Note: For the week leading up to Christmas, I have decided to share the thoughts on the Nativity of Christ from the Early Church Fathers in order to prepare us for the coming of our Lord and Savior, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of world. John Chrysostom (347 - 407 AD) … Continue reading John Chrysostom’s Sermon on the Nativity
Theology
Always Reforming
When Martin Luther first nailed the 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church door was little doubt he had no idea the far-reaching implications of what it was that he was setting in motion. Though the Church in the West had been challenged before, on October 31st, 1517, the perfect set of circumstances … Continue reading Always Reforming
The Dangers of Pride
Augustine of Hippo once postulated that the first sin was pride. Producing the desire to overthrow and replace God, this was the sin that caused the fall from heaven that created the devil. It was then this sin that he passed to humanity as he tempted in the Garden of Eden. Whether or not one … Continue reading The Dangers of Pride
The Nature of Righteous Anger
We live in an angry society, and the reality is that we often watch as that anger is put on display for the world to see. Protests quickly devolve into rioting, threats of violence loom, and we either turn a blind eye to it or we applaud the efforts. In some senses what we can … Continue reading The Nature of Righteous Anger
Thoughts on Scriptures (Part Three)
Biases are unavoidable. Everyone has them. For better or worse, they are a part of human thinking formed by how the brain processes information through categorization. Shaped by culture, education, experience, history, or any number of other factors, they can, and, often times, do have a direct impact then on how the individual sees and … Continue reading Thoughts on Scriptures (Part Three)
The Gods of Our Own Making
One of my favorite units in English class back when I was in school was mythology. The focus was always on Greek and Roman, but it often sent me down a rabbit hole where I would read anything I could find on the topic. I would be engrossed in the stories of the Norse gods, … Continue reading The Gods of Our Own Making
What’s the Big Deal About Going to Church
What’s the big deal about church attendance? Does church membership even really matter? That appears to be the as we witness a seeming rapid decline in recent years. Some of it is, perhaps, not surprising. One might expect a sharp decline in attendance in recent years, like the 6% drop that occurred between 2019 and … Continue reading What’s the Big Deal About Going to Church