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Be Thou My Vision
The Christian life is not an easy thing to do. It is fraught with danger and trial and it always has been. Indeed the Bible itself tells us that Christianity is not easy, as disciples of Christ we are instructed to take up a cross — a symbol of shame in the culture of the…
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Advent: Light from Light
Right now it is Advent, and for many, advent is the beginning of the Christian Calendar, a calendar that reminds Christians of the history of redemption and the life of Jesus Christ. Many non-denominational Evangelicals recognize two of the major points of this calendar, Christmas and easter, because they have become enshrined in popular culture.…
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Bloody, and yet bowed
There’s a well known poem out there called “invictus” by William Ernest Henley. Out of the night that covers me, Black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance…
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Confession
The Anglican Book of Common Prayer has a prayer that I think is at once a powerful reminder of our sin and at the same time a reminder of the mercy and provision of God. I think that the original form of the prayer has a more meaning than the revisions currently in use, the…
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What does it mean to be Christian?
Lately I’ve been thinking more about this question, and I think I’ve come up with an [unsatisfactory] answer that shows what I think it means to be Christian. To be Christian means that I have been bought with a price and that price is the blood of Jesus Christ which has been shed for me…
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Faith Comes by Hearing
“Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” What does this mean, you might ask. It means that Christian faith, a firm belief in something not absolutely provable, originates by divine revelation. It is something revealed, something given by God — not as something derived from logic and reason, but as the…
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Praying in Sanctuary
I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory. For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. Ephesians 3.13-14 This post is more of a personal anecdote. Recently I’ve been praying in Anglican and…
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Labels and Love
Christianity is a religion of labels, so much so that in many ways I feel so unfree to explore in public the ultimate metaphysical question of “what is reality” or “what is truth.” If we are honest with ourselves, labels are stereotypes that undermine a culture of grace making a culture of labeling one of…
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Worshiping in Spirit
St. John tells us “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” And I think a lot of us have more truth than spirit. Certainly, my bias is towards theologically dense hymns, but there are some traditions (those less within the stream of the historically White traditions of hymnary…
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Aliens and Sojourners
This time is a time of nationalism in North America, with July 1st being Canada Day and the 4th being Independence Day. What does this mean for Christians though? I recently read this quote in an introduction to the philosophy of religion and I think its is a poignant reminder by an outside observer of…
Defined Faith
dominus pascit me — the Lord is my Shepherd
Defined Faith 