What is forgiveness? I’m sorry, we say. We did something that caused someone pain. No problem, they answer. Or That’s okay. What if they said I forgive you. It almost grates doesn’t it? If someone says they forgive us, it means they agree that we did them some harm. There was something that needed forgiving. Ouch. We’re much […]
Lent: On Repentance
Lent is coming. That means you still have a few days to get ready to take a dive into repentance. Chances are that doesn’t sound like such a great offer. Especially in the Protestant world we have a pretty hard time with repentance. We associate the word “repent” with our lunatic fringe, carrying signs about the […]
Best of 2014
Recently while I’ve barely posted at all, a bunch of new people have subscribed to my blog. Thank you! Partly to give new readers a window into what I’ve been doing here, and partly as a way to think about my own blogging, here are my ten most-read posts of 2014. They fall into four categories: Answers to timeLY […]
Vocabulary Lesson: The Keys of the Kingdom (Heidelberg Catechism, Q83)
Read your King James Bible and several times you’ll run across the word “sackbut.” Say that today and somebody will feel insulted. Back in 1611 people knew it was a musical instrument. Language changes as centuries pass. That can happen with theological vocabulary too. Take the word “keys.” Listen hard to sermons, to your Christian […]
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. […]