Matt O'Reilly, PhD

Pastor | Author | Public Theologian

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Chronological Snobbery and the Question of Christ

Nov 15, 2016
2 min

Chronological Snobbery and the Question of Christ

Ever tempted to think we have little to learn from people who lived long ago? If so, C.S. Lewis would warn you against what he called “chronological snobbery.” For Lewis, that term referred to the widespread tendency among us modern folk to think we have reached a level of enlightenment and that the ancients have nothing to teach us. I bring this up because I came across a quote today that helpfully pushes back against that sort of arrogance. The quote comes in a little book

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Christmas and Communion (or Incarnation and Eucharist)

Dec 8, 2014
2 min

Christmas and Communion (or Incarnation and Eucharist)

My Advent series of sermons this year focuses on the significance of the Eucharist. In preparing for this series, I’ve spent some time looking at the Eucharistic writings of the Church Fathers. One theme that emerges with regularity is the connection between the Incarnation and the Sacrament. I included this illustrative quote from Justin Martyr in yesterday’s sermon: We do not receive these gifts as ordinary food or ordinary drink. But as Jesus Christ our Savior who was made

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3 Reasons for Reading Backwards with Richard Hays (@Baylor_Press)

Dec 2, 2014
4 min

3 Reasons for Reading Backwards with Richard Hays (@Baylor_Press)

After attending part of the review panel for Richard Hays’ new short book, Reading Backwards: Figural Christology and the Fourfold Gospel Witness (Baylor, 2014), I knew I had to get a copy and read it. So I did, and took the long plane ride from California as an opportunity to dig in to this treasure trove of accessible and robust biblical scholarship on the Gospels. Hays is currently the Dean of Duke Divinity School and is well known for his work on the interplay between Old

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Around the Links: The Virgin Birth (@LarryWHurtado @triablogue @ScotMcKnight @DouglasWils)

Dec 16, 2013
2 min

Around the Links: The Virgin Birth (@LarryWHurtado @triablogue @ScotMcKnight @DouglasWils)

The doctrine of the virgin birth (or, more properly, the virginal conception) has had a little extra attention around the web in recent weeks. There are at least two reasons for this. First, it’s nearly Christmas, which usually brings various posts defending or attacking the creedal claim that Jesus of Nazareth was “born of the Virgin Mary”. Second, New Testament scholar (and my doctoral supervisor) Andrew T. Lincoln has just published his newest book, Born of a Virgin? Recon

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If Jesus isn’t white, what does he look like?

Dec 13, 2013
3 min

If Jesus isn’t white, what does he look like?

You’ve probably heard by now that Fox News host Megyn Kelly has gotten herself into a bit of a racial controversy for claiming that Santa Claus and Jesus were both white. The comment came in an interview in which she was responding to this post by Aisha Harris at Slate. Check out the video above. You can hear Kelly’s regrettable comment about Jesus shortly after the 1:45 mark. Santa Must…? Let’s begin by getting the Santa nonsense out of the way. Who cares how Santa Claus is

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The Promise of Peace: Christmas in the Wake of Tragedy

Dec 21, 2012
1 min

The Promise of Peace: Christmas in the Wake of Tragedy

When I began preparing my sermon for last Sunday on the topic of Christmas and the promise of peace, I didn’t know I would deliver it only days after what was undoubtedly one of the most wicked and satanic acts of evil to occur in my lifetime. Like many pastors, I felt the weighty responsibility to step into the pulpit and lead the people of God in reflecting biblically on the tragedy that took place on December 14 in Newtown, Connecticut. Little sense can be made of such eve

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Hope Is with Us

Dec 7, 2011
2 min

Hope Is with Us

I love Christmas! I love it for so many different reasons. I love singing my favorite Christmas carols in church every Sunday. I love all the special gatherings and events, the decorations, the meals, the giving, and everything else that goes with Christmas. I look forward to Christmas months before it ever arrives, and I’ll bet some of you do, too. I especially love Christmas because it marks a special season in the church year. That season is Advent, which is observed in ch

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Advent Evangelism

Dec 6, 2011
1 min

Advent Evangelism

First, the shepherds didn’t mess with the message. They are said to have made known that which was said to them. They are courriers for the message, not the authors of the message. Likewise, when we engage in the ministry of evangelism, we are courriers of the message. We are not responsible for altering the gospel; we must simply share what we have heard. Indeed, if we were to alter the good news, it would no longer be the good news; it would be some other news. Like those s

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