Colleagues, Last week’s retrospective into one of the full-blown courses that were once part of our Crossings daily work–from 1983-1993 — teases me into some show-and-tell of more of what we did way back then. During that decade we worked up a curriculum of 21 courses, many of them taught several times. The students who signed up were …
Six Hundred Sixty-Six: Some Reflections on that Apocalyptic Number
Colleagues, Six Hundred Sixty-Six Thursday Theologies. That’s a lot of Thursdays. Nigh on to 13 years’ worth of them. Six Hundred Sixty-Six Thursdays ago was May 14, 1998, the day ThTh Number One was posted. If curious, here’s where you can still find it: https://crossings.org/thursday/1998/thur0514.shtml But you readers know that the number 666 has a much more ancient heritage. …
A Homily for Ash Wednesday
Colleagues, Here is Jerry Burce’s homily for the beginning of Lent in the year of our Lord 2011. Jerry is a member of the pastoral staff at Messiah Lutheran Church, Fairview Park, Ohio. Peace and Joy! Ed Schroeder A Homily for Ash Wednesday on 2 Corinthians 5:20-21 “So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his …
On Not Losing the Cross in Today’s Debate on the Atonement
Colleagues, Bill Yancey is my pastor at Bethel Lutheran Church in St. Louis. Years ago I was on the committee for his doctoral dissertation. His is one of the four (only four!) doctorates granted by Seminex in systematic theology. Bill has appeared in ThTh postings before. See https://crossings.org/thursday/2007/thur020807.shtml” for one example. Today’s post is his review of Gregory Anderson Love. …
Justification – Jargon or Jewel?
Colleagues, Richard P. Jungkuntz, of blessed memory [1918-2003], was one of the major confessors (and also, casualties) in the Missouri Synod Wars of 40 years ago. One distinction he held was that not just once, but twice, he was sacked by Jacob A.O.Preus from his position in the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod. First one came when Preus …
Seminex Profs and the Downfall of LSTC and the ELCA
Colleagues, On the Lutheran Forum website these days Crossings shows up in the conversation. The line is drawn back to Seminex, and that offbeat seminary, which closed shop in St. Louis way back in 1983, is portrayed as the villain that ruined the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in 2009. I kid you not! But it was not …
The 2011 Crossings Conference and President Obama’s Address. Part III
Colleagues, Here are a few more responses that have come in on the topic above. Peace and Joy! Ed Schroeder ONE Ed – I don’t think the problem is praying “God bless America”. I think the issue is that the phrase has become so hackneyed it is no longer prayer. And, perhaps worse, we have forgotten that, as …
The 2011 Crossings Conference and President Obama’s Address. Part II.
Colleagues, None of you (so far) accepted my invitation at the end of last week’s ThTh post to cross President Obama’s State of the Union address with Matt. 4: 12-23, the focal text for last week’s Crossings conference. Possibly because this week is Egypt-week. So I shall either have to do it myself or change the topic. Or …
The 2011 Crossings Conference and President Obama’s Address.
Colleagues, President Obama concluded his message to the nation two days ago with the standard mantra for such occasions: “God bless the United States of America.” Sad to say, it ain’t gonna happen. Curmudgeon though I may be, that conclusion is not original with me. If the Bible is any kind of yardstick for God’s blessing business, it …
“What Do You Get When You Cross a Short Story with the Gospel?”
Précis of a presentation by Rev. Dr. Marcus Felde of Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Indianapolis, Indiana, at the Crossings Seminar at Belleville, Illinois, January 25, 2011: “How Is Jesus Good for You, Really?” [I am sorry that I am not able to reproduce my talk, which was filled with animadversions and other diversions. What follows should give you …