Below are all posts in reverse chronological order, with post No. 1 (November 12, 2009) at the bottom of the list and the final post at the top. All posts are searchable.
- 134
The Catholic Mass According to Fr. Mike
Father Mike Schmitz, born in 1974 to a large Catholic family in a Chicago suburb, was ordained a Catholic priest in 2003. He serves in the Diocese of Duluth MN and has become well known through his presence on social media and YouTube videos. Like all ordained Catholic priests, Fr. Mike has a clear understanding…
- 133
A song of my youth is I Say A Little Prayer for You. I don’t remember giving it a lot of thought in 1968. I guess I was too busy. More recently I have wondered about differences between praying and saying a prayer with some suspicion of the value of the latter. It seemed to…
- 132
For the following explanation of Catholic Confirmation, we can give thanks to Magisterium.com, ChatGPT, the Bible, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and our priest who recently led a Man’s Prayer Group discussion of the subject. This is a summary statement from Magisterium.com: “Confirmation is an indispensable sacrament of initiation, bishop-administered, Apostolically transmitted (by the…
- 131
How did the small pagan world of five thousand years ago, maybe as few as 10 million people, become the current global population of eight billion souls, approximately 30% Christian and another 30% or so believing in one God but rejecting the Trinity? Christians rightfully see the 1st Century ministry of Jesus as the origin…
- 130
Father Henry Wansbrough (1934 – ) offered this comment on the Universalis App January 1, 2026: “At a certain stage, in the 1960’s, there was a great tendency to translate the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5) as ‘happy are the poor in spirit’ etc. But God’s blessing does not mean ‘happiness’…
- 129
For at least two years now I have been spending some serious morning time on the daily Mass readings for the Catholic Church. Those readings usually include related passages from the Old Testament, the Psalms, and the New Testament. They are available for reading and listening at the USCCB website and for reading only at…
- 128
In 325 AD the Christian Church was about 300 years old and was “one holy, catholic, and apostolic church” meaning that it was established by Jesus, God in flesh, was universal, and was led by bishops of the time, successors of the original apostles who were followers of Jesus during his earthly ministry Decades of…
- 127
This post is a change of emphasis from Catholic Theology to a Bible study. The Catholic Church classifies six or seven Bible books as Wisdom Books. The Catholic Study Bible, Second Edition, includes Psalms with the comment that Psalms is “often associated” with the Wisdom books. I have not included Psalms in this list of…
- 126
Baptism, the gateway to membership in the Church, is the first of seven sacraments (Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony) established by Jesus during his earthly ministry and entrusted to the Church he founded. Baptism is a pre-requisite for reception of the other six sacraments.
- 125
It is unfortunate that the 21st Century meanings of truth and love do not do justice to the important ancient Greek and Hebrew words translated as truth and love in most English Bibles. Now we tend to talk easily of scientific truth, religious truth, and personal truth, giving the most weight to scientific truth but…
- 124
Two things make the Roman Catholic Church unique, its age and its seven sacraments. This little post uses magisterium.com to answer some key questions about the sacraments. There are hot links to open key sources.
- 123
There are many different scholarly views of the Old Testament Book of Jonah. Discussion of them can be found in The Jewish Study Bible, Pages 1198-1199, A Theological Introduction to the Old Testament, Pages 438-439), and in one book all Catholics should have on hand, The Catholic Study Bible, Second Edition, Pages 278-279. The confusion…
- 122
The journey from my early Baptist experience with quarterly celebration of The Lord’s Supper, a simple response to the instruction of Jesus to “do this in remembrance of me,” to weekly celebration of the Eucharist, a reaction to the promise of Jesus that “Those who eat my flesh and…
- 121
I have written recently about how sloppy use of the word “love” has diluted its current meaning. Yes, we are commanded in Sacred Scripture to love God, our families, our neighbors, and even our enemies. Now we easily claim to love peanut butter, our cars, and football even if we ignore God,…
- 120
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah,[c] the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter,[d] and on this rock[e] I will…
- 119
This post results from expressed interest in different understandings of sacraments by various Christian denominations. The investigation is complicated because there are many churches, and the beliefs of church members sometimes vary significantly from the official positions of denomination leadership. But the issue for this post is not what church members believe but what their…
- 118
Sacraments may be one of the easiest Catholic ideas to accept but most difficult to fully understand and to experience appropriately. The Wikipedia write up on the term (as of 8/30/2025) includes a good introduction to Catholic teaching as well as to the differences with other Christian views. Sometimes understanding the differences clarifies the teachings.
- 117
Why Me Lord (Break from the Catholic Theology series)
This is a little break from the series on Catholic theology but it is inspired by a post I am writing on why adults become Catholic, why they sometimes remain Catholic, and why they sometimes leave the Catholic church. That may come later, but all those “whys” made me think of one of my favorite…
- 116
What about Perfection? Forms of perfect show up fifty-eight times in the NRSVCE Bible. Below are a dozen examples that seem to refer to the possibility of perfection for us. There are others that speak more of the perfection of God, God’s law, and Jesus. When anyone offers a sacrifice of well-being to the Lord,…
- 115
The English word Love has no deep 21st century meaning. We love our spouses, God, Jesus, golf, football, beaches, mountains, cars, and peanut butter. In English translations of the Bible, love is a very common word. It occurs about 500 times in the Old Testament and about 200 times in the New Testament depending on…
- 114
The Protestant Reformation was a rebellion against some positions and practices of the 1500-year-old Christian Church which had been described as catholic or universal since the second century. The use of Roman Catholic Church as the official name became common after the Reformation. The Roman Catholic Church today, with about 1.4 billion members, still considers…
- 113
6- Angels in the 21st Century?
Angels have a prominent role in the bible with 130 mentions in the Old Testament and 178 in the New Testament. In the New Testament, they are most prominent in Matthew, Luke, Acts, Hebrews, and Revelation, 85% of the NT instances being in those five books. Only three angels are named in the Bible. Michael…
- 112
The Catholic teachings of Mary’s Immaculate Conception, Perpetual Virginity, and Assumption into Heaven are certainly among the most mysterious to Protestant believers in Jesus. Granted these are not specifically stated in the Bible but even among the Reformers agreeing on Sola Scriptura, there were two positions. Some argued that unless something is specifically stated in…
- 111
It is a common temptation to see God as a sort of superhuman, created in our image but perfected, no character flaws, no sin, and the ability to do perfectly all the things we fail to do or do imperfectly. He is sometimes seen as the kindly “Man Upstairs,” waiting to hear from us and…
- 110
I grew up in the shadow of the East Tennessee Smoky Mountains. All my exposure to church was Southern Baptist. I remember my dad’s skepticism about local Episcopal and Presbyterian churches. They did not forbid alcohol consumption! Except for some delinquency during my college years, I have always been a church attender actively involved in…
- 109
3 – Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium
The Catholic Church emphasizes Bible readings in its worship, hearing readings from the Old and New Testaments at Mass and usually hearing a homily about one of those readings. However, tradition and Church authority are also important. The pertinent words from the Nicene Creed are these: I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic…
- 108
Today’s question to Magisterium AI: What does the Catholic Church teach about creation of the universe? Updated 2/25/2026. Magisterium response below in parentheses: The Catholic Church teaches that the one Triune God is the origin and sustainer of the universe, creating it freely out of nothing (ex nihilo) through His eternal Word (the Son) and…
- 107
Artificial Intelligence is the hot news item this year. It is at least a super-fast search engine able to summarize and analyze data. It is projected to save time and money and eliminate millions of jobs. The radical view is that it will eventually eliminate the need for humanity! An issue is that there are…
- 106.5
In 1563, John Foxe, an English clergyman, wrote a book titled Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. In it, he listed Christian martyrs beginning with Stephen, proceeding with the early persecutions of Christians by Rome, persecution by the Christian Church of dissenters, heretics, and troublemakers, Reformation persecutions, and the burning of about 280 English Protestants at the…
- 106
The Great Courses offers hundreds of on-line courses featuring skilled professors exploring a wide variety of subjects. We recently stumbled on a course entitled Reading Biblical Literature. The skilled professor/lecturor is Dr. Craig Koester. We have been enjoying one of these lectures most evenings during Lent. Below are the apps leading to free access on…
- 105
Just to get to the point early, the main point of this post is to recommend a new eight-episode series, House of David, available on Amazon Prime. The Free Press describes the series as “a beautiful corrective to a lie that’s seeped into American culture: that Christians see…
- 104
The first eleven chapters of Genesis consist of important pre-historic oral traditions included in the Torah because of divine inspiration. They express the efforts of early humans to understand why things were the way they were, how they came to be, how they were to live. In the Bible, recorded human history begins in Genesis…
- 103
There is one and only one God. (A radical idea at the time considering the multitude of gods typically worshipped in Biblical times. Exodus 20:1-8)…
- 102
Bible verses read without pertinent context may be misleading. Sometimes, important verses are at the end of a passage and might be surprising, like a punch to the nose, not making us laugh like a punch line to a joke, but hitting us with simple statements of theological truth! Consider these two verses:…
- 101
Yes, there are six Herods in the New Testament. I’m not sure that has any theological significance, but does have some historical significance with respect to getting things in the right order and understanding who did what. And it may have some value in trivia game competition and crossword puzzle solving. I started out to…
- 100
Fulton John Sheen (1895-1979) was a renowned theologian and Catholic Bishop who became famous through radio and television exposure from 1930 to 1968. Life is Worth Living was on television in the 1950’s, and The Fulton Sheen Program in the 1960’s. Bishop Sheen taught theology, emphasizing the common ground all Christian faiths share. His programs…
- 99
Abortion: The Fundamental Problem
You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; – Matthew 5:21-22 NRSV In the United States, murder is…
- 98
The accusation, “You are either with us or against us!” has been used for centuries to divide and conquer, to build commitment, to arouse emotion, to win elections, etc. Republican President George W. Bush and Democrat Senator of New York Hilary Clinton both used it in September 2001 to encourage the support of other nations…
- 97
The Word of the LORD Came to Me
Prophets, ProphecyThis post may not be of much theological value but could come in handy in a game of Bible trivia. The phrase in the title above appears 61 times in the writings of the classical prophets in the NRSV Bible. It appears 49 times in Ezekiel, 10 times in Jeremiah, and twice in Zechariah. There…
- 96Glory
Recent Mass readings from Ezekiel bring the inspiring phrase, the glory of the LORD, to our attention. It shows up 41 times in the Bible, only 3 of those in the New Testament. It is in Ezekiel 10 times, more than in any other bible book. Here are the New Testament instances. In that region…
- 95Sin and Ministry
The Gospel Mass reading for August 14, 2024 is Matthew 18:15-20. In the NABRE it begins with, “If a brother sins [against you]” and ends with “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” It seems to me that an issue is that the…
- 94Christian Living
Yesterday I delivered Meals on Wheels, a short route that time with only seven stops. The last stop was to see a gentleman who is 102 years old. I’ve delivered to him for at least two years. He used to meet me at the door with a welcoming smile and tell me how glad…
- 93Creation
The two creation stories in the first two chapters of Genesis are theological treasures worthy of considerable study and contemplation. They differ from each other in starting point and order of creation, presumably because they are based on two different oral traditions passed down in different parts of the world and originating at different times.
- 92
John 3:16 – Gospel in a Nutshell
BibleFor God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. – John 3:16 King James Version (KJV)…
- 91Immigration, Government
And another post from www.permanentfixes.com which seems to have a faith slant. Christian Walls and Bridges…
- 90
Pushy Atheists and Weak Christians
Bible, Christianity“Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried.” – G. K. Chesterton What made me think of that Chesterton quote was an article, Atheists Debate How Pushy to Be, in the October 16 New York Times. The article reported on an early October Los Angeles Council for…
- 89
Bible Milestones (no longer on the site)
Bible - 88Bible
Daniel 3:57-87 is a beautiful and inspirational worship canticle (Biblical song or poem), part of the prayer of Abednego as he and his two friends strolled about in the flames of Nebuchadnezzar’s furnace, and a staple of Morning Prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours. But, it’s not in all Bibles. Here it is from…
- 87People
A Sad Death? During a discussion about experiencing a happy death, I thought of an excellent example of what I have always assumed was a sad death, that of George Eastman, founder of Eastman Kodak. George Eastman was born July 12, 1854, and died March 14, 1932. His father, George Washington Eastman, died of a…
- 86Travel
In September 2023 we took a trip to Poland. Readers might enjoy this summary of the trip and learnings. Or, they may not, but here it is. A Pilgrimage to Poland…
- 85Theology
In January of this year an email from The Great Courses offering big discounts caught my eye. One course offered for only $25, Foundations of Western Civilization, inspired me. History of Western Civilization had been my toughest course as a Vanderbilt freshmen in the fall of 1960, and, while the title was…
- 84Theology
That quote is eight lines out of a 55 line paragraph in Chesterton’s book. Apparently Mr. Chesterton was never at a loss for words. Well, what’s my point? For about three months, I have been choosing a few lines meaningful to me from Chesterton’s book and copying them into…
- 83Bible
Saturday December 28 on the Catholic Liturgical Calendar is a Feast day in memory of The Holy Innocents, those slain by King Herod in fear of a new King having recently been born, eventually to replace him as King. If only Herod had known that he had less than a year to live! Much academic…
- 82
Life in Christ and Getting a Job
Christian LivingSaint Peter Chrysologous was a bishop of the early church, a preacher so skilled in his presentation of the Truth that he is known as the “Doctor of Homilies.” He was born about 350 years after the resurrection of Jesus and lived about 70 years, finally as Bishop of Ravenna, a city in northern Italy…
- 81Church Conflict
When I was received into the Catholic Church in 2011, it was after a few months of weekly meetings in a membership class on Catholic theology and practice, preparation for and reception of the sacrament of reconciliation (confession), and presentation of documentation of my April 15, 1951, baptism at the First Baptist Church, Maryville,…
- 80
The Gospel of John Movie (2003)
MoviesThis dramatization of The Gospel According to St. John is a work of art, beautifully staged and acted, the words coming directly from Sacred Scripture, the American Bible Society’s Good News Bible, nothing omitted and nothing added. A viewer can read along with the movie. Simply summarized, it is a pure proclamation of the Gospel…
- 79
Pentecost 2019 – Eight Years Catholic
PersonalI was received into the Catholic Church at Pentecost 2011 and, in 2016 wrote a blog post titled Pentecost2016 – Five Years Catholic. Three years later, I wrote this one without first reading the earlier one. There are a couple of common themes and some new current thoughts, but I just enjoyed going back…
- 78Worship
Morning Prayer seems most beneficial when it results in some searching beyond the provided texts and “learning” of some new things about Sacred Scripture, theology, or Church history. The quotes around that word in the previous sentence suggest that I don’t usually remember much from such searches and depend on some personally written summary I…
- 77Bible
Most of us raised in a Christian church know lots of Bible stories. We know about the sins of Adam and Eve, Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac, the leadership of Moses and Joshua, Samuel’s anointing of Saul and David, David’s killing of Goliath, the wisdom of King Solomon, the birth and ministry of Jesus, the…
- 76
Gospel According to St. John: Unique
BibleI’m not very skilled at digging deeply into Sacred Scripture, finding new meaning and writing paragraphs about a verse or two. But I love looking at the Bible from a 50,000 foot view, so to speak, and detecting patterns, themes, characteristics, and differences. So, here are thoughts and observations about the Gospel According to St.
- 75
Reading the Bible, Cover to Cover
BibleIn a recent morning prayer group discussion, the difficulty of cover-to-cover reading of the Bible was mentioned. The problem is that after the stimulating stories of Genesis and Exodus, it is easy to get bogged down in the legal details of Leviticus and lose interest. Even if an ambitious reader survives Leviticus, Deuteronomy looms ahead.
- 74Reformation
I just finished reading A Column of Fire, the third of Ken Follett’s volumes of historical fiction set in the Middle Ages. This one portrays life in the 1500’s in the wake of Catholic Priest Father Martin Luther’s October 31, 1517, courageous attempt to inspire reform of his church. Follett’s novel and all the current…
- 73
Like Mother, Like Son: Growing Up and Growing Old Together
Personal, FamilyMy Mother, Wilma Irene Shelley (Brownie) Williams was born January 9, 1921 and died September 20, 2017. This is a remembrance and tribute I read at her funeral. _______________________________________ When I think of growing up with my mother, both of us young but I younger, I am very thankful for the sometimes unjustified trust she…
- 72Worship
Hearing Sacred Scripture is a key element of Catholic worship. Usually, from the Old Testament, we hear a reading from the Law, Prophets, or Writings and sing a Psalm responsively. Then we hear a reading from one of the New Testament books other than the Gospels. Finally a selection from one of the Gospels is…
- 71
The Church of My Youth: Six Points
Worship, ChurchI was thinking this morning about the church of my youth and the Southern Baptist Sunday School which was the center of it. There was the Six Point Record System, the extensive organization, class officers, weekly Teachers’ Meetings, Assemblies, rigorous age grading, separation of men and women, the weekly Sunday School Report at the following…
- 70
Christian Faith, A Three Legged Stool
ChristianityA Peter Beinart article in the April 2017 issue of The Atlantic points out a correlation between the increasingly vicious and hateful political climate in the USA and decreasing participation in organized religion. The differences in positions between left and right have always been present, but we seem to be losing respect for each other…
- 69Poverty
I was having trouble understanding the man, but I believe his last words as the police walked up were, “I’m down to my last two dollars.” One of my favorite workouts is a five mile or so walk in the City of Columbia at a 17 minute per mile pace. It is a good time…
- 68Theology
It was the fall of 1990, and I was in a new member class led by Pastor Saresky at Faith Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod) in Penfield, NY. He was discussing Communion, The Lord’s Supper, Eucharist, the celebration of that Last Supper Jesus celebrated in the Upper Room with his closest followers and commanded that they…
- 67Poverty
It’s 10pm in the parking lot of a hotel, and we are just arriving, tired and looking for a good night’s sleep. A minivan pulls up, window down, and a young Black woman says, “Sir, I’m not asking for any money or anything but we just need a place to sleep tonight. We can check…
- 66
Pentecost 2016 – Five Years Catholic
Church, PersonalAt Pentecost, 2011, I was received into full communion with the Catholic Church at St. Peter’s Catholic Church, Columbia, SC. From a purely logical standpoint, I had concluded, hopefully under the influence of The Holy Spirit, that Jesus established The Church, His “Body,” and left Apostles in charge, promising the guidance of The Holy Spirit,…
- 65
“Believing,” “Believing That,” and “Believing In”
Christianity, TheologyMatthew 24:23 – Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look! Here is the Messiah!’ or ‘There he is!’– do not believe it.
- 64
Designated Giving, Loss Leaders, and Planned Parenthood
MoneyOften there are intersections between politics, economics, faith, and church. This is one of those cases. Encouragement of designated giving can be an effective fundraising tool but, except in the case of major capital campaigns for specific projects, has little or no effect on programs of non-profits using the method to raise money. I am…
- 63Bible
There are lots of interesting differences among the four Gospels. Here is an interesting one to contemplate.
- 62
Clamoring to Concede Freedom of Religion
Religious FreedomBy clamoring for financial concessions and support (from federal, state, and local governments), thereby transferring our responsibilities to others, we people of faith have slowly given up freedom of religion in the United States of America. It started innocently enough when we were overwhelmingly, at least nominally, Christian and when we almost all agreed that…
- 61
Richard John Neuhaus: Liberal Lutheran to Conservative Catholic
PeopleA new biography, Richard John Neuhaus: A Life in the Public Square by Randy Boyagoda, does quadruple duty. It provides a well-researched and documented critical look at the life and work of Neuhaus, in the context of US history, including sociological trends, from the 1960’s through the early 2000’s, societal pressures on and changes in…
- 60Bible
Just as anybody running for political office needs to have a ready answer to the question, “What are you reading?” anybody spending time in Christian circles needs to be able to reveal, just in case, his or her favorite Bible verse. Being the energetic, works oriented, dirty hands kind of guy I am, I have…
- 59
Seeing More Clearly, Thankfully
PersonalI know the photo is poorly focused, but this is what I was looking at this morning, just four days after left eye cataract surgery, before the 9 a.m. Mass at St. Peter’s Catholic Church: beautiful, century old works of art depicting the Birth, Transfiguration, Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus. I snuck my iPhone…
- 58
The Bible Story vs. Bible Stories (no longer on the site)
Bible - 57
Jesus and the First Person Singular
Jesus, TheologyIn a Sunday morning class, we were watching a Fr. Robert Barron video in which he talked about the modern tendency to trivialize Jesus as a very smart and very nice guy with a good philosophy of life and lots of interesting stories. The fact is, he said, that Jesus was an unusual and disturbing…
- 56Religious Freedom
This week there is a report of the beheading of four teenage Christians in Iraq because of their refusal to convert to Islam. I am willing to concede that Islam may be, or may at least become, a religion of peace if it is stripped of and separated from any political or state power, but…
- 55Books, Theology
In the last few weeks I have read “Simply Jesus: A New Vision of Who He Was, What He Did, and Why He Matters,” by theologian and scholar N. T. Wright, “Killing Jesus” by Commentator Bill O’Reilly and historian Martin Dugard, and a short reflection on the tenth day of Lent, “Why Was the Cross…
- 54Books, Theology
I just finished reading A Column of Fire, the third of Ken Follett’s volumes of historical fiction set in the Middle Ages. This one portrays life in the 1500’s in the wake of Catholic Priest Father Martin Luther’s October 31, 1517, courageous attempt to inspire reform of his church. Follett’s novel and all the current…
- 53
Commitment to Social Spending: More Than a Tithe
Government, PovertySometimes it helps to provide some historical context for currently observed phenomena. The chart below shows total federal, state, and local social benefit spending, as a percent of GDP, for the United States since 1960, the 25th anniversary of Social Security and five years before Medicare and Lyndon Johnson’s “War on Poverty” which featured “Guns…
- 52
Catechism of the Catholic Church
TheologyI first read this 688 page document, paying particular attention to the scripture references, while I was a student at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary eight or ten years ago. It is great educational and devotional reading for any Christian, Catholic or not, if taken in fifteen or twenty page bite size pieces at a time.
- 51Theology, Personal
Listening to yesterday’s Gospel reading from Luke 10 about Jesus sending the Seventy out and instructing them to “rejoice in one thing only,” I was reminded that it was the text for the one and only prepared sermon I ever delivered. Near the end of my three years of Lutheran seminary, I took Professor Tom…
- 50Books, Christian Living
I just finished reading A Good Man, Mark K. Shriver’s highly personal biography of his dad, Sargent Shriver. Probably few people under the age of forty have heard of Mr. Shriver, but a few essential facts are well documented in Wikipedia, and there is no need for me to try to reword them. Robert Sargent…
- 49
The Burdens of Wealth and Covetousness
Christian LivingThe meaning of “wealthy” has changed significantly over the centuries. In Biblical times, Abraham was declared wealthy because of his “flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female servants, camels and donkeys.” His son, Isaac, “had possessions of flocks and herds, and a great household, so that the Philistines envied him.” Isaac’s son, Jacob,…
- 48Poverty
From an AP news story about Tuesday’s public appearance of Pope Francis: “Francis said the role of the leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics is to open his arms and protect all of humanity, but “especially the poorest, the weakest, the least important, those whom Matthew lists in the final judgment on love: the…
- 47
Christian Existence: Human Reality and Divine Mystery
TheologyBelow is a short paper I wrote in May, 2002, to fulfill a requirement for a Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary course, Introduction to Theology. The professor was Dr. David Yeago, prominent Lutheran theologian, who was always challenging us to do a better job of “unpacking” the texts we were studying or quoting and who must…
- 46
Dr. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Minister
Books, Christian LivingLooking through some old stuff from my seminary retirement hobby I found this paper on Dietrich Bonhoeffer. It was an assignment for the History of Christianity course taught by Dr. Mary Havens. Bonhoeffer is an especially interesting character because of the inherent contradiction of a minister with a reputation for pacifism both entertaining thoughts of…
- 45
The (Holy) Bible and (Christian) Theology
Bible, TheologyListening to the Gospel reading this morning from Mark 10 about the young man who went away sad after Jesus told him to sell everything he had and give to the poor inspired some reflection on the difficulties we have understanding scripture and formulating a cohesive theology from it. A couple of things I learned…
- 44
Stinginess Not Only Alternative to Philanthropy
PhilanthropyNote: The material below was posted originally on permanentfixes.com but seemed to be of interest also to all of us who give to and through our churches and take tax deductions for such gifts. I have come to believe that is not a good thing and should be given up, along with other “sacred” tax…
- 43
Comment on Ross Douthat’s “Bad Religion”
Books, ChurchMaybe it is the journey beginning in the Southern Baptist Church of my youth and early adulthood, progressing through middle age commitments to a couple of “mainline” churches, and recently moving to the Catholic Church, hopefully for my remaining senior years, that caused me to enjoy so much Ross Douthat’s Bad Religion: How We Became…
- 42Prayer
If our power grids were to fail and our fuel supply chains were to be destroyed, we would, in just a few days, become a hunter gatherer society, foraging for food and drink, probably even without cash since the bank computers and ATM’s would be out of commission. We would stop obsessing about obesity, and…
- 41
Church Labels and Modifiers: Liberal, Conservative, Etc.
Church, Government, TheologyA Ross Douthat column in the July 14, 2012, NYT is titled, “Can Liberal Christianity Be Saved?” It includes interesting data on trends in membership of the Episcopal Church and how those trends may be related to shifting positions on theological and social issues. The bottom line is that, while there is no proof of…
- 40
Gifts, Beatitudes, Fruits, and Happiness
Beatitudes, BibleI have been following some pastoral advice and meditating on The Beatitudes for the past few weeks. I read Living the Beatitudes Today by Dodd and Heaven in Our Hands by Groeschel. And I actually read The Beatitudes in Matthew 5 a few times. Immersed in today’s goal-oriented American culture, it is easy to read…
- 39
Love Means Having To Say I Am Sorry
TheologyAs a recent Catholic convert, I’ve been thinking a lot about confession lately. It has been almost a year since being confirmed at St. Peter’s in Columbia, SC, and Catholic faithful “go to confession” at least once per year. I did it just prior to the confirmation, dumping on the priest a bunch of shameful…
- 38Bible, Theology
134 All sacred Scripture is but one book, and this one book is Christ, “because all divine Scripture speaks of Christ, and all divine Scripture is fulfilled in Christ” – The Catholic Catechism The diagram below started with one I published earlier, Chaos to Church. I had some feedback and suggestions on that one, and…
- 37Bible, History, Church
Below is an early version of a diagram which I developed a few years back after first hearing the term “henotheism” in a theology course at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary and after some discussion of ecclesiology at that same institution. Who else but me is going to try to express in a simple diagram on…
- 36
Luther, Good Works, and Favorite Bible Verses
TheologyIn discussions among Christians it is common to be asked to share one’s favorite Bible verse. I don’t have a favorite movie, song, vacation spot, color, city, grandchild, or Bible verse. Except in the case of my one and only and therefore favorite wife, I just don’t think in terms of favorites but rather in…
- 35
Catholic Hospitals, From a Child’s Viewpoint, Then and Now
Church vs. StateI clearly remember being warned by one of my peers, about sixty years ago at age 9, that when I grew up and got married and my wife was having a baby that I should make sure she does NOT go to a Catholic hospital because they would let her die rather than allow any…
- 34
Self Esteem, Sackcloth, and Ashes
FamilyChannel surfing while on the elliptical machine in the gym yesterday I ran across a panel discussion from David Axelrod’s University of Chicago Institute of Politics. One of the panelists was columnist David Brooks and he was saying that, in his opinion, what we have lost over the past fifty years or so is what…
- 33
Reading the Old Testament Story
Bible, History(Note: This is another in a series of postings of material used in a Confirmation class) Attempts to read through the Bible, beginning with the creation stories in Genesis and proceeding through the inspirational and perhaps comforting accounts of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Rachel, Joseph, and Moses often get bogged down…
- 32
Division, Civil War, Defeat, Exile, and Return
History, IsraelAfter the death of King Solomon, the Kingdom of Israel divided and engaged in civil war, Northern Israel against Southern Judah. The warnings of Samuel about kingship were validated as both were led by a series of mostly bad kings. But the Bible story depicts the continuing “steadfast love” of God throughout their trials and…
- 31
Samuel, Saul, David, and Solomon
History, KingsEverybody who grew up going to Sunday School in a Christian church knows the stories of the boy Samuel being called by God three times but thinking the calls were from the priest Eli, of Saul being anointed by Samuel as the first king of Israel, of David slaying Goliath, and of Solomon solving a…
- 30History, Judges
There is that old Bible trivia question: Who in the Bible (besides Adam and Eve, of course) had no parents? Why, Joshua, the son of Nun, of course. Joshua took over from Moses and led the people in some degree of conquest of the Promised Land. Then Joshua died, and things got pretty messy with…
- 29
Moses, Miriam, Aaron, and Joshua
History, Moses to JoshuaMoses, his prophetess sister Miriam, his spokesman Aaron, and his successor Joshua are the dominant characters of the Old Testament books of Exodus through Joshua. Abraham had just gotten up and gone when God told him to do so, but Moses started a new tradition by explaining why God had made a bad choice and…
- 28
Three Patriarchs, Three Matriarchs, and a Favorite Son
History, Matriarchs and PatriarchsOnce Abraham shows up at the end of Genesis 11, the rest of the 50 chapters cover his life and the lives of the other patriarchs and matriarchs of the Jewish people including his wife Sarah, their son Isaac and his wife Rebecca, and their troublesome twins, Jacob and Esau. Jacob, with minimal and non-exclusive…
- 27History
Here is a brief and possibly helpful outline of the four major Biblical events in primeval or ancient or prehistorical times covered in the first eleven chapters of Genesis. Whether these stories are taken as literal truth as some fundamentalist Christians do or as revelation of eternal truths told and eventually written in the genre…
- 26Prophets
In the fall of 2003 I took Dr. Lamontte Luker’s course in Old Testament Theology at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary. A good portion of that course was on the thread of prophecy that runs from the first hint of messengers as prophets in Genesis 32 and first use of the Hebrew word for prophet, nabi,…
- 25
Old Testament Timeline – Abraham to Jesus
HistoryIn Genesis 12:1, God told Abram to get up and go, and Abram, setting an example for us all, got up and went, taking his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all their possessions, and headed for the land of Canaan. Abram, later to become Abraham, lived under a promise that God would bless him…
- 24
Kings, Kings, Kings – Turmoil in the Middle East
KingsIt is probably personal frustration with difficulty remembering details that drives my compulsion to gather and organize information visually, preferably on a single page. I did a lot of that during my three years at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary. One topic I covered, superficially of course due to limited space, was Old Testament Kings of…
- 23
Literary Structure in The Bible
BibleWith rapid expansion of digital communication, we may be losing the capability of constructing informative or inspiring sentences, punctuated and capitalized correctly, composed of carefully chosen and correctly spelled words, and arranged in logically organized and sequenced paragraphs. Apparently the ancient Greeks and Romans didn’t have those skills either, but they seem to have had…
- 22Heresy
An interesting way to view the history of The Church is through consideration of the struggle that has gone on through the centuries to understand and explain the unexplainable. From a Catholic viewpoint, possible explanations that were rejected by the church carry the label, “heresy,” meaning that while we have no full and complete and…
- 21Theology
April 15, 1951, I was baptized into the Christian faith at First Baptist Church, Maryville, TN. Today, Pentecost, June 12, 2011, I received the Sacrament of Confirmation at St. Peter’s Catholic Church, Columbia, SC. Thank you, Jesus, for this special manifestation of the gift of The Holy Spirit. CHAPTER ONE THE SACRAMENTS OF CHRISTIAN INITIATION…
- 20Christian Living, Jugement
Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. – Mark 10:18 That is the response of Jesus to a man who had just knelt before him, addressed him as “Good teacher,” and asked about eternal life. I always…
- 19Church
Now that regular church attendance is no longer default behavior for responsible citizens as it was when I was growing up in a small East Tennessee town, much is being written about how and why the remaining regular attendees choose the particular churches they attend. Denomination choices may well be based either on sticking with,…
- 18
Theology of Salvation – Not an Easy Subject
Christian Living, TheologyI have been reading, for the second time, The Catechism of the Catholic Church and am now in Part Three – Life in Christ. The reading reminded me of one of the most challenging courses I took during three years at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, Theology of Salvation, taught by Professor David Yeago. That was…
- 17
Telling the Old Testament Gospel Story
BibleI am always moved by the reading of the seventh chapter of The Acts of the Apostles in which Stephen, newly elected deacon facing accusations of blasphemy, summarizes the Old Testament story in a 1300 word homily. Two thousand years later it is easy to forget that the Jewish Bible, the Old Testament, was the…
- 16Christian Living, Theology
A few times I have used the Boy Scout Law, (“A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.”) as a good list of desirable traits for one to develop. Somewhere this week I saw something about a list of virtues, Googled that, and found that The Catholic…
- 15Bible, Theology
A pillar of Protestant theology is Sola Scriptura which means that “Scripture alone is authoritative for the faith and practice of the Christian.” That quote comes from this web site which seems to present a balanced view of the subject and some of the controversy surrounding it. With a unifying common principle such as Sola…
- 14Giving
I wonder what the implication is when someone says they are doing volunteer work or donating money or helping someone directly because they want to “give back.” Is the implication that they have taken something and want to give back some of it or all of it or is it that they have been given…
- 13Faith, Doubt
Famous and not so famous quotes about faith, doubt, and certainty abound, but I believe this phrase which came to my mind while I was on a bicycle ride last evening may be original. Faith and doubt walk hand in hand. Faith and certainty are perfect strangers and have no need of each other. If…
- 12Pride, Selfishness
I often recall seemingly random acts of selfishness when I reflect back on my life. It’s unfortunate, but true. Oh, there is much to rejoice about and be thankful for and I’ve been a good guy from time to time, but there are those troublesome bad things, the unkind word, the ethical mistake, the moment…
- 11
We Should Be Ashamed of Ourselves…For Being So Proud
PrideOK, I’m a grouch, but I just don’t like the general idea of pride. It is so self-focused. It seems to me that a much more desirable response to good things is thankfulness. It’s related to that self esteem movement that has become so popular, and I don’t like self esteem either. (Since the implication…
- 10Church Conflict
One of the courses I took at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary was Dr. Daryl (Tony) Everett’s Conflict In The Church. It might have been better titled Conflict in the Congregation beause it was designed for fourth year Master of Divinity students getting ready for their first pastoral assignments. Dr. Everett has assisted many congregations during…
- 9Philosophy
Congaree River looking north from the Blossom Street Bridge, Columbia, SC. We live at the east end of the Gervais Street Bridge seen in the distance. Rivers have always had an emotional hold on me. Maybe it started when I was a kid in an old wooden boat on river shoals during the night with…
- 8Psalms
In the fall of 2003, I took Dr. Monte Luker’s course in Old Testament Theology at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary. The notebook full of my notes and work from the course is lined up with about twenty similar compilations on a shelf above my desk. I have found it useful once in a while to…
- 7Humor
A few months ago I attended a funeral at a suburban Presbyterian Church and noticed something in their printed order of worship which I found to be very funny and thought provoking. In their bulletin, the instruction, “Stand,” is always followed by, “as you are able.” Now, I am completely used to seeing those same…
- 6Evangelism, Gospel
Quite a bit has been written, pro and con, about Brit Hume’s public recommendation to Tiger Woods that he take advantage of the forgiveness and redemption available through faith in Jesus Christ as a route to starting over. Some have objected to his use of the airwaves to make such a personal statement, to the…
- 5
Church Statements on Homosexual Behavior
MoralityMany Christians are upset over endorsement of homosexual behavior in some Churches. Some of us argue that the problem is that endorsement is a positive judgment that goes beyond (violates) Jesus’ warning against judging, but I suspect it is often just a case of seeing specks in the eyes of neighbors while ignoring the logs…
- 4Theology
In the volunteer work I do with Home Works of America, we involve teens and adults in the repair of homes for low-income elderly homeowners. We close our repair sessions in prayer with the home owner and the volunteers together. We call it a House Blessing, and part of it is the reading of the…
- 3Theology
I like big Methodist churches. Little Methodist churches can still be a bit provincial and family or founder or “big giver” dominated or bound up in local traditions, but the big ones seem to be the humblest, most service oriented, most welcoming, and least argumentative of the better known Protestant groups still on record as…
- 2
Discussion and Assessment of New Testament Theology by Caird
Theology, BooksThis paper was written May, 2004, and was the last one I turned in before graduation from Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary. Part of a course on New Testament Theology, the paper is a “discussion and assessment” of a book with the same title by New Testament scholar G. B. Caird ($85!!!) and his student, L.
- 1
Double Predestination – Doctrine of No Consequence
TheologyNote: This is a paper I wrote April, 2002, for a course in Lutheran Confessions. It was a fun paper to write and not too heavy on footnotes, etc. Professor Mary Havens liked my use of alliteration. Double Predestination: Doctrine of No Consequence Introduction All Christians believe that it is God who has provided our…