I absolutely love these ideas, especially paying attention to beauty and reducing your needs.
Weekly lessons in theology and public life • Since 2011
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Lesson 16: The Last Days
Read MORE: Lesson 16: The Last DaysI am simply going to use the discussions of our high school reading group during January and February. Once a month my wife, our youth minister, and I meet with 25 to 30 ninth to twelfth graders. We begin with…
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Lesson 15: Epiphany
Read MORE: Lesson 15: EpiphanyAn epiphany is an appearance of God. If the biblical creation is not so much the origin of a cosmos as the start of a history we share with God, you would expect to find a number of these manifestations…
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Lesson 14: Incarnation
Read MORE: Lesson 14: IncarnationChristmas forces us to repent, to rethink all our assumptions about God. We naturally think a god must be completely separate from and absolutely superior to us in all ways. A god is to be a perfect being, omnipresent, omnipotent,…
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Lesson 13: Euthanasia
Read MORE: Lesson 13: EuthanasiaEuthanasia is often defined as mercy killing, meaning a relatively painless death. People use the term for a variety of practices that run from the passive withholding of treatment to the active use of lethal substances or forces to kill.…
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Lesson 12: Stem Cell Research
Read MORE: Lesson 12: Stem Cell ResearchOne of the face-to-face classes discussed “Is stem cell research a sin?” thinking it might be less emotionally loaded than the other life issues, such as abortion, in vitro fertilization, contraception, genetic engineering, and euthanasia. People obviously find it easier…
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Lesson 11: Giving Up Church
Read MORE: Lesson 11: Giving Up ChurchRemember, we are using “Is it a sin?” as a gimmick for examining what is good for self, others, and society. I was surprised that both the face-to-face classes wanted to discuss giving up church attendance and, again, how they…
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Lesson 10: Public Porn
Read MORE: Lesson 10: Public PornLast week two of my face-to-face classes discussed “Is it a sin to view pornography in public, especially if children are nearby.” This problem was reported in a Washington Post article “Publicly, a Whole New Lewdness” by Monica Hesse. We…
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Lesson 9: Sin in Our Time
Read MORE: Lesson 9: Sin in Our TimeIt is easy to define sin as not doing God’s will or being separated from God, but what does that mean? If you turn to the Bible you can find rigid laws but also flexible love. You still have what…
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Lesson 8: Sin in Paul
Read MORE: Lesson 8: Sin in PaulNot everyone agrees, but I think a terribly significant change takes place with Paul. He transforms the common story when he moves from a Hebraic to a universal vision. Previously, it was the Exodus that remembered the Jews were slaves…
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Lesson 7: Sin in the Gospels
Read MORE: Lesson 7: Sin in the GospelsJesus like the prophets sees sin as injustice. The similarity is obvious when he describes the Last and Ultimate Judgment based on giving food to the hungry and drink to the thirsty, welcoming the stranger and clothing the naked, caring…
Recent Comments
Fritz a wonderful lesson – and esp. reading has a flow I found encompassing. If only …….. yes we can…
So forgiveness pre-requires understanding the mistakes of the past? here hear re this opposing this me-first, America-first, white-first, male-first approach>…