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 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 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 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 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 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 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 17: The Last Days
Read MORE: Lesson 17: The Last DaysLet’s change plans. Juan’s questions, Bob’s observation, and e-mailers’ inquiries reveal people have questions about “The Last Days” Let me make a few short observations in hopes you will respond with your ideas. Juan asks how we discern the “prophetic”…
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Lesson 18: What Does God Look Like?
Read MORE: Lesson 18: What Does God Look Like?When the senior suggested we discuss “What does God look like? What did Jesus look like?” at our next meeting, my first thought was, “This is silly” Then I realized the question probably hid some much deeper concerns. I sent…
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Lesson 19: How Does God Operate in this World?
Read MORE: Lesson 19: How Does God Operate in this World?We say God is invisible, but claim he is a person. We do not use empirical science to study God, yet speak of his presence in our world. Many, such as Luther, write God is hidden in our world; however…
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Lesson 20: How Does God Operate in this World 2
Read MORE: Lesson 20: How Does God Operate in this World 2Bob offered a pretty thorough list of answers to our question and then refutations of each. There are certainly passages throughout the Bible describing God’s participation in natural events. However, Jesus, our ultimate standard, agrees with our readers who refuse…
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.