Our pastor has a secret weapon. On a weekly basis, he consults a treasure trove of biblical commentary material directly from the Fathers of the Early Church, via the wonders of his Logos Bible Software. The ability of this technology to search such a large body of written material for relevant commentary is quite amazing.
Tag: Theology
Podcast: Reflections on T.S. Eliot and Lent
A podcast conversation about Lent and T.S. Eliot with my friend, Greg Richards. Greg is the Director of Vital University Ministries and the Elisha Leadership Initiative in San Antonio, Texas. He is currently overseeing ministries at five university campuses in San Antonio and surrounding areas. Subscribe to his podcast in ITunes. Click here for a
Putting Pain in Perspective: Reading T.S. Eliot During Lent
The season of Lent provides an opportunity to be honest about pain...and to put it in perspective. At its best Lent is a communal and individual return to the waters of baptism, not a "self-help" fashioning of a better "me" or another chance to reinstate a list of failed New Year's resolutions. It is less
Reading for Lent 2015
The Eucharist: Sacrament of the Kingdom - Alexander Schmemann Engagement with God: The Drama of Christian Discipleship - Hans Urs von Balthasar Silence - Shusaku Endo Rainbows for the Fallen World: Aesthetic Life and Artistic Task - Calvin Seerveld
Currently Thinking About: Protestant Hymns in Roman Catholic Missals
I’ve been exploring various (contemporary) Roman Catholic missals and have found that the majority of the hymnody they contain are historically Protestant in origin. The same can be said for the Roman Catholic prayer devotional that I use called Magnificat. This is fascinating to me. Great church music has the ability to be delightfully indiscriminate.
Three Stories of Same Sex Attraction and Christian Faith: A Recent Documentary
Nuanced and honest accounts of same-sex attraction and historic Christian faith can be few and far between. This documentary was recently released by a group of Catholic filmmakers and does a fabulous job of framing the discussion within the context of individual stories that are contextual, yet converge on a journey toward the center of
Currently Thinking About: Marriage, Church Traditions, and Divine Love
Some view marriage to their church tradition in the same way some view and practice marriage between a man and woman. As self sufficient and sustainable without help from those outside their particular marriage (tradition). This is an extension of the modern myth of the “nuclear” family. Marriage for the common good means covenant commitment
The Catholicity of the Reformation: On Historic Christian Worship and its Practice
I came across a great little book a few weeks ago by two of my favorite Lutheran theologians called The Catholicity of the Reformation. It's based on a series of lectures given over 15 years ago at a couple of conferences sponsored by the Center for Catholic and Evangelical Theology. The section that follows comes
East Meets West: Francis and Bartholomew
It didn't make the front page of the New York Times, but church history was made yesterday as Pope Francis and Patriarch Bartholomew shared an embrace and issued a joint declaration of common mission at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. It was a tear inducing hour for those of us who recite
Peter Leithart is on fire.
I'm on board! However, the challenge to Leithart's proposal in praxis will hover around authority and further exposition of what the future holds for the concept of Sola Scriptura. In other words, who will constitute the "classical Protestant" Magisterium? I think Rome still has the upper hand in this regard for those of us still