Matt O'Reilly, PhD

“Pastors minister; theologians seek-and minister-understanding. Ministering understanding of how the Bible addresses real-world issues is the great privilege and responsibility of the pastor theologian. Gerald Hiestand and Todd Wilson have put together a whole ministry team that ministers understanding worth its weight in gold on one of the most socially complicated, politically fraught, yet existentially unavoidable issues of our day or any: human sexuality. In an age where

No gnostic anthropology around here. A thoughtful reminder from Robert Gundry that full humanness requires embodiment: The separation of spirit from body affects the spirit as well as the body. In the Biblical perspective, the physical body is just as essential to life which is life indeed as is the spirit. Barring the effects of sin (which touch the spirit, too), the body as such does not shackle the spirit. It provides the spirit with an organ of expression and action, just

Hamlet’s take on Psalm 8:5 (Act 2 Sc. 2) highlights the contradiction between the enormous potential of human beings and their mortality, ‘this quintessence of dust’. A biblical theology of humanity also moves between these poles. Human destiny is written in the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus. But what does this leave to be said about human potential in a fallen world, and related concepts such as creativity, excellence, professionalism, and power? The lecture explores what

[W]hat would it mean to say that the risen Jesus is a physical/bodily reality? That he continues to be a molecular, protoplasmic, corpuscular being existing somewhere? Does that make any sense? How can the risen and living Jesus be all around us and with us, present everywhere, if he is bodily and physical? I intend to raise three points of response to this article – two critiquing aspects of the argument and one considering its implications. First, the question of how Jesus

But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you.” Romans 8:9 It’s easy to forget sometimes that the Christian life is about more than forgiveness of sin. Don’t get me wrong! Forgiveness is hugely important. But it’s not the end of the story; it’s only the beginning. One of the ways that scripture describes the ongoing process of Christian discipleship is with the language of living in the Spirit. But what is life in the Spirit? How i

Should commentary on the official website of the United Methodist Church be expected to uphold and adhere to the doctrinal standards of the denomination? If a recent piece titled “Every heart inclined to both good, evil” and written by Rev. Michael Williams is any indication, the answer is: evidently not. In the article, written for the United Methodist News Service and posted on the denominational website, Rev. Williams, senior pastor of West End United Methodist Church in N

One recurring theme in John Wesley’s sermon on “The General Deliverance” is the contrast between human beings and animals, the “brute creation” as he terms it. For Wesley, the key difference between the two is that humanity is capable of knowing, loving, and enjoying God while the brutes are not. This leads him to conclude that those humans who are “without God in the world” have been reduced to the level of animals. So Wesley: Key is the connection that he makes between degr