One Blood

It is common knowledge that Jesus selected twelve disciples to follow Him. His purpose in choosing these men was to teach them about His kingdom and prepare them to serve as apostles after His death, burial, and resurrection (except for Judas Iscariot, of course). What few realize is that Scripture reveals considerable information regarding the political leanings of two of the disciples, as well as a handful of evidence about the others. Here is what we know: Matthew the tax collector gathered “tolls for Herod Antipas from the commercial traffic traveling through th[e] area” of Capernaum. [1] Because Herod answered to Caesar, Matthew in turn was an employee of the Roman government. Most Jews despised their kinsmen who operated as tax collectors because of their cooperation with the empire that oppressed their homeland. Simon the Zealot appears to have involved himself “in revolutionary activity before becoming Jesus’ follower,” [2] meaning he almost certainly held anti-Roman ...

If you're interested in multiethnic marriage in the Old Testament, you will enjoy this article that I wrote for the Journal of Mid-American Baptist Theological Seminary: https://www.mabts.edu/sites/all/themes/midamerica/uploads/Akers%2C%20Multiethnic%20Marriage%20in%20the%20Old%20Testament%20eVersion.pdf

Book Recommendation: During the past fifty years, Western culture has experienced a significant shift in its overall stance regarding multiethnic marriage. As a result, more North Americans than ever marry spouses whose ethnicity (or culture) differs from theirs. This trend also is observable in Christian circles. Unfortunately, few resources exist to help multiethnic couples maneuver through the potential minefield of cultural collision. The purpose of this volume is to provide such a resource. Equally Yoked examines the subject of multiethnic marriage from a biblical perspective, before considering a history of the practice in North America over the last four centuries. Additionally, this book surveys the challenges that multiethnic Christian couples frequently encounter, and offers premarital counseling propositions that will prove valuable to both counselors and couples who originate from diverse backgrounds. If your marriage is multiethnic or you would like to better learn how ...

One issue that has dominated the current news cycle is the topic of immigration. As we begin this discussion, I would like to make a couple of disclaimers: 1) Politically I’m an Independent, so I’m not endorsing or disparaging either political party in this post; 2) I believe that neither political party has handled the issue of immigration well. Instead, the topic of immigration reform has been kicked down the proverbial road too often because it is more complex than many care to admit, and has been employed as a weapon by both political parties to attack each other. Few are willing to address the subject in concrete ways that consider the reality of the situation at hand. When politicians do address the subject, often they make broad sweeping arguments that wrongly place all immigrants into the same basket. Last week, Republicans and Democrats met together to discuss issues such as DACA, and the meeting muddied the waters even further. Two stories have emerged from the gathering. ...