New Article on The Hermeneutics of Same-Sex Practice
It is only within the last generation that affluent Western Christians have suggested that same-sex sexual activity might be morally permissible. The unanimous consensus of the previous Christian...
View ArticleSpiritual Autobiography or My Early Life: How I Became an Anglican
I wrote this a very long time ago and have debated whether I should ever put it on my blog. I don’t share a whole lot of personal material on my blog, and the following is the story of a much younger...
View ArticleSome Brief Reflections on Inclusive Language
I first encountered the problem of “inclusive language” when I was working on my doctorate quite awhile ago. The University of Notre Dame Theology Department had a policy that all written work had to...
View ArticleWhy God Does Not Prevent Earthquakes or Tsunamis
There is an atheist apologetics website that calls itself “Why Won’t God Heal Amputees?” By “atheist apologetics,” I mean the kind of thing engaged in by advocates of the New Atheism like Richard...
View ArticleI get mail . . . about earthquakes
In response to my post entitled “Why God Does Not Prevent Earthquakes or Tsunamis,” I received some questions from “Rob.” Here’s my somewhat lengthy response. Rob, Thanks for your comment. The above...
View ArticleIcons of Christ: A Sermon Preached at the Ordination of David Booman to the...
Isa. 6:1-8 Psalm 119:33-40 Phil. 4:4-9 John 10:1-16 David, I want to thank you for asking me to preach at your ordination. I am a layperson, which means that I am a sheep, not a shepherd. It is a great...
View ArticleThe Wisdom of the Cross: A Sermon
Proverbs 9:1-6 Psalm 147 Ephesians 5:15-20 The theme of wisdom is prominent in today’s lectionary readings. The selection from Proverbs begins “Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn her seven...
View ArticleHow to be Happy: Some offhand remarks
Over at StandFirm, Sarah Hey has interrupted the usual grousing to post “A Few Thoughts on Happiness: Is Happiness A “Moral Obligation”?”. This led to the following offhand remarks. While Aristotle...
View ArticleJesus and the Canaanite Woman
I came across the following sermon, which I preached ten years ago, and did not remember having written. I think some might find it helpful. Matthew 15:21-28 We’re sometimes told that the basic message...
View ArticleLiving Under Judgment: A Sermon
59:1-19 Psalm 13 Hebrews 5:12-6:121 Mark 10:46-52 There are times when the preacher looks at the lectionary readings and prefers to preach on the gospel text, but knows that would be a cop-out. This is...
View ArticleNew Article: What is Anglican Theology?
After a lengthy absence — Busy semester! Lots of grading! — I’ve posted a new article entitled “What is Anglican Theology?” Because of its length, I have posted it as a “page” rather than a blog post....
View ArticleIt’s about communion! But communion with whom??
Over at Church of the Holy Communion in Charleston, South Carolina, Fr. Dow Sanderson speaks about his decision to remain in the Episcopal Church: I especially urge those of you who feel that you must...
View ArticleGrace That is Greater Than All our Sin: A Lenten Sermon
Exodus 3:1-15 Psalm 103 I Corinthians 10:1-13 Luke 13:1-9 When I was a doctoral student at the University of Notre Dame, there was a less than charitable joke among the graduate students about one of...
View ArticleTaste and See that the Lord is Good! A Sermon on Doubt
Psalm 138 Hebrews 10: 32-39 Matt. 24:9-14 Today’s lectionary readings are for the feast day of the Martyrs of Uganda. These were a group of Roman Catholic and Anglican men who were killed by King...
View ArticleNew Page on “Hermeneutic of Discontinuity”
I have added a new page entitled “A Hermeneutic of Discontinuity,” a theological discussion of the current ecclesial crisis. Click above or on the link on the left.
View Article“The Assurance of Things Hoped For”: A Sermon
Genesis 15: 1-6 Psalm 33 Hebrews 11: 1-16 Luke 12: 32-40 The common theme in the lectionary readings today is that of hope. This is a topic that one usually associates with Advent, but it never hurts...
View ArticlePresumption and Despair: A Sermon
Jeremiah 23:23-29 Hebrews 12:1-7, 11-14 Luke 12:49-56 I am going to talk about sin this morning. I am not talking about sin because this is my favorite sermon topic. I am talking about sin because this...
View ArticleWhat is the Greatest Sin? A Sermon on Pride
A generation ago the Christian essayist Dorothy Sayers wrote a kind of imaginary catechism in which she summarized what she thought people of her time actually believed about Christian faith. It...
View ArticleConcerning the Ordination of Women: Preliminaries
The following is the first in what I hope will be a series of posts on the question of women’s ordination. This is something that I have not addressed on my blog up to this point, for a number of...
View ArticleNon-theological Arguments Against the Ordination of Women
Several years ago, I wrote an essay entitled General Convention and Its Aftermath: Non-theological Interpretations and a Theological Alternative, which was published in The Trinity Journal For Theology...
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