Mark’s College at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C.
The Good Word
Some of you may remember me from The Good Word, where I wrote for over 4 years. I decided to move on a little more than a year ago to begin my own blog Biblejunkies. At Biblejunkies I wanted to focus more on the practice of biblical studies as such and the philosophical, theological and hermeneutical questions that rest behind the practice of biblical studies, making these questions available to a wider online audience. I will continue that blog, but I will also begin blogging again at The Good Word. Some of what I do at Biblejunkies might only be posted there and the same will take place with certain The Good Word blog posts, but I hope to do a lot of cross-posting as well between the two blogs. This happy reunion took place when I was appointed The Word columnist and discussions took place as to how I might connect with the magazine audience online and what shape that online presence might take.
The Word
Entering into the Catholic Church as an adult as many are preparing to do during this Lenten season is a movement of faith that takes time Candidates often wonder if this is the ldquo right rdquo time or the ldquo best rdquo time As they celebrate the scrutiny rites on this Third Sunday of L
The Word
When God entered into a covenant with Abram ldquo a trance fell upon Abram and a deep terrifying darkness enveloped him rdquo When Jesus took Peter James and John to the mountain to pray ldquo a cloud came and cast a shadow over them and they became frightened when they entered the cloud
The Word
Lent is a time to prepare for spiritual transformation whether this will be signified by the sacraments of initiation at the Easter Vigil or by other rites and signs of conversion But in order to prepare for transformation one must turn back to God This is not easy and those who have turned back
FaithThe Word
God’s “otherness” is not intended to drive us away from him but to draw us near to him.
The Word
The church is a body of believers and each part is essential for the overall health of the body According to St Paul each individual person is vital for the body to thrive All three of the readings for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time place us in the context of the body of believers Two of th
The Word
Love never fails because God who is love never fails Human loves can be disordered and disintegrate because they can be built upon our own misguided hopes and desires We mistake what we want or how we perceive something for how things must be or truly are When Jesus spoke in the synagogue in Na
The Good Word
Since 2007 I have blogged at America Magazine rsquo s ldquo The Good Word rdquo and have enjoyed the practice and habit of blogging immensely ldquo The Good Word rdquo gave me the freedom to write on the topics and passages on which I saw fit and significantly gave me a built in audience sin
The Good Word
Jesus said to his disciples Be watchful Be alert You do not know when the time will come It is like a man traveling abroad He leaves home and places his servants in charge each with his own work and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch Watch therefore you do not know when the Lord of the hous