This post originally appeared at Conciliar Post. After fifteen difficult months of travel, they had made it. Lewis and Clark had reached the spring that began the Missouri River, that great river they had been following since they crossed the Mississippi and began their exploration of the Louisiana Purchase. For over three hundred years beforeContinue reading “Canoeing the Mountains”
Tag Archives: Community
What is the Purpose of the Local Church?
This post originally appeared as a contribution to a Round Table discussion at Conciliar Post. Any full discussion of the church—in either its New Testament or current forms—demands more space than a round table affords. Accordingly, I want to focus on two central characterizations of what the New Testament Church seemed to be and howContinue reading “What is the Purpose of the Local Church?”
Blogging Ecumenically: A Way Forward
This post is part of an ongoing series reflecting on Orthodox-Catholic online dialogue, originally delivered at the “That They May Be One” Conference. In this series, I have drawn upon the ecumenical website Conciliar Post in order to examine how Orthodox and Catholic Christians dialogue in an online environment. Through this overview, I have arguedContinue reading “Blogging Ecumenically: A Way Forward”
Questions about Getting Saved in America
In “Getting Saved in America: Conversion Event in a Pluralistic Culture,” Bill Leonard outlines the history of the salvation conversion experience in the American context, more specifically the history of the eastern “evangelical protestant”[1] conversion experience. Tracing the event from its Puritan beginnings in the New World to its current usage among American church people,Continue reading “Questions about Getting Saved in America”
Looking Ahead to Fall 2015
Greetings dear readers! After a busy and exciting summer, I’m looking forward to another informative (and similarly busy) fall term here in Saint Louis. As promised a couple of weeks ago, this post is intended to a) share what went on with me this summer and b) look ahead to what’s going on this fall.Continue reading “Looking Ahead to Fall 2015”
Reflections on Communion
These reflections originally appeared as part of a Round Table discussion at Conciliar Post. What is communion and how does it impact my faith? For me, Communion is the sacramental participation in the body and blood of our Lord Jesus, a visible and real “joining together” with our Lord that, among other things, is aContinue reading “Reflections on Communion”
Book Review: The Ancient Path (Talbot)
When you want to understanding something, you look for information. When you want to make sense of a story, you ask people to explain things from the beginning. When you want to comprehend a complex event, you consult eyewitnesses and experts. In an age of self-help, independence, internet “research”, and self-sufficiency, however, fewer people takeContinue reading “Book Review: The Ancient Path (Talbot)”
Reflections on Vatican II
The Second Vatican Council (1962-5) stands apart as one of the single most important events of modern Church history, not only because of the number of Christians that the Church at Rome influences, but also because of the magnitude and depth of the canons of the council. While a thorough examination remains outside the parametersContinue reading “Reflections on Vatican II”
ECA: The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles
This post is part of our ongoing series considering Early Christian Authority. The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles (hereafter, the Didache, it’s more common name) is one of the earliest non-canonical extant texts of the Christian tradition. Almost certainly a praxis oriented church “manual,” the Didache has two main sections: an exposition on the PathContinue reading “ECA: The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles”
Book Review: The Church According to Paul (Thompson)
The Christian church is facing a crisis. It is losing face, hemorrhaging influence in the public sphere of Western civilization, churches are declining in membership, and increasing swaths of people are not longer interested in what Christianity has to offer. This apparent decline is not a new trend to be sure—and stems, at least inContinue reading “Book Review: The Church According to Paul (Thompson)”
Pursuing Veritas 