Category: Theology and Practice
The 12 Days of Christmas: Christmas Day
Thanks to Mere O contributor John Shelton, we have a series of Christmas reflections to share over the 12 days of Christmas. Today’s reflection comes from Ali Kjergaard. But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish....
Come, Desire of Nations, Come: An Advent Reflection
And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of Hosts. -Haggai 2:7 Congregations always enjoy a spirit of levity for Advent hymns. Everyone...
Martin Luther, the Rule of Faith, and the Bible
Luther teaches that the catechism holds the entirety of the Christian faith. Even the educated laity and clergy need simple words and short summaries; how much more the simple and uneducated? Actually that’s why Luther thinks the simple need the...
Ecumenism of the Grave
“If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” — 1 Corinthians 15:19 Walt Whitman was one of the first in America to articulate the modern sensibility with respect to death. He...
On The Traditionalists and the Protestants
Ross Douthat had a fascinating interview this past weekend in the New York Times with Cardinal Raymond Burke, a leader in conservative American Catholicism who has been consistently pushed toward the margins of church life under Pope Francis. At the risk...
Anatomy of Glory
Suppose the reformer stops saying that a good woman may be like God and begins by saying that God is like a good woman. Suppose he says that we might just as well pray to ‘Our Mother which art in...
On The Baptist Faith and Message and Theistic Evolution
Note from Jake: On rare occasions we run anonymously published pieces. This is one such occasion. My reasoning is basically explained in the author’s post near the conclusion. The goal of publishing this isn’t to start a vicious online debate,...
The Centrality of Christian Freedom in Protestant Theology
On Christian Freedom is one of three monumental treatises of the Reformation written by Martin Luther in 1520. The work was foundational in defining the theological emphases of the Protestant Reformation, of which Luther himself was a key figure. The...
“Are You Alone Wise?”: Luther’s Answers for Today’s Protestants
A decade after he began advocating for reform, Martin Luther had become highly attuned to the fundamental issues at stake in the debates with his adversaries. Having made Sola Scriptura his rallying cry, he was forced to face the chaos...
Jesus, Laughter, and the Bright Side of Life
I recall, 20 or so years ago, how stunned I was when I first saw the conclusion of Monty Python’s Life of Brian. A clever film which is ultimately more about people than anything else, it tells the story of...