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>…
Weekly lessons in theology and public life • Since 2011
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Lesson 1: A New Church Narrative
Read MORE: Lesson 1: A New Church NarrativeIn marking the anniversary of the Reformation, it became clear to some of us that 500-year-old narratives really do not serve our mission to proclaim the Gospel in our own time. That has put me on a kick to consider…
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Lesson 2: Christian Conversation
Read MORE: Lesson 2: Christian ConversationPerhaps I got ahead of myself last week. I spoke of the need for a new Christian narrative in our technological society and suggested that Vatican II offers us groundwork for developing one. Incidental to that, I observed that I…
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Lesson 3: The Servant Church
Read MORE: Lesson 3: The Servant ChurchI am going to lay out two dominant narratives that the Church has used to understand and identify herself in the past 500 years. More importantly, I am then going to suggest a new narrative offered by Vatican II. I…
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Lesson 4: Life as a Reality Television Show
Read MORE: Lesson 4: Life as a Reality Television ShowYears ago, students of technology warned that everything in a technological society becomes entertainment. Usually they were speaking about the evening news, and their prescience is downright obvious there. Today, news has become 24/7 entertainment, political talk show hosts rationalize…
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Lesson 5: The New Age
Read MORE: Lesson 5: The New AgeSeveral times a day, friends lament that they are unable to talk about important issues with people who hold opposing views. Today, one reported that Thanksgiving was awful, because family members got angry discussing politics. Another said bridge club has…
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Lesson 6: The Dignity of Humanity
Read MORE: Lesson 6: The Dignity of HumanityI am increasingly convinced Vatican II was able to lay the groundwork of a new Christian narrative for our modern age, because for the most part, it looked at our situation with a simple honesty. That honesty recognized the narrative…
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Lesson 7: Unity in Diversity
Read MORE: Lesson 7: Unity in DiversityThe call for unity in diversity emerged as one of the hallmarks of Vatican II. It was used in a variety of contexts during the Council and remains a helpful guideline for a servant church speaking to a global society.…
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Lesson 8: Conversation and Dialogue
Read MORE: Lesson 8: Conversation and DialogueWe have come to the last of the five reoccurring themes that I found when hastily rereading the documents of Vatican II. Although my intention was simply to refresh my memory, I was pleasantly surprised to find the five could…
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Lesson 9: New Love Narrative
Read MORE: Lesson 9: New Love NarrativeBefore turning to the specific contents of a modern Christian narrative, it might be worthwhile once again to point out that this in no way distorts the Gospel message. To give thought to words and ideas that make sense to…
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Lesson 10: The Love Narrative and Conventional Wisdom
Read MORE: Lesson 10: The Love Narrative and Conventional WisdomMany of the best Christians I know have been accused of not knowing how the world operates. In truth, every one of them knows all too well how things work. They just think Jesus shows a better way. Conventional wisdom…
Recent Comments
An extremely timely topic. Thanks, Fritz!
yes we need to forgive our leaders yet make sure they do the right thing – which they aren’t.