Weekly lessons in theology and public life • Since 2011
Apostles’ CreedWalks through the Apostles’ Creed line by line, what a creed is, and why the church needed one. Covers Jesus’s suffering, forgiveness, and the resurrection of the body.Bodily ResurrectionA short, practical study of death and resurrection: cremation, natural death, and what Christians believe happens to the body. Closes with funeral practices and resurrection hope.DoctrineThe shelf’s deepest study: how the church has determined God’s Word through canon, creed, custom, and clergy. Closes by comparing Christian doctrine with other traditions, including Islam.Faith, Hope, and LoveStudies the three theological virtues, tracing how they interact across a Christian’s past, present, and future. Tests faith and hope against modern technology before arriving at love.ForgivenessBuilds a biblical case for forgiveness, starting with why it’s needed and Jesus’s own teaching on it. Takes on cheap grace, forgiving yourself, and whether to forget.God’s PresenceLooks for where God is actually present: in baptism, communion, Scripture, creation, and other people. Works through competing theories before showing how the Christian story unites them.JudgmentStudies what the Bible means by judgment, and why good judgment turns out to be communal rather than individual. Covers accountability, technology, and recognizing false prophets.Luther’s Small CatechismWalks through Luther’s Small Catechism section by section: the Ten Commandments, the Apostles’ Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and the sacraments. A compact tour of Lutheran basics.RepentanceTreats repentance as a call to rethink values, war, the economy, truth, and immigration, not just private confession. Applies that to a nation marking its 250th anniversary.ResurrectionCompares how Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John tell the resurrection story, starting with the earliest written account. Asks what resurrection actually accomplishes, and how it has already begun.SacramentsStudies the sacraments as a means of grace and God’s bodily presence, starting with baptism and how it forms community. Spends equal time on the Eucharist as shared eating.SalvationAsks the blunt question, are you saved, then complicates it: saved from what, and is salvation already begun but not finished? Takes on the question of hell directly.SpiritualityDefines what ‘spiritual’ actually means, tracing the Spirit through the Gospels and Paul’s letters. Brings that into modern, technological society, connecting spirituality to meaning and community.Theology of the CrossStudies Luther’s theology of the cross against its rival, a theology of glory, and how each produces a different Christianity. Reframes suffering, uncertainty, and love as compassion.Theology of the SpiritStudies liberation theology and its preference for the poor, alongside Christian economic thought and the "new evangelization." Examines the Spirit in daily life and Pope Francis’s critics.
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.
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>…