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I think I am going to start writing more ‘Book Impressions’ in the days to come, for the blog. I won’t be writing full fledged reviews, but just presenting my raw impressions as I finish this or that book. By the way, I do read a lot of theology books as time passes by; I just rarely share any of that here (you mostly get my Barth readings and reflections these days). Anyway, I just finished another book, and below is my reflection on it. The book: Bernard McGinn, Visions of the End: Apocalyptic Traditions in the Middle Ages. I started…

“We said at the beginning of the 2025 Kansas legislative session that we were expecting to bear witness more than passing or stopping particular legislation, and so it turned out,” said Rabbi Moti Rieber, Executive Director of Kansas Interfaith Action (KIFA) in the ELCA-affiliated state public policy office network. This month’s SPPO Spotlight Series entry is a look at some of the ways KIFA bears witness through advocacy. KIFA works with the ELCA Central States Synod and is a strategic partner of the Kansas-Oklahoma Conference of the United Church of Christ (UCC), the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas, and the Mercy…

Faith Lens is on a summer hiatus until September 2025. Thank you for being a part of our faithful community of readers!   ELCA Blogs

The following is part of something I wrote back in 2008 on a doctrine of the Trinity. It requires greater context, particularly as these things relate to God’s freedom in election. But I’m simply going to parachute this in without its further context, to be provocative. With the above in mind, apply this being/becoming in the life of God to the incarnation of Christ; what does this imply? It implies that in the very ousia or being of God, the Son is always and already becoming deus incarnandus (God in the flesh Jn 1:14). In other words, what Jesus becomes in ‘historic time’, in…

“For what shall we pray?” is a weekly post inviting individuals, groups, and congregations to lift up our world in prayer. This resource is prepared by a variety of leaders in the ELCA and includes prayer prompts, upcoming events and observances, and prayer suggestions from existing denominational worship materials. You are encouraged to use these resources as a starting point, and to adapt and add other concerns from your local context. More information about this resource can be found here.   In the coming weeks, those in the United States will mark two significant anniversaries: five years since the murder…

Thumbnail created originally by Leighton Flowers (Caleb) I was listening to James White live today on his Dividing Line vlogcast, and what he reinforces over and over is that he is what some are calling a ‘biblicist,’ or what I would identify as a solo Scriptura or nuda Scriptura proponent, as far as the way that he approaches Scripture. In this way, James White and his archnemeses, Leighton Flowers, ironically affirm the same bibliology and its attending hermeneutic. It is both modern, postEnlightenment, and Lockean (i.e., tabula rasa) in orientation. That is, it sees Scripture and its reception in a…

By Emily Ahern, ELCA Hunger Advocacy Fellow [About the Author]  On May 1st, many observed the public holiday May Day, otherwise known as International Workers’ Day. This day is set aside specifically to commemorate working class people and to shed light on the demands made by people involved in the labor movement. Christians have intertwined with this movement, historically and today, and Lutheran teaching shapes our point of view.    A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE  May 1 was specifically chosen to commemorate the strike which would culminate in the Haymarket Riot, a clash between labor protesters and police on May 4, 1886…

Catalyst Question Who are the most helpful people in your life? What makes them so helpful for you? Flourishing Together Recently, Baylor University researchers released initial results from a new study on human flourishing. This global research follows hundreds of thousands of people in hopes of understanding what factors lead to a “good life.” That’s how the researchers understand flourishing. More than personal happiness or security, flourishing is a kind of holistic satisfaction. More than just feeling happy in the moment, to flourish is to feel like you’re thriving in most, if not all, areas of life. The results were…

O Lord, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above the heavens! 2 Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, Because of Your enemies, That You may silence the enemy and the avenger. –Psalm 8 I want to underscore one simple yet profound point by way of reflection on the above Scripture. ‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength.’ Ultimately, we understand as Christians that there is an archetype Babe elected for the world from eternity past, born of the Virgin Mary, wrapped in swaddling cloths and…

“For what shall we pray?” is a weekly post inviting individuals, groups, and congregations to lift up our world in prayer. This resource is prepared by a variety of leaders in the ELCA and includes prayer prompts, upcoming events and observances, and prayer suggestions from existing denominational worship materials. You are encouraged to use these resources as a starting point, and to adapt and add other concerns from your local context. More information about this resource can be found here.   In the coming weeks, those in the United States will mark two significant anniversaries: five years since the murder…