"Everything that is true is God's word, whoever may have said it." - Zwingli
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That same day, Jesus left the house and sat by the lakeside, but such large crowds gathered round him that he got into a boat and sat there. The people all stood on the shore, and he told them many things in parables. He said, ‘Listen, a sower went out to sow. As he sowed, … Continue reading "The Reason for Rejection"
Take, for instance, his silly and speculative exposition of Genesis 9, where Luther describes what Noah did with his time after the flood… in part- In the first place, Noah filled the office of bishop; and because he had been plagued by various temptations, it was his foremost concern to oppose the devil and comfort … Continue reading "Luther Was Horrible at Exegesis… Just Wretched"
From the Tischreden– On April 5 a pastor came from the church in Süptitz, near Torgau, to complain of apparitions and disturbances caused by Satan. He said that Satan disturbed his peace with nocturnal tumults and the smashing of all the utensils in his house. Satan hurled pots and dishes close to his head, so … Continue reading "Luther’s Advice For Driving Satan Off: The Peril of Beer"
Calvin and the libertines were frequently at odds. Indeed, The two parties became more and more enraged against each other. Calvin’s eloquence gave him a decided superiority in the little republic. On the 24th of July 1547 he wrote to Viret: —“I continue to employ my usual severity while laboring to correct the prevailing vices, … Continue reading "Today With Calvin: Troubles with the Libertines"
Thank you God, for W.A. Mozart
“I continue to employ my usual severity while laboring to correct the prevailing vices, and especially those of the young. The right-thinking tell me of the dangers by which I am surrounded, but I take no heed of this, lest I should seem too careful for my personal safety. The Lord will provide such means … Continue reading "Calvin Wasn’t Bendy"
Theology 101: Scholars are not always right on everything they argue. But almost never can a person with no expertise on a subject undo in 20 minutes the work of a scholar that has taken 20 years. When you read biblical, theological, of historical studies, read to learn. — Michael Svigel
Or is it just how everyone feels now? Because I haven’t seen a single Israeli news outlet or talking head tell the world that this is disgusting and evil and that ben-gvir’s views are not widely held in Israel. If you have I would genuinely LOVE to hear about it. Because the silence is deafening. … Continue reading "Are Any Israelis Condemning This Vile Man and His Vile Speech?"
Much can be said about Rudolf Bultmann. In my limited study of his work, I have perhaps found a reason he is feared and hated. Bultmann says to look inward to find evil, all men do evil. Jesus calls upon man to make a decision (a free decision) before God. What decision is this? A … Continue reading "On Bultmann’s Birthday- A Layman Talks About His Importance"
Ein Leichnam kann nicht wieder lebendig werden und aus dem Grabe steigen. – Rudolf Bultmann
Versteht man unter »von Gott« reden »über Gott« reden, so hat solches Reden überhaupt keinen Sinn; denn in dem Moment, wo es geschieht, hat es seinen Gegenstand, Gott, verloren. – Rudolf Bultmann
Here’s a great essay for your reading pleasure: Rudolf Bultmann — who died on July 30, 1976 at the advanced age of 91 — was the last of the theological giants who grew up in the universities of the Kaiser’s Germany (he began to study theology in 1903 at 19), and the last of the … Continue reading "Rudolf Bultmann: Scholar of Faith"
Anti-intellectualism is the Devil’s favorite tool. It blinds people to truth so successfully that they are incapable of knowing facts.
I saw this on a truck this morning and I knew the driver was a Calvinist… “We are all dogs in God’s hot car” – 🤣🤣🤣
War- the way that rich guys get poor kids to die so rich guys can get richer.
They’re right though- all three of these are the same thing.
Cultural memory offers an approach to the Hebrew Bible that examines how representations of the past are shaped, transmitted, and transformed in relation to the communities that remember them. Important antecedents in the work of Wellhausen, Halbwachs, Alt, von Rad, and Childs illustrate how cultural memory can connect literary, historical, socio-political, and religious dimensions of … Continue…
From ‘Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism’
You can always spot the intellectual frauds. Whenever they are asked a specific question, they skirt it. Evade it. Change the subject. Because they lack the intellectual ability to both understand a direct question and answer it directly. They are frauds. You show me a person who changes the subject when asked a question, and … Continue reading "It’s Always Easy to Spot An Intellectual Fraud"
The widespread willingness of people to turn interpretation of scripture over to anyone who wants to give it a try is amazing. I wonder if these same folk would turn their child’s brain surgery over to random folk sitting in a circle. Or, why is the bible so unimportant to so many Christians?
So there’s plenty to look forward to. Till then-
On 19 August, 1530 Zwingli published his Supplikation und Begehren der Prädikanten zu Zürich. The topic at hand is nothing less than a plea with the Pastors of the Canton to remain faithful to the Gospel and to continue on the path of reform. He begins Fromm, vest etc., lieb herren! Üwer ersam wysheit mag … Continue reading "Today With Zwingli"
We learned in November of last year, 2023, that our friend and colleague in SOTS had passed away in August. This email arrived with the tragic news: One of our members, Pekka Pitkänen, died in August this year [on the 19th]. He had a brain tumour, for which he underwent surgery about a year ago, … Continue reading "Remembering Pekka Pitkänen on the Anniversary of his Death"
It’s a Festschrift for the inestimable Voker Leppin. And very well deserved! A review copy arrived today. More soon.
“Grace does not entirely change nature but uses nature as it finds it. So if somebody is kind when converted through faith, he becomes a gentle preacher like Master Hausmann. If he is by nature irascible and severe, like Conrad Cordatus, he preaches after this fashion. On the other hand, if he is fitted by … Continue reading "Grace Doesn’t Make You A Different Person…"
In times past we would have run to the ends of the world if we had known of a place where we could have heard God speak. But now that we hear this every day in sermons, indeed, now that all books are full of it, we do not see this happening. You hear at … Continue reading "People Seldom Appreciate What They Have Until they Don’t Have It"
Is this one by Hans Holbein the Younger-
The Rabbis – ‘Have few disciples’ (Mishnah, Avot 1,1). Jesus- ‘Make disciples of all nations’ (Matthew 28).
Philipp and Katharina’s marriage was a happy one. Katharina proved to be a strong support for her husband both emotionally and physically. She stood by him when he face opposition from the other reformers and nursed him when he was ill. Philipp and Katharina had four children: Anna, Philipp, Georg, and Magdalene. For reasons that … Continue reading "And A Happy Anniversary to the Melanchthons"
Jason Silverman writes, back in 2022 Very sad to hear of the death of Prof. John Bartlett. He was widely known for his work on the Hebrew Bible and the Iron Age Transjordan, but he was also a longtime Canon at Christchurch Cathedral in Dublin. I remember him as a kind man to the Trinity … Continue reading "Remembering John Bartlett on the Anniversary of his Passing"
On 18 August in 1524 (a Thursday that year) Zwingli published, at the behest of the Zurich city council, their answer to the Bishop of Constance for the reformatory undertakings of their clergy. In sum it asserts that the City will insist that its pastors preach Scripture and not papist tradition and will no longer … Continue reading "Christliche Antwort Burgermeisters und Rats zu Zürich an…
“Religious nationalism is the mark of the false prophets. The true prophets threaten Israel in the name of the God of justice who is able to reject His nation because of its injustice without losing His power.” – Paul Tillich
Remember to pack your ‘grad student assistance bag’ – which ought to contain a few protein bars, a bottle of water, and some latex gloves so that when they dig through the garbage for food they can keep their hands clean.
Most American Christians today aren’t the women at the cross, they are the money-changers in the Temple.
No one who stands silent in the face of evil can escape critique. No one. In the face of evil, silence is a greater sin.
In the mid-fourteenth century, a lethal plague struck the medieval world, causing unimaginable suffering and destruction. The Black Death was unquestionably one of history’s defining episodes, yet a critical feature of its progress has often been ignored: the disease was not confined to Europe, but rather affected almost all of the known world, including the … Continue reading "The Black Death: A…
Indeed.
And remember, no matter how little people think of you, they think even less of God. And no sermon of yours will never be as important as the lowliest t-ball game.
“Wherever the doctrine of Justification by Faith took root in pre-Tridentine Italy – whether in Lucca, Modena, Naples, Padua, Venice, or Viterbo – it was preceded by Lutheran, Zwinglian, or Calvinist tracts which the timely invention of printing had disseminated far and wide. Every reformer prominent in the abortive Reformation in Italy can be shown … Continue reading "Quote of the Day"
What is the Eucharist? Is it a sacrifice? A memorial? The means by which salvation is conferred? A simple sign? Those were the questions plaguing the Reformation beginning as early as 1522 and coming to a head in 1529 at the Marburg Colloquy. In 1525 Huldrych Zwingli addressed the question in a quite scholarly volume … Continue reading "Today With Zwingli"
You shouldn’t accept any news on Facebook or Twitter that doesn’t have at least two reliable sources. Reliable sources do not include breitbart or qanon on the right or the palmer report on the left.
‘Just tell me the facts and I’ll make up my own mind’ is always the motto of the dilettante, for it replaces the studied learning of the experts with ‘my opinion’. Your opinion is not the arbiter of truth. It just isn’t. You may have an opinion, but if you lack expertise on the topic, … Continue reading "Your ‘Opinion’ Just Really Doesn’t Matter"
“A mutilated gospel produces mutilated lives, and mutilated lives are positive evils“- BB Warfield
Here’s a book Adolf Schlatter wrote that’s wonderfully inspiring. It’s a daily devotional and follows the usual pattern of such things with a scripture passage followed by devotional thoughts for the day. I don’t know if the German edition is available anymore, but there’s an English translation. I think if you get a copy you’ll … Continue reading "Schlatter’s Devotional Work"
ATHEISTIC METHODS IN THEOLOGY All attempts to illumine clearly the point at which the theological conflict among us arises render a commendable service. So it is fitting to welcome the contribution by Paul Jager in Die Christliche Welt 25 ( 1905). Without sentimental phraseology and with serious effort to establish a clear position, Jager demands … Continue reading "Schlatter’s Most Influential…
That profoundly gifted exegete and theologian Adolf Schlatter was born on the 16th of August in 1852. His productivity was second to none as he published commentaries on every book of the New Testament (some for general readers and some more advanced), dogmatics, ethics, devotional materials, philosophy, history, and even an introduction to the entire … Continue reading "It’s Adolf Schlatter’s…
Did you know that [Konrad Pellikan’s] seven volume Commentaria Bibliorum is the only commentary produced at the time of the Reformation covering all of the books of the Old and New Testament. So Emidio Campi in the glorious Brill Companion to the Swiss Reformation. It must be a stunning accomplishment to author a commentary on the entire … Continue reading "Fun Facts From Church History"
