Our Lady of Guadalupe (also Virgin of Guadalupe) is the name given to Mary the mother of Jesus when she appeared to Juan Diego on hillside outside Mexico City. The Virgin appeared to Juan Diego on Dec 9, 1531 and spoke to him 5 times in Nahuatl, Diego’s native language. The account of her apparition is found in the Nican Mopohua. At the end of the encounters her image appeared on Juan Diego’s tilma (cloak) Read More …
When I first became Lutheran I understood it to be a theological movement. I was brought into a church by a pastor who said, “If you can mix your Catholic upbringing with your recent Evangelical faith, you will do well in the Lutheran Church.” That pastor went on to mentor me in the Lutheran Confessions, teach me how to read scripture, show me how to think theologically, and bring me up in the Lutheran Christian Read More …
On fridays I stay at home with my youngest son who is 2 years old. He’s pretty activity. On this day he migrated from reading books to making me food in the play kitchen to assembling a puzzle. In fact, he worked on that puzzle for a while. At first, I didn’t want to intervene because I could see the wheels turning in his head. But, if I’m honest, I was also learning some Read More …
I came across an image (not shown) of a street preacher while on the inter-webs and on his sign was a url. Knowing better, but not acting on it, I went to the website. On a side note, I’m not opposed to street preaching, I just think it’s ineffective. But, I am opposed to people preaching a gospel that is not really the gospel. Well, here is the “Gospel” according to their page. What is the Read More …
So, I’m reading Theology for the Community of God by Stanley Grenz in preparation for a sermon I’m giving on Trinity Sunday. Before I get into the thick of it let me tell you, this is a fine book. His understanding of the Trinity is very well done. In fact, I’ll use a good portion of what he writes as a basis for my sermon. BUT, I came to the following section and I had some Read More …
Watch Rev. Lillian Daniel on “Spiritual but Not Religious” on PBS. See more from Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly. I liked it all, but really enjoyed 2:05-2:30. -jpserrano H/T to Steve Sabin for sharing this on Facebook
#progGOD Challenge #2 Tony Jones has invited bloggers from all over the blogosphere to answer another #progGOD challenge. The question: “Why An Incarnation?” Jones writes, “…I’m most interested in what the Incarnation tells us about God, human beings, creation, the Cosmos, the End Times, Heaven, Hell, salvation, or anything else…from a Progressive Christian perspective.” Here’s my three-fold response: Jesus is the new way God is revealed The passage in scripture that most informs my understanding Read More …
Yesterday, I wrote What is Cheap Grace? Today’s post is the flip-side of that coin. As I noted previously, in The Cost of Discipleship Dietrich Bonhoeffer makes a clear distinction between cheap grace and costly grace. Often people are eager to mention what is cheap grace but are less willing to bring up what Bonhoeffer means by costly grace. According to Bonhoeffer costly grace is the antithesis of cheap grace. Unlike cheap grace which is monotone, costly grace is Read More …
I often hear seminarians and pastors throw out the term “cheap grace” in theological conversations (primarily in Lutheran circles). These people will cry afoul about something and declare that someone’s theology portrays “cheap grace.” My problem is that using this term usually (9 out of 10 times) makes no sense in the context of the discussion. Kind of like people’s misuse of Luther’s term SIN BOLDLY. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote a book entitled The Cost of Read More …
The Bible is the best selling book of all time and it is read by people on every continent. Because it’s so widely read, many think that it can be parsed and understood solely in isolation. But, the Bible was never meant to be read without a community who could help interpret it. This does’t mean that it shouldn’t be read alone, only that one needs a community of believers to read with regularly. No Read More …