The Orant

The Christian religion is made up of many sects, denominations, and churches. One of the themes that you will find in almost all of the is a celebration of the "Lord's Supper." The "Lord's Supper" was instituted by Jesus during his last meal with his disciples before his execution. In the gospels we have 4 accounts of the words of institution (Matt 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:15-20; and also 1 Cor 11:23-26.) Each of them is a little bit different. How Christians understand the "Lord's … [Read more...]

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"Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people."— Jer 9:1Jeremiah is known as the “weeping prophet.” A theme of tears seems to follow him wherever he goes. Jeremiah cries out for his people, for their coming destruction, as a call for moral reform, and over the destruction that eventually does lay waste to Jerusalem. Christians throughout the history of the Church have asked the question, “over what do we … [Read more...]

14The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 16In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.” (Jeremiah 33:14-16 NRSV) Jerusalem had been under Siege for a year … [Read more...]

I've been working of some material related to Jeremiah this week. I'll post some of my thoughts on the man early next week, but until then I thought you might like this. A reader and a friend of mine wrote this poem a few years ago... It's pretty Clever... It's called Jeremiah Then And Now.If you like it, check out the rest, at David's Blog http://ivebeenthinkingessays.blogspot.com/Grace and Peace-Billy KangasJeremiah Then And Now In the younger years of king Josiah,The Lord first spoke to … [Read more...]

This week I read one of the most powerful sermons I've ever encountered. It was written by Arthur John Gossip the day after his wife passed away very suddenly, and unexpectedly. It is entitled "But When Life Tumbles In, What Then?"In this image Gossip stands up and invites the congregation through the dark torrents of despair, pain and confusion. He weaves the image of the Jordan flooded, cold, dreadful and terrifying throughout an onslaught of raw humanity. He shows us Christ's own suffering at … [Read more...]

Something I need to think about every day!! … [Read more...]

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This afternoon I had lunch with Amos N. Guiora, professor of Law at J.S. Quinney Law School, University of Utah, and fellow Ann Arbor, Michigan native. We discussed his new book Freedom From Religion: Rights and National security. I must say Guiora speaks with a candidness that is both provocative and disturbing. In his book he addressed the issue of Religious Extremism.In his view extremism emerges when a "doctrine of certitude" is disseminated throughout a religious body by religious leaders … [Read more...]