This weekend I heard of the conversion story of W.H. Auden, one of - if not my favourite poet(s). He was raised in a High Church Anglican parish and apparently held the censer for the priest, enjoying the liturgies and 'magic' of the sacraments. Having walked away from his faith as a young adult, in 1939 Auden moved to the United States after attending Oxford (Christ … [Read more...]
Luther on Christ Our Righteousness
The famous verse of the Reformation was Jeremiah 23:6, specifically the naming of God's people "The LORD our Righteousness". Many in the years since, have located salvation within (Wesley) or made it based upon a person's choice (Charles Finney). Yet in reality, justification for the early reformers was something extra nos (outside of us). In a beautiful exposition of this … [Read more...]
Attempted Summary of Theologies on Absolution and Grace
Roman Catholicism: Absolution is the bestowal of God’s grace True contrition is not simply the work of God’s grace but a human choice God’s grace can do nothing without human cooperation What then does grace do? If grace does not convert the will, then it has only a legal reality. Grace is simply the recognition of human merit and the bestowal of a reward upon human … [Read more...]
What do Joel Osteen, Latin Christendom, and Sausages Have in Common? (This Post)
In keeping with the series on the Liturgical Calendar, I thought it best to give a brief exposition on Lent. If Advent is the beginning of the Calendar and one of the two 'big' celebrations, Lent is the second. Lent traditionally was the 40 days leading up to Easter. The significance of 40 in the Bible seems constant. The flood of Noah was 40 days and nights, the … [Read more...]
What's the Point of Advent?
The purpose of Advent is to set aside some time to prepare ourselves for a celebration of the birth of Christ. In the West, we decadent Latins, marked the season by celebrating a feast at the end, and the more disciplined Eastern Greek Christians underwent a great fast in preparation for the coming of Christ. In a sense this dichotomy of feasting and fasting well marks what … [Read more...]