Author Archives: Matt

About Matt

Software engineer by trade; lay theologian by nature; Lutheran by grace.

Theological Pietism Part 5: Saint / Sinner Nestorianism

Posted on November 4, 2013 by Matt

This criticism of theological pietism is not simply a matter of nit-picking for the sake of picking nits. There are negative spiritual consequences to a steady diet of this kind of rhetoric. To put all my cards on the table, … Continue reading →

Posted in Lutheranism, Theological Pietism | 4 Comments

Theological Pietism Part 4: The Vivisection of God’s Word

Posted on November 3, 2013 by Matt

In Part 3, I wrote about one of the precepts that theological pietism foists on pastors: “avoid specifics.” But this is not the only man-made rule out there that ends up reaching the pulpit and trimming God’s Word at the … Continue reading →

Posted in Lutheranism, Theological Pietism | Leave a comment

Theological Pietism Part 3: Theological Pietism in the Pulpit

Posted on November 2, 2013 by Matt

As unfortunate and ridiculous as moralistic incidents like those recorded in Part 2 are, they remain only the shallow disapproval of men. The biggest dangers of theological pietism only become apparent when it makes its way into preaching and theological … Continue reading →

Posted in Lutheranism, Theological Pietism | 1 Comment

Theological Pietism Part 2: What Is Theological Pietism?

Posted on November 1, 2013 by Matt

Part 1 of this series can be found here. So what do I mean by “theological pietism?” Well, the adjective modifies the noun, so let’s begin with ‘pietism.’ To put it briefly, pietism was a practice that grew out of … Continue reading →

Posted in Lutheranism, Theological Pietism | 2 Comments

Theological Pietism Part 1: A Lesson from History

Posted on October 31, 2013 by Matt

As the name of this blog implies, I believe reformation is a continuing task in the Church. As a Lutheran, this is obvious when I look at the Church as a whole, for from the Lutheran perspective, most Christians depart … Continue reading →

Posted in Lutheranism, Sanctification, Theological Pietism | 1 Comment

A Crime Against Women

Posted on October 16, 2013 by Matt

…and against men, but since nobody is terribly concerned about them, we’ll set that aspect aside for the sake of rhetoric. Being that October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Facebook has been awash with links to articles on the subject, … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism, Politics | 1 Comment

No Need to Choose Between Doctrine and Love

Posted on September 29, 2013 by Matt

“Doctrine divides” became a popular refrain in Theological Liberalism, and its popularity continues as this heresy is rebranded as the “Emergent Church.” The idea is basically that when people believe different things about the world, it gets in the way … Continue reading →

Posted in Apologetics, Ethics, Theological Liberalism, Theology, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The Cons of College

Posted on September 18, 2013 by Matt

There was a great disturbance on Facebook last week when thousands of feminists suddenly cried out in terror, but were anything but silent. They were responding to a blog post (originally) called 6 Reasons to NOT Send Your Daughter to … Continue reading →

Posted in Chastity, Christian Youth, Culture, Feminism | Leave a comment

Children are not Postmodernists

Posted on September 16, 2013 by Matt

“Is my dead dog in heaven? The question showed up on a list of seven difficult questions posed to the list’s author by her children, and the answer is instructive about the fate of postmodern views of religion when they … Continue reading →

Posted in Spiritual But Not Religious | Leave a comment

Jesus Needs to Man Up

Posted on September 11, 2013 by Matt

It seems that Family Life has taken it upon themselves to provide a list of 40 no-no’s to Christian husbands. Some of these new Thou Shalt Not’s are Biblical common sense; others are challenges that men should strive for; some … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism, The Modern Church | 1 Comment