To understand ourselves as priests, we have to look past contemporary images of clergy. Biblical scholar Andrew Malone takes us from Adam and Eve serving as priests in the garden to the Levitical priesthood serving in the tabernacle, and ultimately to Jesus, our Great High Priest. We see how the church, through its union with Christ, represents God to the world and the world to God. This is biblical theology at its best.
At its heart, biblical priesthood inhabits the space between God and his creation, facilitating proximity between them. Through Jesus, all God’s people can enjoy God’s presence and participate in Christ’s priestly work of mending this disjointed world. In short-but-substantial chapters, Welch offers a great introduction to priesthood in the Bible and how it applies to us today, especially at the individual and devotional level.
Nobody helps us see priesthood as part of our original human vocation quite like Capon, the great writer and Episcopal priest. We were created to “make oblation” of people, places, things, and time. This means taking something of particular worth or wonder (including ourselves) and offering it back to God in gratitude. This book blends Christian spirituality, theological analysis of culture, and contemplative prayer.
Investigation: SBC Executive Committee staff saw advocates’ cries for help as a distraction from evangelism and a legal liability, stonewalling their reports and resisting calls for reform.