*To see the previous post in this ongoing series, click here. “Our Lord says [in John 17] that He has given this glory to those who believe in Him ‘that they may be one even as we are one.’ Being children of God must mean being–in some recognizable sense–members of one family. All our rationalizations
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*To see the previous post in this ongoing series, click here. “Far from presenting a picture of unity to the world, the church seems almost to give a warning example of disunity, the very strength of faith and conviction giving depth and bitterness to the ‘unhappy divisions.’ The church may have a consciousness of its unity. But
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“The Church is one, and by her fertility she has extended by degree into many. In the same way, the sun has many rays, but a single light; a tree has many branches but a single trunk resting on a deep root; and many streams flow out from a single source. However many may spread
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“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And
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Paul’s closing doxology in Romans 11:33-36 is a rousing hymn celebrating the supremacy of God over both history and human beings. The capstone to his majestic, complex argument in Romans 9-11, here we find the apostle Paul at last concluding his defense of God’s righteousness not so much with one final knock-down argument from logic but
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In Marilynne Robinson’s unforgettable novel Gilead, the congregationalist (and unapologetically Calvinist/Barthian!) pastor John Ames pens this provocative reflection to his young son about trying to “defend the faith.” It is meant to be read–like all of his letters–when the young lad has grown up, presumably long after Ames has died: “Well, I have had a certain amount of experience with
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*Note: I’ll return next time to my series about “The Promises and Perils of Bilingual Christians” Who needs to bother about dry, dusty theology? “Many things can be meant by the word ‘God.’ For this reason, there are many kinds of theologies. There is no man who does not have his own god or gods
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