Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
"The faithful use of sacraments, and indeed a fully sacramental view of creation, is vital to the life of the Church. Baptism and the Lord's Supper are rites that directly shape the community and the Body, because they were given by God for that express purpose. A deficient practice of…
Weightlessness is fun. At the beginning of Gravity (2013) , we can see one astronaut dancing the Macarena and another one playing with his jetpack. They like it out there in the space. Apart from zero-gravity they can enjoy beautiful views, and even the silence is likable, although Matt Kowalski…
I recently went to a lunch that is more or less quarterly. About a dozen of us go. It is a lunch held in honor of a retired professor of religion and philosophy. I have been one of his acquaintances for more than 40 years. In his tenure as professor,…
Why Theopolis? Don't we already have seminaries and Bible colleges and other institutions for theological education? Why do we need another one? I get this question now and again. I ask myself this question even more often. What follows is a partial answer. Back in the 1990s, seminaries seemed to…
I think the logic of the Lutheran Reformation can be summarized in one sentence, attributed to Luther himself: "God does not need your good works, but your neighbor does." The first half of that statement is justification by faith . God doesn't need our works to satisfy his justice or…
If you are looking to start a fight with Christians, there is hardly a better subject to do so than the arts. Music, movies, paintings, and literature have provided no small battlegrounds for Christians to war. We are emotionally invested in the arts. A song, a book, or a film…
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Jesus describes the activities of the unsuspecting preflood generation by listing four activities (Lk 17:27): eating and drinking marrying and giving in marriage. He then describes the activities of the unsuspecting residents of Sodom by listing six activities (Lk 17:28): eating and drinking buying and selling planting and building. Several…
There’s an intriguing review of the work of James Welch in the January 26 Weekly Standard . Welch, who died last year, was a Montana-based poet and novelist, known as an “Indian poet” and “Indian novelist” for his focus on the lives and history of American Indians. The interest of…
Exhortation for January 25: Jesus concluded the parable of the “unjust steward” by saying, “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.” Though Jesus’ words have a particular application…
Eucharistic meditation for January 25: Acts 2:41-47 In the book of Acts, we see the early church carrying out Jesus’ instructions regarding the proper use of wealth. After the Spirit was poured out on Pentecost, and 3000 were saved, the disciples begin to sell their possessions in order to share…
Baptismal meditation for January 25: Matthew 18:1-6 This passage in Matthew is parallel to the first part of Matthew 17 in our sermon text. As I mentioned in the sermon, Jesus’ reference to “little ones” in Luke 17 is not referring to little children, but to lowly people like Lazarus.…
Becoming civilized is a matter of gaining control over the body, and this bodily control is largely centered, as Mary Douglas recognized, on orifices. Infants have no control over their sphincters: They can’t hold urine or faeces, they fart and burp at inappropriate moments, they regurgitate milk and don’t care…
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