Tag: Religion
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Those Blasted Presbyterians
“I fix all the blame of these extraordinary proceedings upon the Presbyterians.” Around the same time, Horace Walpole spoke from the English House of Commons to report on these “extraordinary proceedings” in the colonies of the new world. “There is no good crying about the matter,” he said. “Cousin America has run off with the…
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The Problem of Pretentious Piety
Brennan Manning, in his thoughtful book, Ruthless Trust, identifies a problem with the superficial spirituality of pretentious piety: In a world where the only plea is “Not Guilty”, what possibility is there of an honest encounter with Jesus, who “died for our sins”? We can only pretend that we are sinners, and thus only pretend…
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A Prayer for Christmas
All glory and honor to you, Living God. You made our world by your wisdom,and you sent your Wisdom into the world. You rule all things by your word,and you caused your Word to dwell among us. You filled heaven and earth with your glory,and you made the the very Radiance of your Glory to…
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Too Much Religion
Eugene Peterson, in the Introduction to the book of Hebrews in his book The Message, writes: “It seems odd to have to say so, but too much religion is a bad thing. We can’t get too much of God, can’t get too much faith and obedience, can’t get too much love and worship. But religion…
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A Jesus Manifesto
“Christians have made the gospel about so many things… Things other than Christ.” So opens the document, written by Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola, titled: A Jesus Manifesto. I’ve long been a fan of Leonard Sweet, our theological differences aside. But Sweet’s love for Jesus, his love for God’s people, and his amazing story-telling ability…