Theoblogy
Happy Ash Wednesday, everyone. Actually, I should say Sad Ash Wednesday, or something like that. The bracket has been posted for the Lenten saint tournament — you can follow it here. Read more
Happy Ash Wednesday, everyone. Actually, I should say Sad Ash Wednesday, or something like that. The bracket has been posted for the Lenten saint tournament — you can follow it here. Read more
HarperOne has released a Lenten guide for reading Lauren Winner’s new book, Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis, about which I blogged last week. READING AND DISCUSSION GUIDE FOR STILL In Still, you will find fifty-four meditations on what it looks like to arrive at a middle place in a spiritual journey and how to respond to a feeling of God’s absence. Forty Days with Still can be used in a general way, allowing you to press in closer with the readings,... Read more
One thing that I cannot recommend highly enough is that you journey through Lent with Paul Soupiset, as he sketches his thoughts each day. He’s been doing this for several years, and I can tell you it’s a rewarding journey. Read more
Mike Lux at HuffPo has this astute observation: Because here’s the thing: while you can — if you really work hard to do it — find verses here and there supporting a more conservative political point of view on certain specific issues, there is simply no way to read the Bible I read and not come to the conclusion that it is overwhelmingly supportive of helping the poor, showing mercy to the weak, refraining from judging, treating others as you... Read more
Billy Kangas is giving up racism for Lent. You can help him by joining him as he reads some books and discusses them on his blog. Today marks the beginning of Lent, Ash Wednesday. Every year millions of Christians give up certain foods and activities for the 40 days (not including Sundays) leading up to Easter. This year, in addition to my regular dietary restrictions, in honor of Black History Month, which we are in the midst of and in... Read more
Today is Lauren Winner’s first Ash Wednesday as an Episcopal priest, and she’ll be standing on a public street corner, imposing ashes on willing passersby. More interesting, however, than the fact that she’s doing this, is why she’s doing it. This year, I will be joining many Episcopal priests in taking the public witness of Ash Wednesday one step further. On Wednesday, my colleague Catherine Caimano and I will put on cassocks and surplices, and go to a corner near... Read more
Every Wednesday during Lent, I’m going to explore an alternatives to the penal substitutionary understanding of the atonement, the dominant theory of the atonement in my part of the (theological and geographical) world. You can read all of the posts, and my past posts on this topic, here. I’ve got an ebook on the subject as well. Orthodox Christians do not suffer under the long, long shadow of Augustine. Now, Augustine was arguably the most brilliant theologian of all time, but that... Read more
I’m making my way through Wolf Hall, an amazing and complex novel based in England during the reign of Henry VIII. Many of the characters — all Catholic so far — are wringing their hands in consternation over the writings of Martin Luther. Those writings are making it into the hands of some of the young theological scholars in Henry’s court, and are, of course, having an influence. Which got me to thinking about how earth-shattering were Luther’s writings in... Read more
Illustration from Pickling His Presence Late last week, I took some heat in the comment section of a post that I meant to be a rather lighthearted way to slide into the weekend. Some readers took that as an opportunity to let me know how much I’ve disappointed them, saying that they used to think that I was interesting, but now I’m a whiney crybaby. A couple commenters seemed to complain that I am classified in the Evangelical Portal at... Read more
Rick Santorum, an ardent Catholic, made headlines over the weekend for saying that President Obama practices “a different theology” that is “not a theology based on the Bible.” Theologies develop, and I have no trouble with that. But Santorum obviously does, so let’s take a look at some things that are not “based on the Bible”: The Immaculate Conception The perpetual virginity of Mary Praying to saints A celibate priesthood Transubstantiation The papacy Twelve sacraments that bestow grace Again, this isn’t... Read more
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