wonderful thoughts from the Pope, intellectually coherent and practically relevant and doable IMO
Weekly lessons in theology and public life • Since 2011
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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…
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Lesson 6: Sin in the Prophets
Read MORE: Lesson 6: Sin in the ProphetsThe prophets are obviously important. They wrote almost half of the Old Testament, 17 of the 39 books. They answer the critical question, “If we are God’s people, how come we suffer?”, claiming the people brought pain on themselves by…
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Lesson 5: Sin in the Mosaic Law
Read MORE: Lesson 5: Sin in the Mosaic LawThe Mosaic Law found in the Torah, the first five books our Bible, spells out in some detail what it is to live as God wills. The First Commandment, “Love your God with all your heart, mind, and soul (Exodus…
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Lesson 4: Sin in Genesis 2-11
Read MORE: Lesson 4: Sin in Genesis 2-11The Bible could succinctly be summed up with: Humans find themselves suffering because of sin; God offers them salvation from this. Genesis 1-11 sets this up by picturing God creating everything good and then four pictures of sin with the…
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Lesson 3: Creation Now
Read MORE: Lesson 3: Creation NowI’ve been trying to get beyond the public Christian discussion about creation to what the Bible really says. Quite frankly, I think most of that debate consciously or unconsciously tries to divert us from central biblical teachings. We attack the…
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Lesson 2: Creation in the New Testament
Read MORE: Lesson 2: Creation in the New TestamentIf you think of creation only as the origin of the physical world, the New Testament has little to say about it. It does speak quite a bit about a broader concept of creation. It builds on the Old Testament’s…
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Lesson 1: Creation in the Old Testament
Read MORE: Lesson 1: Creation in the Old TestamentWe tend to understand the confession “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth” from perspectives that miss its main points. Creationism and Intelligent Design advocates react against modernity and present the confession as a crude,…
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Lesson 14: Love as the Way
Read MORE: Lesson 14: Love as the WayLove characterizes Christian action. It is the way of the Church, the Way to the Kingdom, and the Way of the Kingdom. In fact, it could be considered the Way of God, the logos that John says makes the world…
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Lesson 13: Our Love for God and Each Other
Read MORE: Lesson 13: Our Love for God and Each OtherBob and Lupe use some good arguments to qualify the way I interpreted God’s unconditional love. As Bob reports, some passages warn we should not use God’s love to excuse all. For instance, the whole point of Jude seems to…
Recent Comments
I absolutely love these ideas, especially paying attention to beauty and reducing your needs.
Fritz a wonderful lesson – and esp. reading has a flow I found encompassing. If only …….. yes we can…