The End of All things Is Near

Dr. Gene L. Green
12 Apr 2022
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“The end of all things is near. Therefore, be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray” (1 Peter 4:7). Peter wrote these words for the persecuted believers in the cities and rural areas who lived in the Roman provinces of Pontus, Galatian, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia (1:1-2), the area which is the modern-day Turkey. These gentile Christians broke from the immoral lifestyle and idolatry of their communities, and in response, they experienced the dishonor of being physically and verbally abused (4:1, 3-4). The situation of women and slaves was especially precarious since they were expected to follow the […]

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5000!

Dr. Gene L. Green
3 Mar 2022
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That’s how many vacancies for teachers there are in Florida schools. Nearly 5,000 classroom teachers are needed in addition to the shortage of 4,000 people for support staff positions. 450,000 Florida students began the school year last August without a certified teacher in their classroom. For a variety of reasons teachers are stepping out the profession at an alarming rate – COVID, pay scales, overcrowding in classrooms, contract issues, tensions with parents, burnout, and other factors conspire to leave our young without the educated, wise, and loving teachers they need. A National Education Association survey found that a full 55% […]

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5000

Message and Method

Dr. Gene L. Green
9 Feb 2022
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Paul’s Message of the Cross and the Philosophers They were the “rock stars” of their day. Traveling orators who espoused a variety of philosophies were commonplace in the central marketplaces of ancient Greek and Latin cities. The apostle Paul met up with them in Athens. He went toe to toe with the Epicureans and Stoics who gathered in the agora to peddle their philosophies. In the debate, they derided the apostle: “What does this babbler want to say?” (Acts 17:18) They tagged him as a “seed picker” (translated “babbler’) who espoused random ideas gathered from here and there.  Paul’s message […]

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There’s A Method to the Madness

Dr. Gene L. Green
10 Jan 2022
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(Scroll down to leave a comment on how the maddening global spread of Christianity has affected you.) A back-stage tour At the beginning of this year, dear reader, I would like to invite you to come backstage with me and take a tour of the ideas that sit behind the “There and Back Again” columns.  As you may have guessed, my administrative work at Trinity International University – Florida grows out of a concern for the well-being of the church. I firmly believe in Christian higher education, as you can read in the September 2021 edition of Good News. My […]

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Phoebe And The Sisters

Dr. Gene L. Green
8 Dec 2021
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In exploring historical texts and Scriptures, we can learn a lot about the role of women in work and worship, including Jesus’ surprising departure from the patriarchy of his day.   A few words from Philo and Josephus about women Philo of Alexandria was a Greek-speaking Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, Egypt during the first century AD. Philo’s writings offer us fascinating glimpses into the world of Hellenistic Jews of the era. According to Philo, a woman’s place was in the home: “The women are best suited to the indoor life which never strays from the house.” Philo divides […]

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Let Us Do Good to All People

Dr. Gene L. Green
11 Nov 2021
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At God’s direction, Jeremiah sent a letter to the exiled people of God in Babylon which said, “But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare” (Jeremiah 29:7). They would return to their home in Jerusalem after seventy years in a foreign land. During those years, they had a calling to build up and not tear down, to pray and not curse, to seek the welfare of the city where they were exiled. Their own wellbeing depended on […]

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Freedom!

Dr. Gene L. Green
11 Oct 2021
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A few years ago in an introductory course on the New Testament, I introduced my students to Paul’s detailed argument in 1 Corinthians 8-10 on the Christian response to the issue of eating meat that had been offered to idols. I prefaced my remarks saying, “This problem is not one that we confront today. We buy meat at Jewel-Osco [the Chicago equivalent to Publix] and never enquire whether the ground beef or steak was previously offered in sacrifice to some god.”  Immediately, a hand shot up at the back of the room. Rose, a student from Nigeria, asked, “Professor Green, […]

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Is A College Education Really Worth It?

Dr. Gene L. Green
9 Sep 2021
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“Why do we think like we do?” My colleague Dave Baer and I asked this question time and again during our years teaching together overseas. We both attended the same Christian college, although years apart. Yet we recognized how the school had sown within us a body of knowledge and ways of thinking that became a deep well we drew from day after day in our life and labors.   Investment and Returns Dave and I made large investments of time, energy, and finances to complete our Christian college education. The dividends have paid out through our lives, outstripping anything […]

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Reading The Word of Life

Dr. Gene L. Green
9 Aug 2021
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“I never read the New Testament before. I found it to be a very interesting book.” A few years back one of my students wrote these words at the bottom of his final exam in a course in New Testament. He had been raised in the church. Throughout his church services, Sunday school classes and youth group events, there was never a time when he was taught to read all of Scripture. Although well-educated, adept at the English language and a person of true faith, he never read the New Testament. I’m glad he found it to be a very […]

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The Art Deception and the Art of Discernment

Dr. Gene L. Green
7 Jul 2021
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He was practiced in the art of deception. People back then knew him as Alexander of Abonoteichus, a second century character Lucian describes in his essay “Alexander the False Prophet.” Apart from Lucian’s descriptions of him, we know little about the man. However, his impact in the ancient world was profound and even commemorated in coins from the second century.    Looking good, but… Lucian regarded Alexander as quite good looking: “He was a fine handsome man with a real touch of divinity about him, white-skinned, moderately bearded; he wore besides his own hair artificial additions which matched it so […]

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