I grew up in Wisconsin but never realized all that was there. I didn’t know that it was home to Aldo Leopold (didn’t know who he was at the time either). I didn’t pay much attention to Horicon Marsh or Necedah National Wildlife Refuge. And I didn’t know that Baraboo Wisconsin was home to the International Crane Foundation
…is the title of the newest book from the Concordia Seminary Press. The American Mind Meets the Mind of Christ is a collection of essays edited by renowned scholar Robert Kolb . Here’s the synopsis from the back cover: Whether it is an altar to an unknown god or the New Atheists, Christians have always faced the challenge of translating the Gospel message within the surrounding culture. This is no less true for the tangled web that is 21st century America
There are various reasons why Christians may approach environmental issues with a skeptical eye and be reluctant to embrace them. One is the concern that it is an alternative religion to Christianity
The “Chandos portrait” of Shakespeare Last night I taught our first class in a course entitled “The Bible as Literature” in Wash U’s University College . So don’t be surprised if there’s a few posts here over the next weeks with that title before the colon. One of my basic theses for the course is that perhaps the most foundational event in the history of English-speaking literature was the translation of the Bible into the Authorized Version, otherwise known as the “King James.” Shakespeare is a very close second. To illustrate my point, we played a famous little game with the King James version of Psalm 46
Last February I changed the confession of sins that was to be used in the worship services. I regularly assist at Grace Lutheran Chapel in Bellefontaine Neighbors (a north suburb of St. Louis), and that weekend the three services were to use Creative Worship from the Synod. Since the congregation is vacant, I was the ..
Always provocatively and confessionally Lutheran, a link to Rev. John Nunes’ good words in answer to the question “Where is God in times of tragedy?” For your reading pleasure
Technology trying to save technology. (Photo credit: Reuters) The recent capping of the oil well in the Gulf of Mexico aside, now the Coast Guard says the clean up will take years . And even with the cap, oil is still spilling into the Gulf
I’ve been thinking about the meaning or lessons to be drawn from the oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Many others have as well
One of my favorite quotes comes from Wendell Berry (not surprisingly). In commenting on the nature of the abundant life, he makes the statement that material sufficiency has been met (food, clothing, shelter etc.), “life itself, which is membership in the living world, is already an abundance” ( The Way of Ignorance ). Think about it. It goes to how we think about what constitutes the good life
As the Director of Vicarage and Deaconess Internships, I keep track of how many congregations apply for a vicar and how many students are available for vicarage assignment. A three ring binder sits on a bookshelf and I can go back to 1990 – the year I began in this position. The number of congregations ..
A 16 minute silent movie clip of the 1926 dedication of Concordia Seminary’s Clayton campus, and a prayer for harmony
Earth Day last month made me wonder why we don’t have a similar day within the church. We wouldn’t have to call it “Earth Sunday” or anything. We could call it “Creation Sunday” or have a “Season of Creation.” Currently, the first half of our church year rightly focuses on the life of Jesus
Maybe it’s a guy thing. Maybe its a childhood memory thing. Maybe its a Robinson Crusoe thing (or was it the Disney version, namely, the Swiss Family Robinson movie). I don’t know
Pope Benedict XVI “all but gave an outright endorsement of the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin.” The shroud, which depicts the image of a man crucified in precisely the same way as Jesus, is on display in Turin cathedral for the first time in a decade, and 2 million people have made reservations to ..
