Tim Fountain makes an interesting observation along these lines: And, as is a fault for Americans today on both the left and the right, they conflate the church and government. Whether it be the Trump is our new King Cyrus movement or the Christian Socialists, there is the belief that holding control of government will …
The Endless Agony of Pro-Life Democrats
One more has had enough, though: The straw that broke this camel’s back was Pete Buttigieg’s extremism. Here was a mainstream Democratic candidate suggesting, at one point, that abortion is OK up to the point the baby draws her first breath. When I heard that, I realized we were fighting a losing battle. If the …
So Really, Why did Christ Come and Die for Us?
The recent Twitter storm (it doesn't take much) over Canon Theologian Emily Hunter McGowin's opining on why Jesus came and died for us (the "soteriological question," to put things more formally) and the reaction thereto got me to thinking about this. It's tempting to pass over it as another Anglican food fight, but the question …
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Are Anglican Ministers Successors to the Apostles?
Back in December I published a post in response to one Rev. Chris Findley on Dodging the Important Questions on Priests and the Holy Communion. Unsurprisingly there was no response. Who knows, Rev. Findley might still be stuck in Murfreesboro's traffic, which is experiencing serious spillover from Nashville. In any case, in that post I touched …
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Is the “Classic” Concept of Original Sin Based on a Mistranslation?
An intriguing suggestion from J.N.D. Kelly's Early Christian Doctrines. First, concerning Ambrosiaster's influential Commentary on Romans: Ambrosiaster's teaching is particularly noteworthy because it relies on an exegesis of Rom. 5, 12 which, though mistaken and based on a false reading, was to become the pivot of the doctrine of original sin. In the Greek St. …
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Sanity of Bishops — Ad Orientem
Old Russian joke (as told by an OCA bishop): If a young man has a good voice and good mind they make him a deacon.When he loses his voice they make him priest. And when he loses his mind… (via) via Sanity of Bishops — Ad Orientem
Jesus Our Mediator
So Jesus, who is our God, is at the same time our mediator, our almighty intercessor, to whom God does not refuse anything, and there is no other name by which we should be saved. Let us put our trust in Jesus, who is God and mediator together and, even greater and above Moses, as …
The Intellectual Shell Game of Critical Race Theory in the Anglican/Episcopal World
Matt Kennedy's thoughtful piece on critical race theory lays out many things very succinctly. My purpose here is to take a look at this from another point of view. The way Matt links current critical race theory with the class theory of Marxism connects many dots, dots which have driven many of my life decisions, …
The Cost of Pastoral Ministry
From Bossuet's Elevations on the Mysteries, on the early career of Moses: Pastors, leaders of souls, whoever you are, do not think you can save them without it costing you: admire in Moses the persecutions of Jesus, and drink the chalice of his passion.
Francis Chan Bails on Bill Clinton’s Eucharistic Theology
As you see here: https://youtu.be/QP9roQQwzsA "Bill Clinton's Eucharistic Theology" is my catty description of Zwinglian theology, which posits that the Holy Communion is a mere symbol. As I noted in my piece entitled Bill Clinton's Eucharistic Theology: It Depends Upon What Is Is: Until the Reformation Christianity uniformly confessed that, when Our Lord said “is” …
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Positive Infinity 