At a Bible study meeting, someone commented on how “packed” Paul’s letters were. That got me to thinking how the circumstances under which something is written might influence both style and content. A letter written with time constraints (and maybe material ones, like a shortage of affordable paper) and for some specific crisis would indeed … [Read more…]
If you believe in good and evil, if you believe that your existence has purpose — then you believe in God. So the Christian outcome is not only a reason to believe; if you believe, then the outcome must also be true.
I wonder if a lot of theology shouldn’t be more tentative, given for example the ambiguity of some Scripture to us and the unknowability to us of much of God’s handiwork. Thus, for all we Protestants know Mary could be the “Queen of Heaven,” but no Catholic can know that for sure. And, with many … [Read more…]
Westerners are so used to thinking about the God-man relationship in the Judeo-Christian way that we forget there are all kinds of other possibilities. A god might have a variety of different personalities, of varying degrees of sophistication; and the degree of concern he might have with the fate of humanity could vary widely, too … [Read more…]
[Or: “What Would Jesus, a Real Man, Do?] How should we think of God as we go about our daily lives? The starting point that immediately suggests itself is that of a present father. He does not want us to be timid and cowering, but grateful and joyful, loving not only Him but also focused … [Read more…]
Christianity must be chosen, not forced, if it is to save a soul. And one can have a strong faith for oneself and believe it to be wrong to force that faith onto someone else — both because it will not save the other person’s soul, and because each individual ought to respect the choices … [Read more…]
The Old Testament and New Testament are each multigenre. Both have much historical narrative; both have some apocalyptic writing. Of course, the New Testament quotes the Old Testament, and there are songs, poetry, and prayers in each. The New Testament lacks a listing of laws per se (no surprise there!). The New Testament epistles most … [Read more…]
God already knows what we’re thinking, right, so what’s the point? A short answer is that Jesus taught us how to pray and, what’s more, prayed Himself. ‘Nuff said. But it makes sense, too. It is a way re-center our lives around God, a way to ensure we are not ignoring or forgetting Him. And … [Read more…]
Apologies beforehand, since I’m no expert on Protestant doctrine and know even less of Catholicism. But the issue I’m addressing is this: Is a system of greater individual choice in determining right theology to be preferred over one with more institutional authority? One can answer this question (1) just in terms of which approach is … [Read more…]
Interesting for intersection of classical thought and Christianity (although not overtly Christian, but monotheistic). Would love for Sarah Ruden to write about it! Book V, section II: The more depraved you are the less free will you have; the closer to God you are, the more free will you have. Long discussion in book V … [Read more…]