It is impossible to meditate on the topic of “faith and politics” without considering church history and the seemingly endless involvement the Christian church (arguably all denominations) have had with (or against) political systems for the last 2,000+ years. It is viewed by many nowadays that there should be a separation between church and state. […]
Tag: History
On The Saints
The work of the Reformation does not end with the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation by any means. Today is All Saints’ Day, and on this day we remember all those who have gone before us, glorifying God through their lives on earth, for the sake of Jesus Christ and the Eternal Kingdom. We are […]
On Victory
On this day, the 500th Anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, we must ask ourselves: What would victory look like for the Reformation? And have we reached that point? Is victory the unification of Catholic and Lutheran churches? Is victory unification of all Christendom? Is victory joint statements on doctrines and beliefs? Is victory the honoring […]
On Strangers and Enemies
Strangers are not always our enemies and our enemies are not always strangers, but we often treat strangers like our enemies and our enemies like strangers. And that’s because strangers and enemies are both often simply the result of human-made barriers and conflict. Some barriers are so systemically ingrained in our world that we forget […]
On Rural and Urban
I’ve found this interesting: the scriptural narrative begins in a garden (Genesis 1-2) and ends in a city (Revelation 21). And I think it is worth pondering, what this means. Perhaps it means that God can be found in both the city and the country. In both the busyness of the city lifestyle and the […]
On The Church
Often when looking at the negative repercussions of the Protestant Reformation, we point to the disunity, division, and church splits it caused. The sadder reality though is that the Reformation caused so much hatred and violence between fellow Christ-followers. On the night He would be betrayed (after the betrayer had left the room) Jesus said to […]
On Relationships
Martin Luther challenged the church teachings on relationships for priests and got married. Protestant churches today often view this as a minor detail. A natural, easy thing to accept. However, we must realize the uniqueness of this action. Now, it may be that historically some priests had secret wives in Luther’s day, but there is […]
On Values
For Christ-followers, we may like to think our faith is the sole influence on our values, but other factors (such as modernity, history, culture, and nationality, to mention a few) influence our values as well. Some of this is okay (right and good), since we are meant to live in the present while working for the Eternal […]
On Nationalism
As workers of the Eternal Kingdom, Christ-followers must be wary of unfettered nationalism. For the Christ-follower, it is impossible to have full commitment to both God and country. Only to God. This indeed is a hard pill to swallow. We want to follow what is most tangible and present, and we find this often in […]
On History and Modernity
History can be a hard subject for the Christ-follower to reflect on and consider. So many dark, dangerous, and truly evil things were done (and are still done) in the name of Jesus. As those that follow the Light of the World, we have a duty to learn from history and absorb it in its entirety, […]
Relevant Reformation 