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St. Silouan on the Love of God
Read more: St. Silouan on the Love of GodI cannot remain silent concerning the people, whom I love so greatly that I must weep for them. I cannot remain silent because my soul ever grieves for the people of God, and I pray for them with tears. I cannot refrain from making known to you, brethren, the mercy of God and the wiles […]
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When America Got Sick
Read more: When America Got SickIt was in the years following the Civil War, America was hard on the path to “becoming great.” The industrial revolution had moved into full swing, railroads criss-crossed the country, immigration was gaining speed, and wealth was accumulating at a rate never seen before. We were slowly moving from our original agrarian economy towards life […]
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Stumbling Toward Salvation
Read more: Stumbling Toward SalvationOn occasion I have written on topics that seem to scandalize readers, or certainly cause difficulty for many. Some of those topics have been articles on the wrath of God; the radical forgiveness of everyone for everything; the commonality of our life and our salvation; and various posts on giving thanks always for all things […]
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Knocking Down the Gates of Hell
Read more: Knocking Down the Gates of HellThe Swedish Lutheran theologian, Gustav Aulén, published a seminal work on the types of atonement theory in 1930 (Christus Victor). Though time and critical studies have suggested many subtler treatments of the question, no one has really improved on his insight. Especially valuable was his description of the “Classic View” of the atonement. This imagery, […]
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Prayers for a Dear Friend of Us All
Read more: Prayers for a Dear Friend of Us AllI spoke by phone this morning with Michael Bauman, for years a faithful part of our conversations on the blog. He shared with me that he is now in home hospice care (in Wichita) and has been given a terminal diagnosis. His faith is truly evident in his conversations, even as those present their own […]
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The Tradition of Being Human
Read more: The Tradition of Being HumanBeing human is a cultural event. No one is human by themselves and no one becomes human without the help of those around them. This is so obvious it should not need to be stated, but contemporary human beings often imagine themselves to be their own creation. The exercise of individual freedom is exalted as […]
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St. Melito and Pascha – Hell Is Not the Last Word
Read more: St. Melito and Pascha – Hell Is Not the Last WordAmong the most powerful meditations on Pascha are the writings of Melito of Sardis (ca. 190 AD). His homily, On Pascha, is both a work of genius as poetry and a powerful work of theology. Its subject is the Lord’s Pascha – particularly as an interpretation of the Old Testament. It is a common example […]
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Good Friday and the Irony of Believing
Read more: Good Friday and the Irony of BelievingIrony is probably too much to ask of youth. If I can remember myself in my college years, the most I could muster was sarcasm. Irony required more insight. There is a deep need for the appreciation of irony to sustain a Christian life. Our world is filled with contradiction. Hypocrisy is ever present even […]
Father, As usual, I have spent most of the day thinking about all this material- fortunately, I can do this…