Category Archives: Lutheranism

Suffering or Settling?

Posted on January 10, 2012 by Matt

The suffering and persecution of Christians for the sake of Christ and the Gospel is a recurring theme throughout the New Testament.  God gave no pretense that the Christian life is one of worldly success but one of glory in … Continue reading →

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Tim Tebow & Theological Pietism

Posted on December 10, 2011 by Matt

For those of you who, like myself, don’t follow football,  Tim Tebow is a quarterback for the Denver Broncos who is drawing a great deal of contempt from football fans because of his overt expressions of his Christian faith.  He … Continue reading →

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Breaking News: Lutherans not Fond of the Papacy

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Matt

It’s not often that Lutheran theology receives so much media attention. As a former member of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, presidential candidate Michele Bachmann was, by an act of journalistic aggression, publicly associated with a politically unfortunate point of … Continue reading →

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Paradoxology: Finale

Posted on May 25, 2011 by Matt

We spent a great deal of time on examining how paradox is mishandled—how pride in an ability to embrace paradox can itself damage the paradox that is to be embraced. But how can we resist such a temptation—particularly when so … Continue reading →

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Paradoxology Part 4: The Consequences of Rejecting Reason

Posted on May 19, 2011 by Matt

Last time, we saw that it is not reason that destroys a paradox; it is when we put reason in God’s place by allowing it to overrule God’s promises. And so paradox is not protected by rejecting reason, but by … Continue reading →

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Paradoxology Part 3: Lutherans Mishandling Paradox

Posted on May 15, 2011 by Matt

As we saw in Part 2, paradoxes are not contradictions and therefore accepting them does not necessitate rejecting reason. Nevertheless, paradox is difficult to accept primarily because our reason wants—nay, needs—to understand; understanding is, after all, the very thing our … Continue reading →

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Paradoxology Part 2: Refusing Paradox

Posted on May 8, 2011 by Matt

Scripture presents Christians with a number of paradoxes—places where unresolved tension exists between two or more teachings.  One of the thornier issues is the doctrine of predestination—that God Himself chooses who will be saved.  How is the Lutheran approach to … Continue reading →

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Paradoxology Part 1: What is a Paradox?

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Matt

What exactly is a paradox and why is it important to theology? Simply put, a paradox is a kind of riddle or puzzle that a person comes across—something that appears to be a contradiction, but really is not. Perhaps the … Continue reading →

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Paradoxology: An Introduction

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Matt

If you’ve ever argued over theological controversies with Lutherans, you’ve no doubt heard us boast of our comfort with paradox. We will often overtly embrace a set of Biblical teachings that just don’t seem to add up. For those of … Continue reading →

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Cyberbrethren: Archeologists Discover Letter Written to St. Paul

Posted on March 26, 2011 by Matt

A brilliant piece of satire from Rev. Paul McCain: Word is now coming out that a letter has been discovered that was written to St. Paul, in response to his letter to the churches in Galatia. Here is an English … Continue reading →

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