I don’t know if there is a competition for “Most Interesting Person” in the Middle Ages, but today I’d like to nominate St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153). August 20 is his feast day. What a rich and varied influence he had. He was a shaker and mover in the Cistercian monastic reform. Clearly his gifts […]
Finding a Life-Giving Approach to the Bible (part 2): Lectio Divina
When I started this series I mentioned that our mentor as we search for a richer way to engage with the Bible, Guigo II (d. 1188), because His little book The Ladder of Monks is the go-to text for people who want to understand the actual monastic practice of prayerful reading of Scripture, or “lectio divina.” […]
How Can We Make Sense of Guilt? Heidelberg Catechism Q. 12
When I read classical Reformed theology, some parts grate on my ears. These challenging bits teach me about myself: they show me where my assumptions about life, the world, even faith, are influenced by the culture I’m steeped in. I too need to learn “Christianity” as a second language. This definitely happens at Question 12 of the […]
Finding a Life-Giving Approach to the Bible (part 1)
If you want to understand your faith, whether to live it with confidence or to share it with others, you need to have a solid working knowledge of the Bible. The problem for a lot of Christians, though, is that we don’t know where to start. Actually a lot of us don’t want to start. Some […]
A Better Way to Think About Heaven, via St. Gregory of Nyssa
Christians in our culture have a pretty odd default view of life after death. We call it “heaven” and tell the world they ought to make sure they get to go there, but we portray it as frankly boring. You know the schtick: sitting forever on a cloud holding a harp you don’t know how to play. […]
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