Category Archives: Vocation

In Defense of Anger

Posted on October 29, 2024 by Matt

As the West spirals further into chaos and depravity, righteous men are continually given new provocations to anger. After all, what we’re experiencing isn’t just a matter of unfortunate circumstance, but deliberate attacks on our faith, our people, our civilization, … Continue reading →

Posted in Ethics, Law, Sanctification, The Modern Church, Vocation | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The Cost of Being Christian at “Christian” Schools

Posted on August 6, 2024 by Matt

As the world closes in on faithful Christians, it’s only natural that those who hold to the faith of their fathers would look to their brothers and sisters in Christ for sanctuary. After all, God’s instructions to His Church about … Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Youth, Culture, Lutheranism, Politics, The Modern Church, Tradition, Vocation | 4 Comments

Whether Voters, Too, Can Be Saved

Posted on July 8, 2024 by Matt

Ever since the Fall, the evil impulses of man’s heart have needed to be restrained, lest wickedness proliferate among us. In His mercy, God sent Jesus Christ to die on our behalf, providing whoever believes in Him with the eternal … Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Nationalism, Ethics, Family, Law, Natural Law, Politics, The Modern Church, Theological Pietism, Two Kingdoms, Vocation | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Facing Wokeism as a Church  (After Lutheranism Part 4)

Posted on October 24, 2023 by Matt

As I wrote when I started this “After Lutheranism” series, one of the greatest threats to American church bodies is our ongoing failure to adequately oppose the progressive social justice agenda or “wokeism.” Indeed, the recent events surrounding our now … Continue reading →

Posted in Lutheranism, Politics, The Modern Church, Theological Liberalism, Theological Pietism, Theology, Tradition, Vocation | 9 Comments

After Lutheranism – Part 1

Posted on July 14, 2023 by Matt

How does Lutheranism end for us? It’s taken a great deal to get me, a lifelong member of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, to ask myself such an ominous question. But then, these past few years have thrown an awful … Continue reading →

Posted in Chastity, Culture, Family, Lutheranism, Musings, The Modern Church, Tradition, Vocation | 16 Comments

Scouring America’s Shire

Posted on June 26, 2023 by Matt

An often overlooked sequence in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings is the ‘Scouring of the Shire.’ After the Ring is destroyed, Sauron is defeated, Aragorn claims his throne, and all the more epic plot points have been resolved, the hobbits … Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Nationalism, Musings, Politics, Vocation | 6 Comments

Contending Against Critical Theory

Posted on March 28, 2023 by Matt

In Part One, we covered what Critical Theory is. In Part Two, we covered why the danger it poses is primarily spiritual rather than merely political or cultural. If you haven’t read those posts, read them before you go any … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Ethics, Feminism, Heresy, Humanism, Law, Lutheranism, Musings, Politics, The Modern Church, Theological Liberalism, Tradition, Vocation | 5 Comments

Who Told You to be Offended?

Posted on November 29, 2022 by Matt

Back in the day, I spent about seven years living in one of America’s most comically liberal cities. It wasn’t Portland, but it was very much like Portland. It even had the same slogans about keeping the city weird and citizens … Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Nationalism, Ethics, Feminism, Natural Law, Politics, The Modern Church, Vocation | 10 Comments

On Lutheran Women and the Writing of Books

Posted on October 18, 2022 by Matt

A Lesson from History In the mid-20th century, the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod had a problem that came to be called “Gospel Reductionism.” Modernism had long been waging a fearsome war against Christianity. The academic style from the Enlightenment onward had … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism, Lutheranism, The Modern Church, Theological Liberalism, Theology, Tradition, Vocation | 6 Comments

Christian Women and the Abandonment of Vocation

Posted on October 10, 2022 by Matt

Women studying at seminary… Women writing books of theological instruction… Women leading the liturgy and administering the Sacraments…  Feminism’s self-insertion into the pastoral office has not yet slackened if these ongoing debates in ‘conservative’ churches are any indication. Clearly, we … Continue reading →

Posted in Family, Feminism, Law, The Modern Church, Vocation | 3 Comments