Pastor Foltz is Pastor Emeritus of Saint James Lutheran Church in Gettysburg, PA and author of the the Frontline Study content.
As I write, the relationship between church and government is being maliciously manipulated. Popular public figures on both sides are using each other to get what they want. And, the deals being made threaten our souls. In order to understand how we got to this place, I find myself recalling what I have experienced during […]
The pandemic has brought into focus all sorts of societal problems. The last lesson discussed only the large number associated with Smithfield Foods. Most of these have been festering for decades. The question is whether the pandemic will bring them to a head in a way that incites creative response. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in […]
In a time when the Christian voice in the public conversation is babel and even cacophony, those struggling to follow Jesus must strive to be radically realistic. Jacques Ellul often describes this as being decisively honest. That would involve acknowledging the lessons that the pandemic has taught us and then making appropriate changes in our […]
I really ended the series on world religions because I was getting all sorts of emails that implied it was a good subject, but somewhat irrelevant in the midst of the pandemic. Along with this, I kept feeling a need to recognize what is going on in Christianity during this crisis. In general, the situation […]
After I posted a lesson entitled “Sick Religion” a few weeks ago, one of my best friends asked when I would have the courage to attack the real sick Christians among us. I was taken back, because I felt that was exactly what I was doing. I consider myself a lifelong student of false prophets […]
I began this series wanting to share Barbara Brown Taylor’s experience about how the study of other world religions enhances the way we practice Christianity. Her findings were similar to my own, and I felt that she responded honestly to the situation most of us confront in this pluralistic global society. I end it realizing […]
Just a few quick words on religious language. Barbara Taylor Brown repeatedly speaks about the difficulty of understanding the religious language used by other world religions. Conversely, she observes once you do, you discover a lot about your own. My own experiences bear this out. Often when working on Lutheran Roman Catholic ecumenical activities in […]
Throughout her book Holy Envy, Barbara Brown Taylor cites Rabbi Jonathon Sachs to support her call to appreciate the insights and practices of other religious teachings and practices. Each time she did this, I found myself evaluating what I regard as healthy and sick religion in our present society, even though neither of these scholars […]
Every time I think I am leading a discussion on Barbara Brown Taylor’s Holy Envy, I end up talking about the tribalism in our present society. For instance, last Monday night, our symposium began noting the things we admire in Judaism. Early on, people spoke of their respect for the family, the people, the race. […]
While reading Holy Envy, I kept asking myself why I liked the book so much. It is obviously well written, easily read, but hardly profound theology. Instead, it is just as she promised, a simple report on how the experience of her college religion classes corresponded with her own over several years. In the end, […]
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