Theology

Yesterday’s Boston Globe carried an article about Episcopal parishes in the Diocese of Massachusetts disassociating themselves from the national church body on account of the latter’s “teachings on gay clergy, homosexuality, and salvation.” Leaving aside for the moment the controversy over V. Gene Robinson and the larger issue of homosexuality in the church, what’s this Read more

John Henry Newman once said that “To be deep in history is to cease to be Protestant.” Now, I’m certainly not going to claim to be “deep” into early church history after having read Chadwick’s The Early Church (along with a few other books along the way), but I think I can see what Newman Read more

Graham at Leaving Muenster has a characteristically challenging post on where Christianity falls short if it’s taken to be simply a set of beliefs and not a way of life: I remember hearing Brian Mclaren talk a few years ago about an interview he’d given at a conference. I believe it was with Dallas Willard Read more

I’ve been reading Henry Chadwick’s history of the early church (thanks, Josh!) and been struck by the relevance of that history for some of the issues facing the church today. Consider, for example, the so-called new atheists (Dawkins, Sam Harris, et al.) who specialize in arguing against a certain construal of Christianity as though it Read more

LutherPunk and Without Authority both have worthwhile stuff to say on the issue of Protestant/Lutheran identity. Read more

October 31st is traditionally observed, at least in Lutheran and some other Protestant churches, as “Reformation Day.” The idea is to commemorate Martin Luther’s posting of his 95 theses and the unofficial beginning of the Reformation. However, in these more ecumenical times, the triumphalism of Reformation Days past is significantly muted. The legacy of the Read more