Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 29 minutes ago
The first gathering of the Progressive Brethren took place in November 2008. It featured Keynote Speaker, Robert Miller, the Rosenberger Professor of Christian and Religious Studies of Juniata College, Huntingdon, PA.
He shared that the Historical Setting of Jesus is very important in understanding the teachings of Jesus.
Miller stated, “ For Jesus, the kingdom of God, is not a place or future state, but is, present, here-and-now, because God is already king, in the “real world,” despite all the evidence to the contrary. In the time of Jesus, such a statement would have sounded politically dangerous, but to others, it was Good News.
This two-part series, with the contributions of Robert Miller, provides us with an in depth look at the life of Jesus, in the context of the times in which he lived. It was a time when a million people were killed by the Romans, during their occupation, of their empire. According to Miller, Jesus didn’t have a plan for the kingdom, of God, but relied on the imagination of those who were hearing his message. He uses metaphors and images and powerful exaggerations and parables.
Brethren Voices Host, Brent Carlson provides the introduction to Miller’s presentation with the well-known story of the mustard seed. Like the other parables, this parable has been interpreted out of the historical context. In this two part series, Miller shares four parables. The Kingdom of god is like a mustard seed. Miller shared that the message of Jesus was heard by many in the small community of Galilee as well as by the Romans who were governing that empire.
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TAGS: Parables of Jesus, Mustard Seed, "Kingdom of God", Exaggerations, Metaphors, Historical Settings of Jesus, Life During Occupation, Imagination
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The first gathering of the Progressive Brethren took place in November 2008. It featured Keynote Speaker, Robert Miller, the Rosenberger Professor of Christian and Religious Studies of Juniata College, Huntingdon, PA.
He shared that the Historical Setting of Jesus is very important in understanding the teachings of Jesus.
Miller stated, “ For Jesus, the kingdom of God, is not a place or future state, but is, present, here-and-now, because God is already king, in the “real world,” despite all the evidence to the contrary. In the time of Jesus, such a statement would have sounded politically dangerous, but to others, it was Good News.
This two-part series, with the contributions of Robert Miller, provides us with an in depth look at the life of Jesus, in the context of the times in which he lived. It was a time when a million people were killed by the Romans, during their occupation, of their empire. According to Miller, Jesus didn’t have a plan for the kingdom, of God, but relied on the imagination of those who were hearing his message. He uses metaphors and images and powerful exaggerations and parables.
Brethren Voices Host, Brent Carlson provides the introduction to Miller’s presentation with the well-known story of the mustard seed. Like the other parables, this parable has been interpreted out of the historical context. In this two part series, Miller shares four parables. The Kingdom of god is like a mustard seed. Miller shared that the message of Jesus was heard by many in the small community of Galilee as well as by the Romans who were governing that empire.
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TAGS: Parables of Jesus, Mustard Seed, "Kingdom of God", Exaggerations, Metaphors, Historical Settings of Jesus, Life During Occupation, Imagination
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