Join The Underlines // The Best Of What I Read
A batch of the best highlights from what Joshua's read, .
Moses anticipates that if they are not alert to the God of emancipation, they will end up right back in another system of coercion. Because the land is fertile, its produce will make Israel safe and happy. And if Israel can increase its produce, it will be safer and happier. And Israel will discover that the sky is the limit! The fertility of the land and the productivity of the system will make Israel acquisitive; Israel will come to think that the goal of its life is to acquire and acquire and acquire. And in order to acquire, Israelites must compete with the neighbor. The system will turn one’s neighbor into a competitor and a threat and a challenge.
Sabbath as Resistance, New Edition With Study Guide
Walter Brueggemann
In the U.S. there is assumed to be a smooth fit between discipleship and killing. That assumption, held so easily and unreflectively, trespasses against our obedience to God alone. I wonder whether my questioner understands that for descendants of Jeremiah and followers of Jesus, obedience to God may require us to refuse the state’s claim to our loyalty. Does the Department of Defense grant that my fundamental obligation is not loyalty to country but obedience to God? I doubt it. In such circumstances, where Caesar cannot distinguish between our proper subjection and our ultimate allegiance, it may be best to say bluntly, “A loyal American? Of course not. I’m a Christian!” (D. Brent Laytham, “Loyalty Oath: A Matter of Ultimate Allegiance,” Christian Century, July 12, 2005)
Desiring the Kingdom
James K. A. Smith
In the book of Jeremiah, God proclaims, “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls” (Jeremiah 6:16 ESV). God invites us to follow the ancient paths. A path is not a Killer App. It is a process.
Disappearing Church
Mark Sayers
...catch up on these, and many more highlights
Readwise