You have heard that it is said: love your neighbor and hate your enemy. Translations might differ, but what follows comes across well in most translations: Jesus enjoins those hearing the Sermon on the Mount to love enemies and pray for persecutors. Those unsettling commandments never stop scandalizing those who spend time meditating on them, and those who contemplate the New Testament and pray the Old Testament run into another problem: certain of the Psalms pray regarding enemies, but few readers would mistake them for loving intercessions. How can a follower of the one who forgave his enemies from the cross pray onthe same God that God break those enemies’ teeth? That question has always been before us, whether we know it or not, and Dr. Trevor Laurence’s book Cursing with God takes it as seriously as Holy Scriptures demand, articulating a theology of Scripture, of forgiveness, and of the role of the faithful along the way. Christian Humanist Profiles is glad to welcome Dr. Laurence to the show.
When my students ask me–and soon enough they learn not to ask me–I always tell them I’m an unrepentant left-winger; after all, I’ve never...
David Grubbs interviews Terrence Kardong about his recent book "Saint Columban: His Life, Rule, and Legacy."
An interview with Margaret Feinberg about her recent book "Taste and See."