speaking of the Trinity
troubles brewing in the SBC?
The messengers to the 2021 Southern Baptist Convention just elected a new president, Dr. Ed Litton, who has pastored Redemption Church in the Mobile, AL, area since 1994. I keep tabs on things brewing the SBC but have never heard of Litton or the church where he serves, so I looked them up online. At first blush, there's nothing . . .
"Evangelical and Apostolic Faith" (link)
From Abbot Tryphon, an orthodox monk (the emphases are mine):
The Church may seem to be a backward looking institution, irrelevant for our times, a view that has caused many of the denominations to alter basic foundational teachings in order to please a more liberally leaning society. This has led numerous of the denominations . . .
orthodoxy vs. orthopraxy
thoughts on the parable of the Good Samaritan
Yesterday in worship our pastor preached on the familiar parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10). In his sermon he discussed the difference between orthodoxy (right beliefs) and orthopraxy (right actions) and how this parable stressed the need for the latter to one who possessed only the former.
Undoubtedly, our beliefs are . . .
Lent with Brueggemann
daily devotionals during a season of self-denial
Walter Brueggemann is a fascinating character among contemporary American theologians. He is ordained clergy in the United Church of Christ, one of the most liberal denominations in the entire landscape of American Christianity. He is principally an Old Testament scholar who taught at the seminary level for more than four decades in both . . .
reflections on American politics
still looking for God in all the wrong places
Since the horrific events of last Wednesday played out, I have wrestled with how to make sense of them and what to write about them. Instead of writing in the heat of the moment, which would've been anything but thoughtful, I wanted to heed the biblical command to 'be swift to hear [and] slow to speak' (James 1.19). Though I am . . .
looking for God in all the wrong places
reflections on Luke 2.41-52
Our church follows the Narrative Lectionary, and yesterday's Gospel reading was Luke's record of Mary and Joseph losing track of Jesus after the Feast of the Passover. In this account, Jesus famously asks Mary, "Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?" (Luke 2.49 NKJV). . . .
Posted in: reflectionssacramentstheology
"Is Christmas a Pagan Rip-off?" (link)
the truth about December 25th
By Kevin DeYoung at The Gospel Coalition:
We’ve heard it so many times that it’s practically part of the Christmas story itself.
The Romans celebrated their seven-day winter festival, Saturnalia, starting on December 17. It was a thoroughly pagan affair full of debauchery and the worship of the god Saturn. To mark the . . .
