You can find a lot of free advice out here in the blogosphere. Everybody wants to get something — anything, apparently — that will make their life the way they want it to be. The way they need it to be. The way they long for it to be. Christians have a name for that […]
Want a Simple, Focused Christian Life? — St. Anthony of Egypt
Today is the memorial of St. Anthony of Egypt (c. 251-356), aka “Anthony the Great,” the prototypical “desert father.” I wanted to share a story about him that shows his character and priorities. Someone asked Abba Anthony, ‘What must one do in order to please God?’ The old man replied, ‘Pay attention to what I […]
So What’s Up With the New Tag Line?
Since my first foray into the blogosphere my tag line was “trying to catch the view from some big shoulders.” Now it says “Christianity as a second language.” What’s up with that? My core mission is still the same: I’m mining the best of the Christian past to find wisdom for faithful effective discipleship now […]
The Saints; or “What’s a Nice Reformed Boy Like Me Doing on a Topic Like This?” (Heidelberg Catechism Q. 30)
I wonder sometimes whether readers think it is odd that I blog on a classic Reformed text like the Heidelberg Catechism one day and on saints of the Catholic and Orthodox world the next. From Calvin’s time onward, a good deal of Reformed ink has been spilled ridiculing Catholic devotion to the saints. Take my […]
St. Gregory of Nazianzus — “The Theologian”
In much of Western Christianity, today is the feast of St. Gregory of Nazianzus (c. 329 – c. 389). In the East he is celebrated on other days and regarded much more highly: they call him “The Theologian.” I can’t overestimate how important Gregory is to me, though in truth I have read only a […]