Something to chew on...

We walk on earth,
we look after,
like rainbow sitting on top.
But something underneath,
under the ground.
We don't know.
You don't know.
What do you want to do?
If you touch,
you might get cyclone, heavy rain or flood.
Not just here,
you might kill someone in another place.
Might be kill him in another country.
You cannot touch him.

from "Gagadju Man" by Big Bill Neidjie (2001)

A thought on Crossan

My good friend Joey has been raving about John Dominic Crossan this past year, so I decided I'd give him a try. I've been reading Jesus: A revolutionary biography, the book has been ok. I must admit I am a bit disappointed. Mostly that Crossan will make statement that are somewhat provocative, but never reference them. I have found this continually to be irritating, but the book is released in the last couple years, I hope Crossan in his earlier work supports his finding somewhat.

However, I did come across some thought provoking question today, just wanted to share them.

"For Paul, in any case, bodily resurrection is the only way that Jesus' continued presence can be expressed. But I repeat my question: Was that the only way other individuals and groups in earliest Christianity expressed their continuing and unbroken faith in Jesus? The question is not what it is that Paul means, because that is surely clear enough. The question is whether he speaks for all Christians then and thereafter. Is resurrection, so understood, the only way or just one of the ways to express faith in the continuing power and presence of Jesus in the world? My point is not that Paul was wrong but that his emphasis on resurrection was but on way of expressing early Christian faith and should not be taken as normative for all others.