The human eye is pretty amazing. Each of your eyes has about 120 million rods and 7 million cones. The rods are more sensitive, but can only detect shades of gray and so are used for night vision. The cones are used for color detection and daylight vision. With them you can perceive depth and size as well as see …
A couple of recent news articles made me think that perhaps a post concerning some of the differences between Lutheran and Catholic beliefs regarding Holy Communion might be helpful (I also find theological discussions endlessly interesting). Communion is also called The Lord’s Supper, the Eucharist (“Thanksgiving”), or the Sacrifice of the Altar. My intent in this post is simply to …
With the current refugee crisis and immigration issues at the forefront of the news, I thought it might be helpful to provide a Lutheran perspective on these. I’ll caution up-front, though, that I won’t be providing “the answer.” Instead, what I hope to do is provide a theological framework for thinking about the issues. I also want to stress that …
Dietrich Bonhoeffer is one of a number of theologians who have greatly impacted my own life and faith. In his company I would also put men like C.S. Lewis, Martin Luther, St. Augustine, and the early Church Fathers (e.g. Tertullian, Ireneaus, etc…). Each of them has given me something valuable. To C.S. Lewis I owe thanks for a simple explanation of …
When I was a kid, I used to bury treasure in our yard and then dig it up later. Once, I buried some collectible coins in the garden area of our yard. I put them in a little plastic bag, covered them over with dirt, and then left them there. Later, when I went to dig them up I couldn’t …
Lately, I’ve been looking more and more at Genesis 3 and Matthew 4 as a unit, and here are some thoughts on these two texts. Genesis 3 contains the account of the temptation of Adam and Eve and their fall into sin. Matthew 4 contains the account of the temptation of Jesus. It is interesting to look at the parallels …
Ash Wednesday begins the Lenten season, where repentance comes into fuller focus for the Church. The lectionary texts for Ash Wednesday include Psalm 51 and 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10. The Psalm is a prayer to the Lord for mercy, due to the fact that we are born sinners. The Psalm speaks that truth that we must be delivered from our sin …
I went to the store a couple days after Christmas and noticed that the store had pulled down all the Christmas items they had for sale, replacing them with Valentine’s Day gifts and cards. Seeing this was a revelation for me, as it made me realize that all people live according to a certain cycle and that our American consumer culture …
Today is Reformation Day! On October 31, 1517 a young German monk named Martin Luther nailed his “95 Thesis” to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. He meant to call for a debate on abusive church practices regarding the sale of indulgences, but this particular debate never came. Instead, Luther’s challenge to the church began to …
Living in Georgia, Lutherans are somewhat rare. My wife was actually asked the questions in the subject of this post by one of her friends. In the Midwest, Lutherans are as numerous as the sands on the seashore. In the South, though, Lutherans are as rare as a sand-dollar. We tend to be viewed as different, maybe even odd (or, …