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 13: Salvation as a Wedding Feast
Read MORE: Lesson 13: Salvation as a Wedding FeastAlthough Jesus did not offer a comprehensive picture of salvation, he often referred to it as a dinner. Quite a few times his parables proclaimed the Kingdom of God is something like a meal or a banquet. Almost all his…
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Lesson 12: Christmas Story as Salvation
Read MORE: Lesson 12: Christmas Story as SalvationI think “The Peaceable Kingdom” and “The New Jerusalem” might be the only detailed pictures of salvation in the Bible. Most of our conceptions have been pieced together from short illustrations. The Christmas Story is a perfect example. Matthew’s and…
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Lesson 11: The New Jerusalem as Salvation (Revelation 21-22)
Read MORE: Lesson 11: The New Jerusalem as Salvation (Revelation 21-22)If Isaiah’s Peaceable Kingdom is the most fleshed out picture of salvation in the Old Testament, certainly John’s New Jerusalem in Revelation 21 and 22 is the New Testament’s. The latter offers much the same promises as the former but…
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Lesson 10: Return to Paradise
Read MORE: Lesson 10: Return to ParadiseMany, if not most, pictures of salvation are very general, enabling us to fill them with our own ideas. I am thinking of salvation as God’s will being done. Scholars sometime speak of this as “whatever it is when God…
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Lesson 9: What About Hell?
Read MORE: Lesson 9: What About Hell?Bob reminds us we can not get way without saying something about hell. As you consider the most typical idea of salvation– a trip on the up escalator rather than on the down one — you face a problem. How…
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Lesson 8: The Right Question About Salvation
Read MORE: Lesson 8: The Right Question About SalvationAmericans are obsessed with “What must I do to be saved?” I think that is the wrong question. When we ask it, we are very much like the rich young man in Mark 10: 17-28, and Jesus’ response to him…
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Lesson 7: Saved from What?
Read MORE: Lesson 7: Saved from What?I’ve put aside my original outline and am following Bob’s advice to examine Lupe’s points one at a time. She suggested we might do well asking from what we are being saved and observed that traditional answers fall short. Let…
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Lesson 6: Care For All
Read MORE: Lesson 6: Care For AllAs Bob observed, “Lupe’s comments throw open the gates in defining salvation, using the concept as a key to address some of the core social and theological issues.” I think that is exactly how the Bible uses the idea. For…
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Lesson 5: A Bolivian Perspective on Salvation
Read MORE: Lesson 5: A Bolivian Perspective on SalvationThis week I am posting an email from Lupe Andrade as the lesson. Although it is longer than my usual post, I think it is worth the read. Lupe is the former mayor of La Paz, Bolivia, and has experienced…
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Lesson 4: What Does Salvation Actually Mean?
Read MORE: Lesson 4: What Does Salvation Actually Mean?Let’s switch from the when to the what of salvation. This picture plays much the same role as Aristotle’s “Good” in his Politics. Citizens are to discuss what is good for their city and pass laws that lead to it.…
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…