Posts Tagged ‘God’

On being Protestant and thinking about the Sacraments (Part 3)

This is a third part in a series. Don’t miss Part 1 and Part 2 (This post will stand alone, but does draw heavily on the previous two). As I’ve been thinking through Communion and Baptism, I considered the possibility that any action done by a believer in service of someone else is a sacrament. My...
April 26th, 2013 | Protestant, Religion | Read More

On being Protestant and thinking about the Sacraments (Part 2)

Part one of this series can be found here. I was baptized twice. I cringe when I think about it. In brief, I was baptized when I was 8, because it was a public declaration of my decision to follow Jesus 3-4 years before. I was re-baptized at 18 because I had “made my faith my own” and I...
April 25th, 2013 | Protestant, Religion | Read More

On being Protestant and thinking about the Sacraments (Part 1)

A Note from the Editor: This is the first in a three-part series on the Sacraments from a distinctly Protestant perspective. Today we’ll cover communion, tomorrow we’ll cover baptism, and Friday we’ll cover the possibility of the Church itself functioning as a Sacrament. Recently I’ve...
April 24th, 2013 | Protestant, Religion | Read More

Salad, Sex and Lent: Abstinence for a Purpose

I’m a virgin. You may have heard of us. My understanding of sex is based on a combination of fifth-grade conversations with my mom, accidentally running into people in the park who thought they were alone, and watching HBO. Not much on the personal experience end. While I have no problem admitting...
April 3rd, 2013 | Church, Holidays, Religion | Read More

Consider the Birds of the Air

Consider the birds of the air. Specifically, consider the sparrow. A person can learn as much from a bird such as this as they can from any other element of Creation. Maybe that’s why Jesus drew the eyes of the people to the birds of the air—he knew they were some of the best teachers, and they spoke...
March 28th, 2013 | Religion, The Gospel | Read More

House of Cards, Grief, and Loss

In the third episode of Netflix’s drama, House of Cards, our main character—the Machiavellian Francis Underwood, married to a regular Lady MacBeth—gives a sermon at the church in his hometown. He’s a southern boy through and through, living and growing up in the Bible belt. Underwood is forced...
March 19th, 2013 | Culture, Friendship, Religion | Read More

The Great Cynic Defeated (Job Series, Part 3)

This is part 3 in our series on Job. Don’t miss the first part here, and the second part here. Once again Satan has been repulsed, but he is patient. Job remains strong thus far, but Satan has all the time in the world. Job is in emotional and physical agony, and Satan even deprives him of rest...
August 31st, 2012 | Featured, Religion | Read More

…of my servant Job? (Job Series, Part 2)

This is the second part of a three-part series on Job. Read the first part here. Satan has been defeated, but he is nothing if not persistent. Job is stronger then Satan reckoned, yes, but that merely means that the ultimate cause of Job’s faith must lie in Job’s own person. Satan, of course,...
August 29th, 2012 | Featured, Religion | Read More

Hast Thou Heard… (Job Series, Part 1)

In The Everlasting Man, G. K. Chesterton calls Job “one of the colossal cornerstones of the world,” and in his introduction to the book of Job, he calls it one of the most interesting of all books, both modern and ancient. Further research, including an awesome commentary that I first...
August 27th, 2012 | Featured, Religion | Read More

Predictability and Familiarity

The entertainment industry, at least insofar as it is involved in telling stories, seeks to give us stories with twists. People jump through hoops to avoid spoiling stories; yes, sometimes people intentionally spoil stories, but those people are mean. We care about the sudden narrative shift, and we...
August 15th, 2012 | Featured, Film, Religion, The Gospel | Read More