A couple of the more traditionalist Anglican blogs have linked to the website of Ebenezer Lutheran Church in San Francisco indicating that it’s a kind of logical endpoint of liberal Protestantism (or maybe just Protestantism period?). No doubt this is one kooky congregation, dedicated as it is to “re-imag[ing] the divine by claiming her feminine…

A couple of weeks ago I posted on whether Protestants might find benefit from praying the Rosary. Here I see a Lutheran layman has devised a “Lutheran Rosary” (PDF), the main differences being that he recommends replacing the Hail Mary with either the pre-Trent Hail Mary (omitting the phrase “Holy Mary Mother of God, pray…

Observing it has become more common among evangelicals and other low-church Protestants according to this article. As far as I know Lent is de rigueur among Lutherans, but maybe that’s a relatively recent development too (as is, for instance, weekly communion apparently).

Thomas at Without Authority has a bit of a downer post about the future of the ELCA. We are, he says, divided into various factions (liberals, evangelical catholics, etc.) and he’s none too optimistic that any recognizably Lutheran center can hold. Though I came to the ELCA only recently (within the last six years) I…

For some reason the whole “crunchy con” thing is generating a lot of interesting thinking out there in blog-land (well, at least among the blogs I read). See, to wit, Russell Arben Fox (again), Kim at Crossroads, Eve Tushnet, and Three Hierarchies. I’d like to draw some larger lesson here about the bankruptcy of the…

William F. Buckley says “One can’t doubt that the American objective in Iraq has failed.” Now, I appreciate the willingness of the elder statesmen of conservatism – Buckley, George Will, etc. – to voice their skepticism on the Bush administration’s Iraq policy rather than just toeing the party line. But where were these guys before…

Ever find yourself wondering “Just what is the difference between thrash metal and speed metal?” Turns out it’s mainly in the punk-influenced sound of the former. Good to know.

Camassia on heaven. This paragraph’s a gem: For another thing, saying, “You’ll be rewarded for being good by going to heaven after you die,” is only a recipe for complacency if you subscribe to a certain idea of “being good.” Certainly the Mennonite concept of what it means to follow Jesus in this life is…

Via the “Crunchy Con” blog I see that idiosyncratic paleo/libertarian/localist Bill Kauffman has a new book coming out in May: Look Homeward, AmericaIn Search of Reactionary Radicals and Front-Porch Anarchists (excerpt here). Here’s the publisher’s description: In Look Homeward, America, Bill Kauffman introduces us to the reactionary radicals, front-porch anarchists, and traditionalist rebels who give…

I just started reading German “evangelical” (i.e. Lutheran) theologian Oswald Bayer’s little book Living by Faith: Justification and Sanctification, published in the Lutheran Quarterly Series. In the first chapter Bayer makes a very interesting move by using “justification” as a kind of all-encompassing principle for understanding personal and social life, and even a kind of…