Thomas Cranmer: Reformer, Saint, Martyr
Labels: Anglicanism, Book Review, Witness of the Saints
Labels: church renewal, Paleo-Orthodoxy, Theology and Ministry, video
Labels: reformed Catholicity, Roman Catholicism, Sacraments
One of my favorite "classical commentaries" on the Bible is this Parallel Commentary on the New Testament. John Wesley, Matthew Henry, and Charles Spurgeon are among the most influential thinkers on the Evangelical Protestant tradition, and of course Wesley's Notes are official doctrine of The United Methodist Church and some other Wesleyan bodies.
Labels: Book Review, Comments on Scripture, Ecumenical stuff, Evangelicalism, John Wesley
Labels: Book Review, Education, Theology and Ministry, video
I may have posted about this book years ago when I was in seminary, but it was a great help to me on Sacramental theology (even if I didn't accept all of the apologetic for the Church of Rome).
Labels: Book Review, Roman Catholicism, Sacraments, Theology and Ministry
Embracing a Sacramental view of Communion was pretty straight-forward once I started reading more of the Bible, but it took a bit longer to come around on Baptism.
Labels: Ecumenical stuff, Methodism, reformed Catholicity, Sacraments, Theology and Ministry
Here is my review of the Wesley Study Bible. It is a decent Study Bible that Wesleyans and Methodists will find useful, though it is a bit "light" and needs both more consistent editing and many more features if it wants to be a really good-to-great Study Bible.
Another good Study Bible (better in many respects) from a Wesleyan perspective if the Reflecting God Study Bible in the NIV translation (of 1984).
Labels: Book Review, Evangelicalism, John Wesley, Methodism
"Lift Thine Eyes" is a great example of Protestant sacred and choral music. The image set to this recording is a chapel in an Anglican Cathedral. This is the kind of beauty that a religious culture creates when it has a vision of the Transcendent Artist as the Source of all things.
The words are from Psalm 121.
Labels: Christ and Culture, Evangelicalism, Spirituality and Liturgy, video
I am increasingly worried that, among the gatekeepers of power in our society - and among masses of people willing to riot when they are upset - feelings and "lived experience" increasingly trump actual, empirical, facts.
This is why some prophetic and prescient individuals have referred to our time as a new "dark age."
We shall see if people are willing to push back.
Labels: C.S. Lewis, Cultural issues, Current events and politics, Education, God and Sexuality, video
Labels: C.S. Lewis, Christ and Culture, Comments on Scripture, Cultural issues, Early Church Fathers, Lecture Series, Political Philosophy, Social Holiness and Service, Theology and Ministry, video
Today is, I believe, John Wesley's birthday; so it is a good day to publish this one as I'm trying to "catch up" on updating this blog with my YouTube content.
Labels: Anglicanism, John Wesley, Methodism, Theology and Ministry
My approach, reflecting the classic Christian consensus, in two videos:
Labels: C.S. Lewis, Comments on Scripture, Current events and politics, Pastor's Ponderings, Political Philosophy, Theology and Ministry, video
Labels: Ancient-Future Worship, Anglicanism, Daily Office, John Wesley, Liturgical nuts and bolts, Methodism, Methodist Book of Worship, Spirituality and Liturgy, video
Labels: Comments on Scripture, Spirituality and Liturgy, video
This video is an introduction to the spiritual discipline of "The Daily Office" or "The Divine Hours", with a focus on the Biblical foundations of the practice, the practice of the Church of England in Wesley's day, and how the Daily Office was revised and passed along to the Methodists by John Wesley.
Labels: Ancient-Future Worship, Anglicanism, Daily Office, John Wesley, Methodism, Methodist Book of Worship, neo-monasticism, reformed Catholicity, Spirituality and Liturgy, video
Have the Methodists actually remained Wesleyan when it comes to how our prayers express our faith in the Real Presence of Christ's Body and Blood in Holy Communion?
Well, yes...but...
In our official liturgies (and our informal acts of worship), I think there has sometimes been a tendency to downplay the real presence of Christ or any sense that we are really feeding (in a spiritual manner) on his body and blood, as is stated in our Articles of Religion (Article XVIII).
A great example of this tendency away from our original "high" sacramental theology is seen in the changes to the classic "Prayer of Humble Access."
This prayer draws upon the very vivid - some disciples even thought TOO vivid, even scandalous - language that Jesus uses in John chapter 6. This prayer is included in the various editions of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer (BCP) beginning with the original BCP of 1549 compiled by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, and John Wesley retained it (from the 1662 BCP) without any change at all when he prepared the original Sunday Service book of the Methodists:
We do not presume to come to this thy Table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy table. But thou art the same Lord, whose property is always to have mercy: Grant us therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of thy dear Son Jesus Christ, and to drink his blood, that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body, and our souls washed through his most precious blood, and that we may evermore dwell in him, and he in us. Amen.
The theology here fits well with our Articles of Religion and such Charles Wesley hymns as "Come Sinners to the Gospel Feast," as well as other writings of John Wesley on Holy Communion.
But the actual request (in italics) of this prayer was apparently TOO vivid for some Methodists as well (perhaps we'd spent too much time with the Baptists at the big tent revivals), for in The Book of Worship of 1944 we see this new version of the prayer, which represents a much "lower" sacramental theology:
We do not presume to come to this thy Table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy table. But thou art the same Lord, whose mercy is unfailing: Grant us therefore, gracious Lord, so to partake of these memorials of thy Son Jesus Christ, that we may be filled with the fullness of his life, may grow into his likeness, and may evermore dwell in him, and he in us. Amen.
This prayer represents a dramatic shift away from the "Real Presence" view of Holy Communion held by Wesley (and Anglicans more generally) toward a "Memorialism" view of the Supper, which is the view held by Baptists, that the signs of bread and wine merely remind us of Jesus' sacrifice and inspire our piety.
However, during the 20th Century, United Methodists were influenced by the Liturgical Renewal, the Ecumenical movement, and also an attempt (led by Albert Outler and others) to recover a more authentically Wesleyan approach theology. So the UMC's HYMNAL of 1989 gives us the new liturgies in modern English that much more clearly express a "Real Presence" theology, though they do not include The Prayer of Humble Access (or the accompanying Agnus Dei).
At the same time, the "Traditional language" liturgy (on p.30) gives us a version of the Prayer of Humble Access that is a bit of a compromise, capable (at least at first glance) of being interpreted in either a more "Memorialist" OR a more "Real Presence" manner. It is an improvement over the 1944 prayer, but does not return to the 'scandalous' language of Wesley's original Sunday Service book:
We do not presume to come to this thy Table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy table. But thou art the same Lord, whose property is always to have mercy: Grant us therefore, gracious Lord, so to partake of this Sacrament of thy Son Jesus Christ, that we may walk in newness of life, may grow in his likeness, and may evermore dwell in him, and he in us. Amen.
Basically, the word "memorials" has been replaced with "Sacrament" with a couple of other minor changes. This opens up the possibility that the phrase could be interpreted as "the sacrament that reminds us of Jesus Christ" (Memorialism) or "the Sacrament that is filled with & conveys the presence of Jesus Christ" (Real Presence). However, the use of the word "Sacrament" makes the Real Presence interpretation more natural, since a Sacrament is traditionally defined as "an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace that conveys the grace that it signifies."
This is where the prayer stands in our official liturgy at present.
I propose adding one further change: adding the words "of the body and blood of" after the word "Sacrament". So here is how it would read (in a bit more modernized English):
We do not presume to come to this your table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in your abundant and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under your table, but you are the same Lord who always delights in showing mercy. Grant us, therefore, gracious Lord, so to partake of this Sacrament of the body and blood of your Son Jesus Christ, that we may walk in newness of life, may grow into his likeness, and may evermore dwell in him and he in us. Amen.
This is not a return to the full blown "eat the flesh" language of Wesley's original Prayerbook (and John chapter 6), but I believe that the petition "grant us...so to partake of this Sacrament of the body and blood of your Son Jesus Christ..." is nevertheless a significant step in a more Wesleyan direction, and more clearly articulates a theology of Christ's "real presence" and of "spiritually feasting on his Body and Blood" as explained in our Articles of Religion and Confession of Faith.
If there is a liturgical revision or a new Hymnal/Worship Book after the (apparently) looming schism, I hope that something like this prayer (along with the Agnus Dei) will be included in all of the Communion Services.
It is the Wesleyan thing to do.
Labels: Ancient-Future Worship, Anglicanism, John Wesley, Methodism, Methodist Book of Worship, Sacraments, Spirituality and Liturgy, Theology and Ministry
There are lots of people these days who advocate for casting off tradition - including Christianity - as part of the wicked "patriarchy" in order to establish "social justice."
I have long held that this whole movement is incoherent - it begins with basic assumptions that are part of traditional (and Christian) morality, and then uses them in its assault upon Christianity and Tradition. But no new grounding for the moral claims is offered.
CS Lewis points out the basic problems with "new moralities" that actually borrow some aspects of the classic, inherited, morality in order to attack classic and inherited tradition. It is a self-contradiction.
Labels: C.S. Lewis, Christ and Culture, Cultural issues, Current events and politics, Education, God and Sexuality, Political Philosophy, video, Witness of the Saints
Labels: C.S. Lewis, Cultural issues, Education, Theology and Ministry, video
Labels: Comments on Scripture, Theology and Ministry, video
Sunday Service for February 28th
Labels: Comments on Scripture, Methodism, Spirituality and Liturgy, video
A look at the long and strong prayer, called the Litany, from The Book of Common Prayer and which John Wesley also included in his own Sunday Service Book.
Labels: Anglicanism, John Wesley, Liturgical nuts and bolts, Methodism, Spirituality and Liturgy, video
Here is the early (8:30) service from this past Sunday. The message is on Jonah 3:1 - 4:4.
Labels: Comments on Scripture, Spirituality and Liturgy, video
Here is part three of my sermon series on Courage:
Labels: C.S. Lewis, Christ and Culture, Comments on Scripture, Economics, Europe, persecution of Christians, Political Philosophy, Theology and Ministry, video, Witness of the Saints
The message from this past Sunday about our need to "be heard" and "be known."
Labels: Comments on Scripture, Cultural issues, Current events and politics, John Wesley, video
Labels: Anglicanism, church renewal, Ecumenical stuff, Evangelicalism, Paleo-Orthodoxy, Spirituality and Liturgy, The Virgin Mary, video
Here is my sermon for last Sunday, (in part) a reflection on the state of our country after the riots and storming of the US Capitol that took place on the Feast of the Epiphany.
As I say in the sermon, our country will only have healing and reconciliation if leaders from all sides bend over backwards to extend olive branches to "the other side", even when it means setting some of their own partisan ambitions aside. Our country, as some international observers have said, looks like a powder keg. Drastic measures should be taken to "de-escalate" things right now.
Sadly, I think the moves to impeach a president who only has 2 weeks left in office is exactly the wrong move. It serves no real purpose besides revenge, which only and always begets more revenge. And, ironically, it ensures that Trump's name will always live in the history books, which I am sure will please him.
It seems to me that Biden and the Democrats had a unique moment last week to rise to the occasion and put the country above politics in a way that Trump was (in my view) not doing. And they blew it by reverting to the usual Washington DC power-grabbing and political maneuvering. As if it is all they can see. I truly do fear for the future of this country.
Labels: Comments on Scripture, Current events and politics, video
IN a sermons series that was loosely intended as a commentary on the Nicene Creed (which my congregations always use during Advent), I examined classic mistakes or heresies of the ancient church that are, in different ways, still with us.
As always, the best way to follow my videos is to go on YouTube and subscribe to my channel and hit the "notification" button (if you have the option) to get email updates. I try to post 2 videos a week.
I've already posted one of these sermons in a previous post. Here is the rest of the series:
Labels: Comments on Scripture, video
Labels: Comments on Scripture, Spirituality and Liturgy, video
Here are my thoughts on this masterpiece from C.S. Lewis, one of my all-time favorite works on Christian spirituality.
Labels: Book Review, C.S. Lewis, video, Witness of the Saints
My thoughts (posted originally a few months back) on this beloved devotional classic.
Labels: Book Review, Ecumenical stuff, Spirituality and Liturgy, video, Witness of the Saints
Labels: Book Review, Ecumenical stuff, N.T. Wright, Theology and Ministry, video, Witness of the Saints
I know I've blogged about this one before, but here it is again, well worth a revisit. Along the book discussed in my last book review video, Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death, I believe Carr also helps identify some of the reasons that our public discourse has become shallower and more foolish and less civil and wise in recent decades. It's the way we are re-shaping our brains through the use of the internet.
Labels: Book Review, Cultural issues, Current events and politics, Economics, Education, religion and media, Spirituality and Liturgy, video
Here is another book recommendation video, looking at one of the most prophetic books of my lifetime: Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business.
Labels: Book Review, Cultural issues, Current events and politics, Political Philosophy, religion and media, video
Labels: Book Review, C.S. Lewis, Spirituality and Liturgy, Theology and Ministry
Here is a great lecture from Roman Catholic Bishop Robert Barron on the philosophers whose ideas are now expressing themselves - sometimes even violently - on the streets of many American cities. This is a great video and well-worth watching it all. I wish I had access to this back when I was taking courses on Political Philosophy at LSU.
Labels: Bishop Barron, Christ and Culture, Cultural issues, Current events and politics, God and Sexuality, Lecture Series, Roman Catholicism, video
Labels: Book Review, C.S. Lewis, reformed Catholicity, Theology and Ministry, video, Witness of the Saints
I find it interesting that, at least in some circles, Western Civilization has been so thoroughly dismissed and derided for having accepted the sin of slavery, while at the same time every other civilization in world history which practiced slavery (basically all of them) is given a 'free pass' and also the role of West - and of Christianity in particular - in fighting to end slavery goes largely un-mentioned.
If we want to do real justice to the historical facts, we should be celebrating the role of Christianity - Evangelical Christianity in particular - in fighting to drive this evil from our common life. Matthew Everhard is one of the Presbyterian/Reformed YouTubers that I follow, and in this video he does exactly that:
Labels: Christ and Culture, Evangelicalism, Social Holiness and Service, video, Witness of the Saints
Labels: Book Review, Ecumenical stuff, Spirituality and Liturgy, video
This is an interesting video that brings together a number of authors and themes that I've been chewing on in recent years: He talks about Patrick Deneen's thesis in Why Liberalism Failed, about how Christianity has been supplanted in the hearts of many by "spin-off religions" such as "Moralistic Therapeutic Deism" or "Social Justice Warrior-ism." He discusses Alister MacIntyre's After Virtue, and how the Benedictine monasteries preserved Western Civilization as the Roman Empire collapsed and knowledge and technology actually regressed. He discusses practical things that we can be doing to help preserve the legacy of all that is best in Western Civilization (while also being frankly honest about the bad and the ugly).
Definitely alot to chew on here (and maybe a bit some readers may want to spit back out); I certainly think Dreher is on the right track here, and have come to see my role as a parent and as a spiritual father to my church as passing on, first and foremost, the Biblical faith in Christ, and secondly as passing along the very best of the Western tradition to others.
Labels: church renewal, Cultural issues, Ecumenical stuff, Education, God and Sexuality, Lecture Series, neo-monasticism, Paleo-Orthodoxy, Political Philosophy, religion and media, Theology and Ministry, video
Labels: Comments on Scripture, Ecumenical stuff, Theology and Ministry, video
Labels: Cultural issues, Current events and politics, Economics, Environment and Creation, Social Holiness and Service, video
Labels: Anglicanism, John Wesley, Paleo-Orthodoxy, Theology and Ministry