Jesus Plays No Harp. He Swings a Hammer.
The website TV Tropes has an article about a figure often used in television, called “Fluffy Cloud Heaven.” In this figure, heaven is heavenly blue. It is in the clouds. The clouds…
Who should judge a talent competition, or your whole life?
Television has many talent competitions. Big hit shows include Pop Idol, American Idol, Britain's Got Talent, America's Got Talent, The Voice, and The X Factor. Sometimes the choice of judges is controversial. Highly accomplished vocal performer,…
Objective & Subjective Justification – Pastors Todd Wilken & Rolf Preus
Have you heard the terms "objective justification" and "subjective justification"? Have you had questions about them? Have you been confounded by them? Be of good cheer! Pastor Todd Wilken interviews…
Antinomianism and Legalism: Three Streams of Confessional Lutherans
Three streams. There are three streams that have flowed into current confessional Lutheranism. (There are more, but for present purposes, these three are sufficient to consider.) Stream One. Those born,…
Escaping a prairie fire on burnt out ground
Drought and fires this year (2017) recall memories of prairie fires in homesteading days. In high winds, fires moved rapidly, burning grass, crops, livestock, wildlife, buildings, and people. One time…
“You don’t understand what you read,” she said
Our fourth grade teacher gave us reading comprehension tests. We read compositions and answered questions. My grade was a shock. One little letter said the same thing as my teacher.…
What Is Jesus Doing in Retirement?
Retirement affects people differently. One friend worked 50 years, got his gold watch, retired, and died less than a year later. Someone said he died of not having enough to…
Embarrassment of Western Christians with Leviticus
Christ and his apostles show that the ritual legislation in Leviticus is relevant for us. While the law of Moses does not prescribe what we do in the Divine Service,…
Tolerance for Only a Slight Variation from the Truth
When Satan seeks to supplant truth with error he is not so foolish as outright to propose that error be accepted. At the fall he was subtle enough not to…
“In this day and age, orthodoxy is absurd.”
Frequently I hear it said, as a refutation of this or that orthodox proposition, “In this day and age,” that proposition is absurd. There are many variant formulations of the…