Saint-Patrick’s day excerpt

It is easy to miss the larger context of St. Partrick today. During the early Middle Ages, the the Roman world was in decline in continental Europe, but Celtic Christianity and spirituality were growing . Celtic Christianity was marked by a belief that God was very near, that the spiritual world was very real, and […]

A message in a bottle for pastors…

We’re always intrigued by the message in a bottle possibility. Well here is one that has been traveling the seas for some 1,400 years. The world and church was so radically different that it might seem like a message form another planet, but there’s some valuable advice for pastors today.

Thinking is Believing – Grace and Free Will

We’ve all heard that “seeing is believing.” Well Augustine seemed to think that “thinking was believing…” or at least he thought that believing was always preceded by thinking.

7 Interpretive Questions You Should Be Asking

I’ve been working with a group on Doing Everyday Theology. Here are seven great interpretative questions that can (and should:) be asked when looking at any passage of Scripture.

My druid is Christ

I’m doing some research on Cetlic Theology and Spirituality and have run across the very inspiring figure of Columba of Iona. Columba is one of the Holy Trio of Irish saints (along with St. Pattrick and St. Brigid) and is especially noted for the establishment of the monastic community of Iona and evangelizing Scotland.

Four Degrees of Love

Bernard was twenty-two when he walked into the monastery of Cîteaux in Dijon, France. Three years later, he would help establish a new Benedictine community named Claire Vallée or Clairvaux (thus the name Bernard of Clairvaux). Bernard’s times were those of religious extremes. He tended toward an extreme devotion to Mary. He was also a […]

The Power of a Praying Mother

If there is one church father that is easy and fashionable to recall, it is Augustine. He shaped the Christian Faith beyond measure, but who shaped him? Augustine penned these words in his Confessions concerning his late conversion, “O beauty so ancient and so new! Late have I loved you! You were within me while […]

Theology as Reaction

Where does theology begin? Well, mostly it begins with an issue that it is reacting to. When we look into the Church Fathers we see that a majority of their theology was in response to something, namely heresy or issues challenging the church. Irenaeus of Lyon was writing in response to Gnosticism. Tertullian was trying to […]