This is from a well known sermon of Luther's on how to contemplate on Christ's sufferings:
When man perceives his sins in this light and is completely terror-stricken in his conscience, he must be on his guard that his sins do not thus remain in his conscience, and nothing but pure doubt certainly come out of it; but just as the sins flowed out of Christ and we became conscious of them, so should we pour them again upon him and set our conscience free. Therefore see well to it that you act not like perverted people, who bite and devour themselves with their sins in their heart, and run here and there with their good works or their own satisfaction ...
Then cast your sins from yourself upon Christ, believe with a festive spirit that your sins are his wounds and sufferings, that he carries them and makes satisfaction for them, as Is 53,6 says: "Jehovah hath laid on him the iniquity of us all;" and St. Peter in his first Epistle 2, 24: "Who his own self bare our sins in his body upon the tree" of the cross; and St. Paul in 2 Cor 5,21: "Him who knew no sin was made to be sin on our behalf; that we might become the righteousness of God in him." Upon these and like passages you must rely with all your weight.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Saint Evermode, apostle to the Wends
Saint Evermode, apostle to the Wends ... note: more Easter water. Those Wends cant get enough of this sacrament!
Evermode was born in Belgium around the beginning of the twelfth century. Practically nothing is known of his youth. When Evermode was about twenty years old, St. Norbert came to the city of Cambray to preach at the invitation of Bishop Burchard. Evermode happened to hear Norbert speak and was moved immediately to join him. Norbert took him back to the newly founded community in Prémontré where Evermode became one of his first disciples. From this day forward Evermode accompanied Norbert on all of his journeys, soon becoming the closest friend and “beloved disciple” of the wandering preacher. Evermode was by Norbert’s side at all of the key moments of his life as founder and archbishop. On June 6, 1134, he was present at the bedside of Norbert as he imparted his farewell blessing and died. Evermode was stricken keenly by the death of Norbert.
In the years that followed, he held several positions of leadership. From 1134 to 1138 he was the provost of the Abbey of Gottesgnaden in Saxony, and, from 1138 to 1154 provost of St. Mary’s in Magdeburg. In the year 1154 Evermode was appointed the first bishop of the newly founded diocese of Ratzeburg. A cathedral chapter of thirteen Norbertines surrounded Evermode with the community life he had come to cherish. As bishop he was known above all else for his apostolic zeal for the conversion of the pagan peoples of the north, most notably the Wends. As such the Premonstratensians are the only religious order to have converted an entire nation. He is often referred to as the “Apostle of the Wends” and was successful in both Christianizing and civilizing them where many had failed before.
(Here comes the Easter water ....)
Evermode was also famed for his keen sense of justice. When the powerful Count Henry of Ratzeburg continued to mistreat some prisoners despite Evermode’s pleading to treat them fairly, he responded with a miracle. When the prisoners were admitted to the cathedral for the Mass of Easter, as was the custom, Evermode sprinkled the newly blessed Easter water on their chains, and the chains broke, setting the prisoners free. Evermode died as bishop of Ratzeburg on February 17, 1178. He is pictured with the regalia of a bishop, wiping away the tears of grief which he shed over the death of his beloved friend, St. Norbert.
Saint Evermode
Evermode was born in Belgium around the beginning of the twelfth century. Practically nothing is known of his youth. When Evermode was about twenty years old, St. Norbert came to the city of Cambray to preach at the invitation of Bishop Burchard. Evermode happened to hear Norbert speak and was moved immediately to join him. Norbert took him back to the newly founded community in Prémontré where Evermode became one of his first disciples. From this day forward Evermode accompanied Norbert on all of his journeys, soon becoming the closest friend and “beloved disciple” of the wandering preacher. Evermode was by Norbert’s side at all of the key moments of his life as founder and archbishop. On June 6, 1134, he was present at the bedside of Norbert as he imparted his farewell blessing and died. Evermode was stricken keenly by the death of Norbert.
In the years that followed, he held several positions of leadership. From 1134 to 1138 he was the provost of the Abbey of Gottesgnaden in Saxony, and, from 1138 to 1154 provost of St. Mary’s in Magdeburg. In the year 1154 Evermode was appointed the first bishop of the newly founded diocese of Ratzeburg. A cathedral chapter of thirteen Norbertines surrounded Evermode with the community life he had come to cherish. As bishop he was known above all else for his apostolic zeal for the conversion of the pagan peoples of the north, most notably the Wends. As such the Premonstratensians are the only religious order to have converted an entire nation. He is often referred to as the “Apostle of the Wends” and was successful in both Christianizing and civilizing them where many had failed before.
(Here comes the Easter water ....)
Evermode was also famed for his keen sense of justice. When the powerful Count Henry of Ratzeburg continued to mistreat some prisoners despite Evermode’s pleading to treat them fairly, he responded with a miracle. When the prisoners were admitted to the cathedral for the Mass of Easter, as was the custom, Evermode sprinkled the newly blessed Easter water on their chains, and the chains broke, setting the prisoners free. Evermode died as bishop of Ratzeburg on February 17, 1178. He is pictured with the regalia of a bishop, wiping away the tears of grief which he shed over the death of his beloved friend, St. Norbert.
Saint Evermode
Easter water
So, I am Wendish on my mother's side. Most of you will not know what a Wend is unless you happen to be Lutheran and from certain parts of Texas. Wends are a Slavic group that became Lutheran after the Reformation and migrated to various parts of the world including Texas.
Anyway, one custom that has always fascinated me is "Easter water". Is this not a wonderful baptismal custom? We rise from the sleep of death on Easter morning and what wakes us up? Water, the water of baptism!
The folkways of the Wends are tied closely to the church calendar, especially the
major festivals of Easter and Christmas, and to the personal milestones of birth, death, and marriage that are also sanctified in the church. Easter is celebrated with both religious services in church and the coloring of eggs. A particular custom observed in both Texas and Europe, and also found among other Slavic groups, is the use of "Easter water.'' The water dipped from a brook early on Easter morning supposedly stimulates health and beauty; in Texas it was sprinkled on sleepers' faces to awaken them.
Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups
Anyway, one custom that has always fascinated me is "Easter water". Is this not a wonderful baptismal custom? We rise from the sleep of death on Easter morning and what wakes us up? Water, the water of baptism!
The folkways of the Wends are tied closely to the church calendar, especially the
major festivals of Easter and Christmas, and to the personal milestones of birth, death, and marriage that are also sanctified in the church. Easter is celebrated with both religious services in church and the coloring of eggs. A particular custom observed in both Texas and Europe, and also found among other Slavic groups, is the use of "Easter water.'' The water dipped from a brook early on Easter morning supposedly stimulates health and beauty; in Texas it was sprinkled on sleepers' faces to awaken them.
Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups
Curbside Consultation of the Colon
There is contest in Britain for the oddest book title. I had heard a segment about this contest on the Whad'Ya Know? quiz show on public radio. (Whad'ya know? Not much, you?) Here is an article in the NY Times about that same contest. It is worth reading just for some of the titles. Here are a few:
“The 2009-2014 World Outlook for 60-Milligram Containers of Fromage Frais”
“Curbside Consultation of the Colon”
“The Large Sieve and Its Applications,”
“Strip and Knit With Style”
“Weeds in a Changing World”
“Waterproofing Your Child”
“Cheese Problems Solved”
“The 2009-2014 World Outlook for 60-Milligram Containers of Fromage Frais”
“Curbside Consultation of the Colon”
“The Large Sieve and Its Applications,”
“Strip and Knit With Style”
“Weeds in a Changing World”
“Waterproofing Your Child”
“Cheese Problems Solved”
Friday, March 27, 2009
God has always been stuck in the past
I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
I will ponder all your work,
and meditate on your mighty deeds.
Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is great like our God?
You are the God who works wonders;
you have made known your might among the peoples.
You with your arm redeemed your people,
the children of Jacob and Joseph.
Psalm 77: 11-15, ESV
God has always been stuck in the past. Or so it seems. From the very beginning the saints have always appealed to his “wonders of old”. Followers seeking him in the present are always thrown to the past to find Him. It is not the passage of time that renders the works of God ancient. It is the character of the works themselves and the One who does them.
Form the moment Adam and Eve were thrown out of the garden and God was lost to them in their daily experience, through the sense data of touch and sight and hearing Christians have preserved the words and actions of God for their faith. Sin has wrecked our ability to find God in the present among the ravages of our fallen nature and the cursed ground we walk on. In our despair and sin and death, where is God? In this life as fallen life, He cannot be known, glimpsed perhaps, yes, feared, wondered about, but not known.
So the appeal to the past is the ground of faith. God created. God promised. God rescued God died. God rose. There is a certainty in the acts of old for they cannot be tainted by our failure to perceive or know. Surely God is at work now today. But we cannot see it. We cannot know for sure except in the ways He has promised to be known. The fallen vagaries of our day to day life shroud his presence. But the Scriptures relate that God has made known his might among the peoples. His works of old are a foundation. We ponder them and in pondering we believe. We repeat the stories, we meditate on his deeds and in the hearing and in the believing God is present. God works through his Word. We cannot be sure of his presence in the actions and experience of our sinful life. We can be sure in his Word. In his Word we know him to be a mighty God, a redeemer, one who rescues and forgives and makes right. We ponder his mighty deeds. We live by faith.
yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
I will ponder all your work,
and meditate on your mighty deeds.
Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is great like our God?
You are the God who works wonders;
you have made known your might among the peoples.
You with your arm redeemed your people,
the children of Jacob and Joseph.
Psalm 77: 11-15, ESV
God has always been stuck in the past. Or so it seems. From the very beginning the saints have always appealed to his “wonders of old”. Followers seeking him in the present are always thrown to the past to find Him. It is not the passage of time that renders the works of God ancient. It is the character of the works themselves and the One who does them.
Form the moment Adam and Eve were thrown out of the garden and God was lost to them in their daily experience, through the sense data of touch and sight and hearing Christians have preserved the words and actions of God for their faith. Sin has wrecked our ability to find God in the present among the ravages of our fallen nature and the cursed ground we walk on. In our despair and sin and death, where is God? In this life as fallen life, He cannot be known, glimpsed perhaps, yes, feared, wondered about, but not known.
So the appeal to the past is the ground of faith. God created. God promised. God rescued God died. God rose. There is a certainty in the acts of old for they cannot be tainted by our failure to perceive or know. Surely God is at work now today. But we cannot see it. We cannot know for sure except in the ways He has promised to be known. The fallen vagaries of our day to day life shroud his presence. But the Scriptures relate that God has made known his might among the peoples. His works of old are a foundation. We ponder them and in pondering we believe. We repeat the stories, we meditate on his deeds and in the hearing and in the believing God is present. God works through his Word. We cannot be sure of his presence in the actions and experience of our sinful life. We can be sure in his Word. In his Word we know him to be a mighty God, a redeemer, one who rescues and forgives and makes right. We ponder his mighty deeds. We live by faith.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
I enjoy gardening but ...
... this is so true:
It takes many, many hours of toil before you harvest enough "free" eggplant and bell peppers to make a bowl of ratatouille. Though I doubt the Obamas will experience much of this, gardening is incredibly messy, ruins your hands, wears holes in the knees of your jeans, ends up costing 40 times more than you think it will, sucks up whole weekends in a single gulp, takes over your dreams, and frequently breaks your heart.
It takes many, many hours of toil before you harvest enough "free" eggplant and bell peppers to make a bowl of ratatouille. Though I doubt the Obamas will experience much of this, gardening is incredibly messy, ruins your hands, wears holes in the knees of your jeans, ends up costing 40 times more than you think it will, sucks up whole weekends in a single gulp, takes over your dreams, and frequently breaks your heart.
With God on their tongues
This is a beautiful selection from an author I am rediscovering, Andre Dubus, whose main work was short stories. he was a devout Catholic and a deep Eucharistic faith weaves itself in and out of his stories. make no mistake he is a deeply humane and realistic author, a heartbreaking one who communicates the harsh reality of living. But often he doe sit in reference to living heartbreaking lives while conscious of God and Christ and the sacrament.
This passage is nice because it portrays what it is like to go to church, not from a doctrinal or liturgical stance as we pastor types so often understand it but from the point of view of being in the pew and actually experiencing "the Mass". It is from the short story, "The Pretty Girl".
Dressing for Mass was different from dressing for any other place, and she liked having her morning coffee and cigarette while, without anticipating drinks or dinner or a man or work or anything at all, she put on makeup and a dress and heels; and she liked entering the church where the large doors closed behind her and she walked down the aisle under the high, curved white ceiling, and between stained-glass windows in the white walls whose lower halves were dark brown wood, as the altar was and the large cross with a bronze Christ hanging from the Null behind it.
When she was with her family, her father chose a pew and stood at it while Margaret went in, then Polly, then her parents; alone, she looked for a pew near the middle with an aisle seat. She kneeled on the padded kneeler, her arms on the smooth old wood of the pew in front of her, and looked at the altar and crucifix and the stained-glass window behind them; then sat and looked at people sitting in front of her on both sides of the aisle. There was a scent of perfume and sometimes leather from purses and coats, tingeing that smell she only breathed here: a blending of cool, dry basement air with sunlight and melting candle wax.
As the priest entered wearing green vestments, she rose and sang with the others, listened to her voice among theirs, read the Confiteor aloud with them, felt forgiven as she read in what I have done and in what I have failed to do, those simple and general words as precise as she could be about the life, a week older each Sunday, that followed her like a bridal train into church where, for forty minutes or so, her mind was suspended, much as it was when she lay near sleep at the beach. She did not pray with concentration, but she did not think either, and her mind wandered from the Mass to the faces of people around her. At the offertory she sang with them and, later, stood and read the Lord's Prayer aloud; then the priest said Let us now offer each other a sign of peace and, smiling, she shook the hands of people in front of her and behind her, saying Peace be with you.
She liked to watch them receive communion: children and teenagers and women and men going slowly in two lines up the center aisle and in single lines up both side aisles, to the four waiting priests. Coming back, they chewed or dissolved the host in their mouths. Sometimes a small boy looked about and smiled. But she only saw children when they crossed her vision; she watched the others: the old, whose faces had lost any sign of beauty or even pleasure, and were gentle now, peacefully dazed, with God on their tongues; the pretty and handsome young, and the young who were plain or homely; and, in their thirties and forties and fifties, women and men who had lost the singularity of youth, their bodies unattractive, most of them too heavy, and no face was pretty or plain, handsome or homely, and all of these returned to their pews with clasped hands and bowed heads, their faces both serious and calm. She tenderly watched them.
Now that she was going to Mass with her family, she watched them too, the three dark faces with downcast eyes: slender Margaret with her finely concave cheeks, and no makeup, her lips and brow bearing no trace of the sullen prudery she sometimes turned oil Polly, sometimes oil everyone; her plump mother, the shortest in the family now, grey lacing her black hair, and her frownlike face one of weariness in repose, looking as it would later in the day when, reading the paper, she would fall asleep on the couch; her father, tall and broad, his shirt and coat tight across his chest, his hair thick and black, and on his face the look of peaceful concentration she saw when he was fishing; and she felt merciful toward them, and toward herself, not only for her guilt or shame because she could not receive (they did not speak to her about it, or about anything else she did, not even —except Margaret— with their eyes), but for her sense and, often at Mass, her conviction that she was a had woman. She rose and sang as the priest and altar boys walked up the aisle and out the front of the church; then people filled the aisle and she moved with them into the day.
Selected Stories, Anre Dubus
This passage is nice because it portrays what it is like to go to church, not from a doctrinal or liturgical stance as we pastor types so often understand it but from the point of view of being in the pew and actually experiencing "the Mass". It is from the short story, "The Pretty Girl".
Dressing for Mass was different from dressing for any other place, and she liked having her morning coffee and cigarette while, without anticipating drinks or dinner or a man or work or anything at all, she put on makeup and a dress and heels; and she liked entering the church where the large doors closed behind her and she walked down the aisle under the high, curved white ceiling, and between stained-glass windows in the white walls whose lower halves were dark brown wood, as the altar was and the large cross with a bronze Christ hanging from the Null behind it.
When she was with her family, her father chose a pew and stood at it while Margaret went in, then Polly, then her parents; alone, she looked for a pew near the middle with an aisle seat. She kneeled on the padded kneeler, her arms on the smooth old wood of the pew in front of her, and looked at the altar and crucifix and the stained-glass window behind them; then sat and looked at people sitting in front of her on both sides of the aisle. There was a scent of perfume and sometimes leather from purses and coats, tingeing that smell she only breathed here: a blending of cool, dry basement air with sunlight and melting candle wax.
As the priest entered wearing green vestments, she rose and sang with the others, listened to her voice among theirs, read the Confiteor aloud with them, felt forgiven as she read in what I have done and in what I have failed to do, those simple and general words as precise as she could be about the life, a week older each Sunday, that followed her like a bridal train into church where, for forty minutes or so, her mind was suspended, much as it was when she lay near sleep at the beach. She did not pray with concentration, but she did not think either, and her mind wandered from the Mass to the faces of people around her. At the offertory she sang with them and, later, stood and read the Lord's Prayer aloud; then the priest said Let us now offer each other a sign of peace and, smiling, she shook the hands of people in front of her and behind her, saying Peace be with you.
She liked to watch them receive communion: children and teenagers and women and men going slowly in two lines up the center aisle and in single lines up both side aisles, to the four waiting priests. Coming back, they chewed or dissolved the host in their mouths. Sometimes a small boy looked about and smiled. But she only saw children when they crossed her vision; she watched the others: the old, whose faces had lost any sign of beauty or even pleasure, and were gentle now, peacefully dazed, with God on their tongues; the pretty and handsome young, and the young who were plain or homely; and, in their thirties and forties and fifties, women and men who had lost the singularity of youth, their bodies unattractive, most of them too heavy, and no face was pretty or plain, handsome or homely, and all of these returned to their pews with clasped hands and bowed heads, their faces both serious and calm. She tenderly watched them.
Now that she was going to Mass with her family, she watched them too, the three dark faces with downcast eyes: slender Margaret with her finely concave cheeks, and no makeup, her lips and brow bearing no trace of the sullen prudery she sometimes turned oil Polly, sometimes oil everyone; her plump mother, the shortest in the family now, grey lacing her black hair, and her frownlike face one of weariness in repose, looking as it would later in the day when, reading the paper, she would fall asleep on the couch; her father, tall and broad, his shirt and coat tight across his chest, his hair thick and black, and on his face the look of peaceful concentration she saw when he was fishing; and she felt merciful toward them, and toward herself, not only for her guilt or shame because she could not receive (they did not speak to her about it, or about anything else she did, not even —except Margaret— with their eyes), but for her sense and, often at Mass, her conviction that she was a had woman. She rose and sang as the priest and altar boys walked up the aisle and out the front of the church; then people filled the aisle and she moved with them into the day.
Selected Stories, Anre Dubus
Time and heaven and hell
Psalm 37: 16-20
16 Better is the little that the righteous has
than the abundance of many wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
but the Lord upholds the righteous.
18 The Lord knows the days of the blameless,
and their heritage will remain forever;
19 they are not put to shame in evil times;
in the days of famine they have abundance.
20 But the wicked will perish;
the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures;
they vanish—like smoke they vanish away.
Time equals death. The reach for fame the thirst for earthly glory is a fight against death. All things pass away. Whatever you do, however noble, however grand, is ripped away from you by the grave. All things are vanity and empty. The passing of each day is a little death, each moment.
Which is why this Psalm is a comfort for Christians. The Resurrection is a redemption of time, a buying back of that which is lost to us. God holds the days in his hand. For the righteous, their heritage remains forever. The Lord knows our days and does not forget them. They do not pass away. The moments and hours of the past, the time when your children were small, which you can barely recall, which like a bittersweet dream you glimpse in old photographs, the time with dead parents and grandparents, all these days are held in God’s hand, they will remain forever. Christ is living, he has not gone away and with his victory over death are the spoils: each moment is recovered in His hand, every death overcome, every loss filled.
The foretaste of the feast to come, the moments we spend at the altar are times of remembrance, His remembrance, which is all encompassing and comprehensive. All the saints are known to us there, the past, the future, the present all merged there in his body and blood. The drip, drip, drip of death, moments come and gone is stilled there in faith in the One who is beyond time and yet in time, who “was come from God and went to God."
For the wicked, they vanish like smoke, their days are gone. Hell means every death, every loss remains lost and gone. Hell is not so much the addition of torment, the multiplication of pain, but the remains of subtraction, the endurance of loss. To reject God means the emptiness of every calendar, the vague and painful sting of aging, a debt forever unpaid.
16 Better is the little that the righteous has
than the abundance of many wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
but the Lord upholds the righteous.
18 The Lord knows the days of the blameless,
and their heritage will remain forever;
19 they are not put to shame in evil times;
in the days of famine they have abundance.
20 But the wicked will perish;
the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures;
they vanish—like smoke they vanish away.
Time equals death. The reach for fame the thirst for earthly glory is a fight against death. All things pass away. Whatever you do, however noble, however grand, is ripped away from you by the grave. All things are vanity and empty. The passing of each day is a little death, each moment.
Which is why this Psalm is a comfort for Christians. The Resurrection is a redemption of time, a buying back of that which is lost to us. God holds the days in his hand. For the righteous, their heritage remains forever. The Lord knows our days and does not forget them. They do not pass away. The moments and hours of the past, the time when your children were small, which you can barely recall, which like a bittersweet dream you glimpse in old photographs, the time with dead parents and grandparents, all these days are held in God’s hand, they will remain forever. Christ is living, he has not gone away and with his victory over death are the spoils: each moment is recovered in His hand, every death overcome, every loss filled.
The foretaste of the feast to come, the moments we spend at the altar are times of remembrance, His remembrance, which is all encompassing and comprehensive. All the saints are known to us there, the past, the future, the present all merged there in his body and blood. The drip, drip, drip of death, moments come and gone is stilled there in faith in the One who is beyond time and yet in time, who “was come from God and went to God."
For the wicked, they vanish like smoke, their days are gone. Hell means every death, every loss remains lost and gone. Hell is not so much the addition of torment, the multiplication of pain, but the remains of subtraction, the endurance of loss. To reject God means the emptiness of every calendar, the vague and painful sting of aging, a debt forever unpaid.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Madame Butterfly or Hank Williams?
So, the Met will charge $ 200 dollars a ticket for a lavish production of Madame Butterfly, but with a ten foot pole it wont touch (Hank William's) "Your Cheatin' Heart" which is the same story boiled down and less expensive.
Roy Blount Jr., Long Time Leaving , p. 196.
Well, judge for yourself.
Roy Blount Jr., Long Time Leaving , p. 196.
Well, judge for yourself.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
A Coon Huntin' Story
It is indicative of the length of my stay here in North Carolina that I find this story very funny. I even find the speaker not to have much of an accent.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
The angel and the cross
I am leading a congregational Bible study on the Passion narratives and I am using a few images to help us along. I ran across this image of the garden of Gethsemane scene.
Luke 22: 43 says : "And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him."
What the artist has done is show this angel bringing the cross to Jesus. The angel strengthens Jesus by bringing the cross to Him. The cross means for Christ to follow in the will of His Father. Though it bring suffering, an anguish beyond our thought, yet it remains comfort. For there in the walking the way of the cross, Christ is in union with the Father.
For Christians also, to pray for comfort means strength to bear our cross. Not escape but faith. To be under the weight of the crosses God sends is to be in his presence, to know he is with us. "For my power is made perfect in weakness."
Friday, March 13, 2009
Faith slaughters reason and kills the beast
In regards to my previous post, here is some Luther on a similar theme. Reading it got me thinking about what I wrote in the last post.
Thus when God proposes the doctrines of faith, he always proposes things that are simply impossible and absurd — if, that is, you want to follow the judgment of reason.
It does indeed seem ridiculous and absurd to reason that in the Lord's Supper the body and the blood of Christ are presented, that Baptism is "the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:5), that Christ the Son of God was conceived and carried in the, womb of the Virgin, that he was born, that he suffered the most ignominious of deaths on the cross, that He was raised again, that he is now sitting at the right hand of the Father, and that He now bas "authority in. heaven and on earth" (Matt. 28:18). Paul calls the Gospel of Christ the crucified "the Word of the cross" (I Cor. 1:18) and "the folly of preaching" (1 Cor. 1:21), which the Jews regarded as offensive and the Greeks as a foolish doctrine.
Reason judges this way about all the doctrines of the faith; for it does not understand that the supreme form of worship is to bear the voice of God and to believe, but it supposes that what it chooses on its own and what it does with a so-called good intention and from its own devotion is pleasing to God. When God speaks, reason, therefore, regards His Word as heresy and as the word of the devil; for it seems so absurd. Such is the theology of all the sophists and of the sectarians who measure the Word of God by reason.
But faith slaughters reason and kills the beast that the whole world and all the creatures cannot kill. Thus Abraham killed it by faith in the Word of God, in which offspring was promised to him from Sarah, who was barren and past childbearing. Reason did not immediately assent to this Word in Abraham. Surely it fought against faith in him and regarded it as something ridiculous, absurd, and impossible that Sarah, who was not only ninety years old now but was also barren by nature, should give birth to a son. Faith certainly had this struggle with reason in Abraham. But faith won the victory in him; it killed and sacrificed God's bitterest and most harmful enemy.
Thus all devout people enter with Abraham into the darkness of faith, kill reason, and say: "Reason, you are foolish. You do not understand the things that belong to God (Matt. 16:23). Therefore do not speak against me, but keep quiet. Do not judge; but listen to the Word of God, and believe it." Thus devout people, by their faith, kill a beast that is greater than the world; and so they offer a highly pleasing sacrifice and worship to God.
Martin Luther, AE, vol. 26, Lectures on Galatians , 1535, p. 227-228.
Thus when God proposes the doctrines of faith, he always proposes things that are simply impossible and absurd — if, that is, you want to follow the judgment of reason.
It does indeed seem ridiculous and absurd to reason that in the Lord's Supper the body and the blood of Christ are presented, that Baptism is "the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:5), that Christ the Son of God was conceived and carried in the, womb of the Virgin, that he was born, that he suffered the most ignominious of deaths on the cross, that He was raised again, that he is now sitting at the right hand of the Father, and that He now bas "authority in. heaven and on earth" (Matt. 28:18). Paul calls the Gospel of Christ the crucified "the Word of the cross" (I Cor. 1:18) and "the folly of preaching" (1 Cor. 1:21), which the Jews regarded as offensive and the Greeks as a foolish doctrine.
Reason judges this way about all the doctrines of the faith; for it does not understand that the supreme form of worship is to bear the voice of God and to believe, but it supposes that what it chooses on its own and what it does with a so-called good intention and from its own devotion is pleasing to God. When God speaks, reason, therefore, regards His Word as heresy and as the word of the devil; for it seems so absurd. Such is the theology of all the sophists and of the sectarians who measure the Word of God by reason.
But faith slaughters reason and kills the beast that the whole world and all the creatures cannot kill. Thus Abraham killed it by faith in the Word of God, in which offspring was promised to him from Sarah, who was barren and past childbearing. Reason did not immediately assent to this Word in Abraham. Surely it fought against faith in him and regarded it as something ridiculous, absurd, and impossible that Sarah, who was not only ninety years old now but was also barren by nature, should give birth to a son. Faith certainly had this struggle with reason in Abraham. But faith won the victory in him; it killed and sacrificed God's bitterest and most harmful enemy.
Thus all devout people enter with Abraham into the darkness of faith, kill reason, and say: "Reason, you are foolish. You do not understand the things that belong to God (Matt. 16:23). Therefore do not speak against me, but keep quiet. Do not judge; but listen to the Word of God, and believe it." Thus devout people, by their faith, kill a beast that is greater than the world; and so they offer a highly pleasing sacrifice and worship to God.
Martin Luther, AE, vol. 26, Lectures on Galatians , 1535, p. 227-228.
It is no easy thing to believe ...
It is no easy thing to believe, no easy thing to be a Christian. It truly is a miracle, a thing which is totally and completely unexpected, contrary to common sense. What we preach and offer is absurd to our ears, completely opposite, foolish and meaningless to human ears. I am sometimes perturbed when attendance dips or people are not as faithful at church as I would wish. But more lately I am amazed anyone is here at all. And I don't mean that in a pessimistic way.
I sometimes think we have this 1950's mindset where we think it is normal and to be expected that everyone be in church. As if it were normal, easy, the thing that everyone just does. Christian nation, Christian families, Christian people, Christian habits. But this is just not so anymore and maybe never really was.
If we step back step back a bit, we might think that it is remarkable in the utmost degree that anyone sits down and does ancient rituals (even in a contemporary worship setting the patterns are derived from thousands of years of custom), listens to these doctrines and preaching week after week. Not only are the matters presented "foolishness" and "stumbling blocks", ridiculous to contemporary tastes, but the preachers and congregations who present them are weak, sinful, absurd, dreary, easily distracted, full of faults and fighting. Yet people come, they believe.
Doing so, being a Christian, does no worldly good. It gets no one a job, fixes no one's life, does not "help" us though life in any demonstrable way, yet people come. What is more many of them give generously of time and money. They spend hours toiling and praying for the church and congregation, they witness, they sing, they serve, they sacrifice.
Incredible. Truly all of this is God's doing and no one else's.
I sometimes think we have this 1950's mindset where we think it is normal and to be expected that everyone be in church. As if it were normal, easy, the thing that everyone just does. Christian nation, Christian families, Christian people, Christian habits. But this is just not so anymore and maybe never really was.
If we step back step back a bit, we might think that it is remarkable in the utmost degree that anyone sits down and does ancient rituals (even in a contemporary worship setting the patterns are derived from thousands of years of custom), listens to these doctrines and preaching week after week. Not only are the matters presented "foolishness" and "stumbling blocks", ridiculous to contemporary tastes, but the preachers and congregations who present them are weak, sinful, absurd, dreary, easily distracted, full of faults and fighting. Yet people come, they believe.
Doing so, being a Christian, does no worldly good. It gets no one a job, fixes no one's life, does not "help" us though life in any demonstrable way, yet people come. What is more many of them give generously of time and money. They spend hours toiling and praying for the church and congregation, they witness, they sing, they serve, they sacrifice.
Incredible. Truly all of this is God's doing and no one else's.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
15 Tips for Better Preaching
David Mills, the former editor of Touchstone magazine, offers this column on preaching.
Allowing for the Roman Catholic context, this is a pretty good list easily applicable to Lutheran situations and preachers. I would have liked to see an item that emphasized the importance of the sacramental, Gospel, gift character of the sermon, but, hey, I'm a Lutheran.
A few of the fifteen (David comments on each item on his list):
Stay in the pulpit.
Never use a cultural reference, especially a pop cultural reference, to look knowledgeable or hip or to "connect" with your people.
Exposit the Scriptures.
Always remind people that they are sinners.
Once in a while, clarify the differences between what Catholics believe and what our Protestant brethren believe.
Connect the truths you are drawing from the Scriptures to the Mass, the Church year, and the sacramental life.
Allowing for the Roman Catholic context, this is a pretty good list easily applicable to Lutheran situations and preachers. I would have liked to see an item that emphasized the importance of the sacramental, Gospel, gift character of the sermon, but, hey, I'm a Lutheran.
A few of the fifteen (David comments on each item on his list):
Stay in the pulpit.
Never use a cultural reference, especially a pop cultural reference, to look knowledgeable or hip or to "connect" with your people.
Exposit the Scriptures.
Always remind people that they are sinners.
Once in a while, clarify the differences between what Catholics believe and what our Protestant brethren believe.
Connect the truths you are drawing from the Scriptures to the Mass, the Church year, and the sacramental life.
More on the ELCA Statement on Sexuality
Here are more wise words from within the ELCA concerning the Draft Social Statement on Sexuality which seems to be leading the ELCA into accepting same sex marriage as an option within the Christian church. Paul Hinlicky is the author.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Levittown gas riots of 1979
I remember this. I lived there then. 9th grade. I had friends who were there. I love this picture: the hair styles, the clothes, the long haired, twenty something, white guys with up raised fists. And the signs. "Rationalize or nationalize" and "Cheaper crude or more food". That is priceless.
You can read about it and see some cool pictures about the riot here.
On Sunday, June 24, 1979 Levittowners took to the streets when a truck protest turned riotous. It began as a peaceful protest against the exorbitant costs of diesel fuel. A truckers' convoy joined a small group of Levittown citizens who were protesting gasoline prices and shortages at Five Points in Levittown, PA. Five points is a traffic intersection which in 1979 had (6) gas stations. The frustrations of long lines of motorists waiting for limited supplies of gasoline were fueled by the arrival of the truck convoy. The truck air horn s blasting their protest drew a supportive crowd which quickly swelled to over 1000 people. As more people arrived at Five Points, so did more police. A trucker refused to move his rig from the center of the intersection. He stood on top of his cab playing to the crowd until he was dragged away by the police. Some crowd members threw bottles at the police and started bonfires. The crowd refused to disperse and grew angrier as dogs were used to help bring order. By the end of the evening, twenty-five people were arrested. Levittowners believed that when news of the incident became nationwide the government and the oil companies ended the fuel crisis. Days later, supplies increased and prices dropped nationwide.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Levittown
I ran across a nice song by a group called Stan Mohawk and the Big Tyres.
The song is entitled "Levittown" and it seems to be a song about looking back at an American suburban youth or teenage years. Good song. You can hear it here on the SMATBT myspace page. It is the fifth song in the player. Apparently, SMATBT do not know how to spell Levittown, they left out a "t".
What is extra cool for me is that I spent two years of my high school in Levittown, Pennsylvania.
Anyway, here are the lyrics and go listen to the song. Lyrics without a song are like cereal without milk. Or bread without butter. Or hot sauce popcorn without beer. Or something.
Levittown
I still hear your voices; it hasn't been that long
since I was sitting in your room singing all those songs
And I can remember your faces sweaty on the bus
rolling through the summer heat and the Pennsylvania dust
of Levittown
Levittown
I know you're just a memory but please dont let me down
Levittown
Childlike roam the streets of suburbs gone insane
steal a kiss in the backyard cause here its still a game
And I remember driving in Jersey running on the railroad tracks
taking a leap at the stars and saying God I aint going back
to Levittown
Now I'm in place far from the Pennsylvania line
The world seems a smaller place and less of it is mine
But I can still see your faces sweaty on the bus
rolling through the summer heat and the Pennsylvania dust
of Levittown
The song is entitled "Levittown" and it seems to be a song about looking back at an American suburban youth or teenage years. Good song. You can hear it here on the SMATBT myspace page. It is the fifth song in the player. Apparently, SMATBT do not know how to spell Levittown, they left out a "t".
What is extra cool for me is that I spent two years of my high school in Levittown, Pennsylvania.
Anyway, here are the lyrics and go listen to the song. Lyrics without a song are like cereal without milk. Or bread without butter. Or hot sauce popcorn without beer. Or something.
Levittown
I still hear your voices; it hasn't been that long
since I was sitting in your room singing all those songs
And I can remember your faces sweaty on the bus
rolling through the summer heat and the Pennsylvania dust
of Levittown
Levittown
I know you're just a memory but please dont let me down
Levittown
Childlike roam the streets of suburbs gone insane
steal a kiss in the backyard cause here its still a game
And I remember driving in Jersey running on the railroad tracks
taking a leap at the stars and saying God I aint going back
to Levittown
Now I'm in place far from the Pennsylvania line
The world seems a smaller place and less of it is mine
But I can still see your faces sweaty on the bus
rolling through the summer heat and the Pennsylvania dust
of Levittown
Monday, March 09, 2009
Slowly Losing our Religion
This story will be all over the blogosphere I am sure but here it is. The percentage calling themselves Christians continues to slowly decline. I never know what to make of thees stories. I am more surprised the numbers are this high. In my experience many of those self identifying as Christian are not so, in any meaningful way.
More Americans say they have no religion
A wide-ranging study on American religious life found that the Roman Catholic population has been shifting out o of the Northeast to the Southwest, the percentage of Christians in the nation has declined and more people say they have no religion at all.
Fifteen percent of respondents said they had no religion, an increase from 14.2 percent in 2001 and 8.2 percent in 1990, according to the American Religious Identification Survey.
Northern New England surpassed the Pacific Northwest as the least religious region, with Vermont reporting the highest share of those claiming no religion, at 34 percent. Still, the study found that the numbers of Americans with no religion rose in every state.
"No other religious bloc has kept such a pace in every state," the study's authors said.
In the Northeast, self-identified Catholics made up 36 percent of adults last year, down from 43 percent in 1990. At the same time, however, Catholics grew to about one-third of the adult population in California and Texas, and one-quarter of Floridians, largely due to Latino immigration, according to the research.
Nationally, Catholics remain the largest religious group, with 57 million people saying they belong to the church. The tradition gained 11 million followers since 1990, but its share of the population fell by about a percentage point to 25 percent.
Christians who aren't Catholic also are a declining segment of the country.
In 2008, Christians comprised 76 percent of U.S. adults, compared to about 77 percent in 2001 and about 86 percent in 1990. Researchers said the dwindling ranks of mainline Protestants, including Methodists, Lutherans and Episcopalians, largely explains the shift. Over the last seven years, mainline Protestants dropped from just over 17 percent to 12.9 percent of the population.
The report from The Program on Public Values at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., surveyed 54,461 adults in English or Spanish from February through November of last year. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 0.5 percentage points. The findings are part of a series of studies on American religion by the program that will later look more closely at reasons behind the trends.
The current survey, being released Monday, found traditional organized religion playing less of a role in many lives. Thirty percent of married couples did not have a religious wedding ceremony and 27 percent of respondents said they did not want a religious funeral.
About 12 percent of Americans believe in a higher power but not the personal God at the core of monotheistic faiths. And, since 1990, a slightly greater share of respondents — 1.2 percent — said they were part of new religious movements, including Scientology, Wicca and Santeria.
The study also found signs of a growing influence of churches that either don't belong to a denomination or play down their membership in a religious group.
Respondents who called themselves "non-denominational Christian" grew from 0.1 percent in 1990 to 3.5 percent last year. Congregations that most often use the term are megachurches considered "seeker sensitive." They use rock style music and less structured prayer to attract people who don't usually attend church. Researchers also found a small increase in those who prefer being called evangelical or born-again, rather than claim membership in a denomination.
Evangelical or born-again Americans make up 34 percent of all American adults and 45 percent of all Christians and Catholics, the study found. Researchers found that 18 percent of Catholics consider themselves born-again or evangelical, and nearly 39 percent of mainline Protestants prefer those labels. Many mainline Protestant groups are riven by conflict over how they should interpret what the Bible says about gay relationships, salvation and other issues.
The percentage of Pentecostals remained mostly steady since 1990 at 3.5 percent, a surprising finding considering the dramatic spread of the tradition worldwide. Pentecostals are known for a spirited form of Christianity that includes speaking in tongues and a belief in modern-day miracles.
Mormon numbers also held steady over the period at 1.4 percent of the population, while the number of Jews who described themselves as religiously observant continued to drop, from 1.8 percent in 1990 to 1.2 percent, or 2.7 million people, last year. Researchers plan a broader survey on people who consider themselves culturally Jewish but aren't religious.
The study found that the percentage of Americans who identified themselves as Muslim grew to 0.6 percent of the population, while growth in Eastern religions such as Buddhism slightly slowed.
More Americans say they have no religion
A wide-ranging study on American religious life found that the Roman Catholic population has been shifting out o of the Northeast to the Southwest, the percentage of Christians in the nation has declined and more people say they have no religion at all.
Fifteen percent of respondents said they had no religion, an increase from 14.2 percent in 2001 and 8.2 percent in 1990, according to the American Religious Identification Survey.
Northern New England surpassed the Pacific Northwest as the least religious region, with Vermont reporting the highest share of those claiming no religion, at 34 percent. Still, the study found that the numbers of Americans with no religion rose in every state.
"No other religious bloc has kept such a pace in every state," the study's authors said.
In the Northeast, self-identified Catholics made up 36 percent of adults last year, down from 43 percent in 1990. At the same time, however, Catholics grew to about one-third of the adult population in California and Texas, and one-quarter of Floridians, largely due to Latino immigration, according to the research.
Nationally, Catholics remain the largest religious group, with 57 million people saying they belong to the church. The tradition gained 11 million followers since 1990, but its share of the population fell by about a percentage point to 25 percent.
Christians who aren't Catholic also are a declining segment of the country.
In 2008, Christians comprised 76 percent of U.S. adults, compared to about 77 percent in 2001 and about 86 percent in 1990. Researchers said the dwindling ranks of mainline Protestants, including Methodists, Lutherans and Episcopalians, largely explains the shift. Over the last seven years, mainline Protestants dropped from just over 17 percent to 12.9 percent of the population.
The report from The Program on Public Values at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., surveyed 54,461 adults in English or Spanish from February through November of last year. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 0.5 percentage points. The findings are part of a series of studies on American religion by the program that will later look more closely at reasons behind the trends.
The current survey, being released Monday, found traditional organized religion playing less of a role in many lives. Thirty percent of married couples did not have a religious wedding ceremony and 27 percent of respondents said they did not want a religious funeral.
About 12 percent of Americans believe in a higher power but not the personal God at the core of monotheistic faiths. And, since 1990, a slightly greater share of respondents — 1.2 percent — said they were part of new religious movements, including Scientology, Wicca and Santeria.
The study also found signs of a growing influence of churches that either don't belong to a denomination or play down their membership in a religious group.
Respondents who called themselves "non-denominational Christian" grew from 0.1 percent in 1990 to 3.5 percent last year. Congregations that most often use the term are megachurches considered "seeker sensitive." They use rock style music and less structured prayer to attract people who don't usually attend church. Researchers also found a small increase in those who prefer being called evangelical or born-again, rather than claim membership in a denomination.
Evangelical or born-again Americans make up 34 percent of all American adults and 45 percent of all Christians and Catholics, the study found. Researchers found that 18 percent of Catholics consider themselves born-again or evangelical, and nearly 39 percent of mainline Protestants prefer those labels. Many mainline Protestant groups are riven by conflict over how they should interpret what the Bible says about gay relationships, salvation and other issues.
The percentage of Pentecostals remained mostly steady since 1990 at 3.5 percent, a surprising finding considering the dramatic spread of the tradition worldwide. Pentecostals are known for a spirited form of Christianity that includes speaking in tongues and a belief in modern-day miracles.
Mormon numbers also held steady over the period at 1.4 percent of the population, while the number of Jews who described themselves as religiously observant continued to drop, from 1.8 percent in 1990 to 1.2 percent, or 2.7 million people, last year. Researchers plan a broader survey on people who consider themselves culturally Jewish but aren't religious.
The study found that the percentage of Americans who identified themselves as Muslim grew to 0.6 percent of the population, while growth in Eastern religions such as Buddhism slightly slowed.
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Bedtime Prayers Article in Forum Letter
Lutheran Forum letter has recently put up an article of mine at their forum website.
It was published in the December issue of Forum Letter. Thanks to editor Richard Johnson for making it available.
You can read the entire article here.
Here are a couple of bits:
Rituals are more than habits. They are habits with a purpose. Our family is a great believer in rituals and they not only move our children to do something but also teach them. A table must be set before you can eat; bathing is a good idea for yourself and for those around you; and so on. Rituals are habits that shape and form a person.
One particular ritual that I have been thinking about lately is nighttime prayer. There are two prayers that have become a part of our children going to bed. One is a simple family prayer that my wife started when the kids were infants that has grown over the years. In it we give thanks for each other and God’s presence and ask forgiveness for any sins and finally we ask that Jesus would be with us in the night. The second is Martin Luther's evening prayer which concludes: “Into your hands we commend ourselves, our bodies and souls and all things. Let your holy angel be with us that the wicked foe may have no power over us.”
And ...
For most people these days, death is the great boogeyman of a godless age and of secular people. It mocks the pretensions of self-made men and sleep is the great reminder. Nighttime and going to sleep, which everyone must do from the billionaire to the baby, is like dying every day. One must close the eyes. One must cease activity. How one faces this challenge tells much of how one regards mortality.
And ...
Nighttime can be harried in busy households. The urge to rush through or even skip the prayers at the end of the day can be strong. But we are not just hurrying our children to bed or slicing out a portion of a long day for some peace and quiet. We are imparting a posture towards death, teaching them how to die well, in trust towards the God who gave them life and will continue to give them life even in death. Evening prayers point to the Father who heard the prayer of his Son in the ultimate Friday dusk and hears our prayers at the ending of earthly light. We sing of eternal light which pierced the lonely tomb of Jesus and will carry us through to that same bright morning.
It was published in the December issue of Forum Letter. Thanks to editor Richard Johnson for making it available.
You can read the entire article here.
Here are a couple of bits:
Rituals are more than habits. They are habits with a purpose. Our family is a great believer in rituals and they not only move our children to do something but also teach them. A table must be set before you can eat; bathing is a good idea for yourself and for those around you; and so on. Rituals are habits that shape and form a person.
One particular ritual that I have been thinking about lately is nighttime prayer. There are two prayers that have become a part of our children going to bed. One is a simple family prayer that my wife started when the kids were infants that has grown over the years. In it we give thanks for each other and God’s presence and ask forgiveness for any sins and finally we ask that Jesus would be with us in the night. The second is Martin Luther's evening prayer which concludes: “Into your hands we commend ourselves, our bodies and souls and all things. Let your holy angel be with us that the wicked foe may have no power over us.”
And ...
For most people these days, death is the great boogeyman of a godless age and of secular people. It mocks the pretensions of self-made men and sleep is the great reminder. Nighttime and going to sleep, which everyone must do from the billionaire to the baby, is like dying every day. One must close the eyes. One must cease activity. How one faces this challenge tells much of how one regards mortality.
And ...
Nighttime can be harried in busy households. The urge to rush through or even skip the prayers at the end of the day can be strong. But we are not just hurrying our children to bed or slicing out a portion of a long day for some peace and quiet. We are imparting a posture towards death, teaching them how to die well, in trust towards the God who gave them life and will continue to give them life even in death. Evening prayers point to the Father who heard the prayer of his Son in the ultimate Friday dusk and hears our prayers at the ending of earthly light. We sing of eternal light which pierced the lonely tomb of Jesus and will carry us through to that same bright morning.
Love, information and change
Love is the difficult realization that something other than oneself is real.
- Iris Murdoch
I find that a great part of the information I have was acquired by looking up something and finding something else on the way.
- Franklin P. Adams
Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.
- Leo Tolstoy
- Iris Murdoch
I find that a great part of the information I have was acquired by looking up something and finding something else on the way.
- Franklin P. Adams
Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.
- Leo Tolstoy
Friday, March 06, 2009
Rest in peace, One Eye.
From the First Things blog, here is a small post with a couple of smiles.
Hilaire Belloc’s little rhyme:
“Wherever the Catholic sun doth shine,
There’s laughter and dancing and good red wine.
At least I’ve always found it so.
Benedicamus Domino!”
and
An obituary:
“Willie ‘One Eye’ Kraemer, 91, a native and resident of Kraemer, died Saturday, Dec. 24, 2005. Visitation will be from 5 to 10 p.m. today and from 8 a.m. to funeral time Thursday at St. Lawrence Church in Kraemer. Mass will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at the church, with burial in the church cemetery.” After listing numerous survivors and those who went before, the obituary concludes with this: “He hunted alligators and enjoyed drinking. He was Catholic.” Rest in peace, One Eye.
Hilaire Belloc’s little rhyme:
“Wherever the Catholic sun doth shine,
There’s laughter and dancing and good red wine.
At least I’ve always found it so.
Benedicamus Domino!”
and
An obituary:
“Willie ‘One Eye’ Kraemer, 91, a native and resident of Kraemer, died Saturday, Dec. 24, 2005. Visitation will be from 5 to 10 p.m. today and from 8 a.m. to funeral time Thursday at St. Lawrence Church in Kraemer. Mass will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at the church, with burial in the church cemetery.” After listing numerous survivors and those who went before, the obituary concludes with this: “He hunted alligators and enjoyed drinking. He was Catholic.” Rest in peace, One Eye.
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
When There Are No Biblical or Theological Grounds to Change, Don’t
Robert Benne on the new ELCA draft statement on sexuality. This statement will be voted on this summer by the ELCA convention and if adopted will move the ELCA towards acceptance of homosexual practice.
Benne's essay is an excellent critique.
Benne's essay is an excellent critique.
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Briefly, Luther on temptation
God delights in our temptations and yet hates them. He delights in them when they drive us to prayer; he hates them when they drive us to despair. (Martin Luther)
My temptations have been my masters in divinity. (Martin Luther)
(I ran across these here at this blog. No attribution but they sound like Luther. )
My temptations have been my masters in divinity. (Martin Luther)
(I ran across these here at this blog. No attribution but they sound like Luther. )
Monday, March 02, 2009
“Well, if it’s a symbol, to hell with it.”
The Sunday New York times Book review has a nice review of a biography of Flannery O'Connor, one of my favorite novelists ( not that I read much fiction ... a flaw I must try to remedy.)
A couple of quotes from Flannery:
Mary McCarthy’s apartment, where McCarthy conceded that the communion wafer was a symbol of the Holy Ghost and a pretty good one, whereupon Flannery made her famous reply, “Well, if it’s a symbol, to hell with it.”
When asked why she wrote, she replied, “Because I’m good at it.”
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