Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
In my last essay, we saw how consumer culture has gutted the familial category necessary to understand the church. When a consumer visits a church, he expects another service-provider, such as a hospital or a restaurant. He doesn’t understand the role of men in ministry, and thus, not the role…
First time visitors to our church sometimes express their surprise that children, even the youngest, participate with their parents in the entire worship service. Many congregations created an expectation for the parents (and children) of Sunday School or Child Care being available during the entire worship service or during the…
Quantifying the Love of God “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” ~ John 3:16 This most beloved verse in all the Bible was spoken by the Savior himself to Nicodemus. As…
While The Lord’s Prayer enjoys wide recognition throughout the Church, its richness and depth may be unrealized due to a lesser familiarity with, what I will argue is, its primary inspiration: the Tabernacle. There, Christ’s intent can rightly be discerned. The Prayer’s methodological correction to the Jews and Gentiles wasn’t…
The Consumption of the Covenant Idea of the Church Last time we saw consumerism, having canalized its attitudes in our culture, shapes what the consumer sees when he or she steps into a church. Here, we’ll see how it has eviscerated the covenant and familial ideas necessary to understand the…
The ignoble Jayber Crow can stir your appetite for the noble. It’s the simplicity of a good ol’ Port William boy that builds the charm of the book. In fact, the elitists in Port William receive the harshest blows and severest outcomes, as they should. But before delving into the…
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When he finished his Pentecost sermon, Peter urged the Jews how to respond to his message: “Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ,” he said, “for the forgiveness of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Peter says that…
ECUSA has recently released its response to the Windsor Report’s invitation to explain “from within the sources of authority that we as Anglicans have received in scripture, the apostolic tradition and reasoned reflection, how a person living in a same gender union may be considered eligible to lead the flock…
This is out of order from the other posts on Hart. David Hart, Beauty of the Infinite Part 2, section 1: Trinity Thesis 2: Different and distance in Christian understanding are understood in Trinitarian terms. In this light, peace is the true form of difference, and beauty is the true…
Troubled parishioner: I know that God is utterly reliable. He always keeps his promises. I just don’t know if the promises are for me. Pastor: But you hear the absolution every week, right? TP: Sure, but how do I know that God is talking to me? Pastor: You hear the…
Troubled parishioner: I know that God is utterly reliable. He always keeps his promises. I just don’t know if the promises are for me. Pastor: But you hear the absolution every week, right? TP: Sure, but how do I know that God is talking to me? Pastor: You hear the…
A few notes on Thomas on the sacraments, aided by Frederick Bauerschmidt’s excellent notes (in Holy Teaching , recently published by Brazos Press). 1) Bauerschmidt points out that Aquinas is bucking a trend in medieval theology by placing sacraments under the genus of “sign” rather than under the genus of…
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