The Cinque Terra villages, to one degree or the other, rise from the shore onto the steep slopes. They are each a port city, but their claim is their unique culture and cuisine along with their near inaccessibility by car. Here is a shot of Manarola. Once again, if you click on the pictures they grow up to a big, viewable size. |inline Read more
Romans 3:21-26 is the most significant text in the history of Christian theology, for it shaped Augustine, Luther and Calvin, Barth, and nearly every major theologian in history. It is true that today there is a significant questioning going on about what role this text ought to play in our theological schemes, but that questioning only shows the significance of this text. The text is pregnant with every theological baby in Paul’s book. I can’t do anything but offer a... Read more
What do you really think of Mary? Most Protestants know far too little about Mary, and often don’t even know that the Immaculate Conception (Mary’s) is not the same as the virginal conception (Jesus’). I expect to be posting occasionally about Mary in the next six months or so, |inline Read more
It was Kris’ birthday yesterday, and Laura and Mark came up for dinner on the porch. I made mushroom caps filled with basil, a salad, and I cooked up Chinese in the wok. Then we went for a long walk at Independence Grove Forest Preserve — where we saw an Eastern Bluebird nest with some babies poking their heads out. |inline Read more
Here’s an expression that has the Pauline scholarly world in a stir: “works of the Law.” Let me break the options into two groups, with all sorts of variations overlooked, and suggest that how you understand this expression shapes how you understand nearly everything Paul says. Yep, it is that significant. What is your view? |inline Read more
Here’s an expression that has the Pauline scholarly world in a stir: “works of the Law.” Let me break the options into two groups, with all sorts of variations overlooked, and suggest that how you understand this expression shapes how you understand nearly everything Paul says. Yep, it is that significant. What is your view? |inline Read more
Here are some pictures from two lovely cities we visited. We began the day, after a 4 minute train ride (which was better than a 45 minute drive to the same location), with a nice cup of latte in the centro. Then we noticed, to our surprise, Christopher Columbus (Cristoforo Colombo) pointing to Chicago. The next picture is the main shopping street, and if you walk up that street, on your right is Panificio and they just may have the... Read more
As many of you know, our son (Lukas) is a scout for the Chicago Cubs. What do they do? Let me tell ya: |inline Read more
The first village of the Cinque Terra (five cities/places) that we visited was the farthest west, Monterosso. It was the largest, and had the only real beach. Here’s a few pics. (If you click on the thumbnail, it will open up to a big size picture and you can see more.) |inline Read more
Paul returns to his previous question: “Do we [Jews] have any advantage?” Previously, in 3:2, he said “Much in every way!” Now Paul says, “Not at all!” The advantage is that the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. Now Paul says there is no advantage at all. Why? “Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin.” |inline Read more
Jesus Creed
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