Charles Freeman (click to read the whole article): No one has found any significant evidence of the Shroud’s existence before 1355, when it appeared in a chapel at Lirey, in the diocese of Troyes, supposedly advertised there as the burial shroud of Christ. Such sudden appearances of cults were common in a Europe recovering from the trauma of the Black Death. They caused a great deal of frustration for a Church hierarchy anxious to preserve its own status. The bishop... Read more
If You Can’t Say It About Jesus, Don’t Say It About God – Phillipians 2.1-11 By Jason Micheli, pastor at Aldersgate UMC in Alexandria VA. This is classic Jason. Classic. It might surprise some of you to hear that, as gentle and considerate as I appear to be, I have a tendency to be contrary. And while I wouldn’t say that I have a short fuse exactly, I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes I... Read more
Today is a special day for our home, a day we can call Jesus Creed Sunday. The lectionary’s Gospel today is from Matthew 22: When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “`You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and... Read more
Almighty and everlasting God: Increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and charity. And, that we may obtain what you promise, make us love what you command. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. BCP Read more
Source: A recent regulatory change in California now requires all employer health plans in the state — including those offered by churches and faith-based organizations — to cover elective abortions, according to a conservative legal firm. Casey Mattox, senior counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, told TheBlaze Thursday that the regulatory amendment requiring abortion coverage was made by California’s Department of Managed Health Care. The abortion policy immediately took effect August 22, with the government giving 90 additional days for the language in... Read more
The dogs of the Canadian slain soldier paying tribute. A Texas-sized spider in Guyana: (NEWSER) – Strolling through a Guyana rainforest one night, a scientist heard some rustling and thought he’d encountered a furry mammal. Well, he was right about the furry part. The creature was actually a Goliath birdeater spider,LiveScience reports — the world’s biggest type of spider, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. It can weigh up to 6 ounces. For comparison, National Geographic reports a black widow weighs... Read more
Helmut Thielicke, perhaps Germany’s post influential-in-America pastor-theologian of the 20th Century, when shuffled to an area for pastoring for which he was not prepared — he was an academic sort who suddenly had to start communicating with more ordinary folk — relates what he learned about preaching in that first experience: Even as early as my first attempts at preaching, I had a good feeling, and my enjoyment increased each time I mounted the pulpit. Gradually I also acquired a... Read more
My recent travels have revolved around my new book Kingdom Conspiracy, including some of my speaking to the American Baptist pastors network of northern California (Growing Healthy Churches) and an event with the Churches of God, General Conference event at Winebrenner Seminary in Findlay OH. I have simply not had time to record observations about each event, so I offer some summary observations today. My most recent event was paired with Missio Alliance and Northeastern Seminary, and I have to begin... Read more
This post is by John Frye. What John is talking about in this first paragraph was a long-time coming and I’m grateful to pastor after pastor who has helped me “get it.” Thanks John. I have often felt in Scot McKnight’s writings that he has a genuine pastor’s heart. This is not to detract from his exceptional scholarship in Jesus studies and New Testament commentary. I believe his pastoral sensitivities enhance his calling as a scholar-professor-author. Portions of Scot’s Story... Read more
At the heart of European Protestant theology’s revolutionary developments in the 20th Century was the rediscovery of the transcendence of God that challenged and replaced the identification of historical processes and progressivism (liberal theology) with the ways of God. This theology challenged that mood of theology and philosophy and culture by proclaiming God over against historical processes. This theology is often called neo-orthodoxy, dialectical theology, kerygmatic theolory (my preference) or crisis theology. Reality is found in what is known from... Read more
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