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Au contraire! John of Damascus, Maximus the Confessor et al. countered the persistence of the dualists into their own time; indeed, as they stood as Christian theologians of the East in the 7th and 8th centuries. For Augustine, in his pagan days, he partook of an early dualistic religion, known as Manicheanism. This type of dualism, indeed, as it was imbibed by the Gnostics, and even some so-called Christian Gnostics, gained a foothold into the life of the Church, the world, that would perdure even into our present in the 21st century. For the Confessor and the Damascene, they were…

Prepare In today’s gospel lesson we find Jesus “withdrawing” to Galilee. This happens right after Jesus’ temptation in the desert. Jesus often withdraws in order to pray or be alone. This time, we can assume that this is not only a departure toward a new place, but also leaving a situation with Herod that may have been dangerous for him. By Matthew’s account, today’s reading is the introduction to Jesus’ ministry. Pay attention to his movement. What is Jesus up to, and how can we think about this in terms of our own ministry? When we read scripture (or anything, really),…

“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.   Prayer prompts: For an end to war, conflict, and uncertainty especially in Gaza, South Sudan, Ukraine, Iran, and Venezuela……

Athanasius thought of sin and the fractured life with God, as a dissolution. Annihilationism has been in the news lately (because of Kirk Cameron’s recent disclosure that he now holds to the conditional immortality or annihilationist position in regard to hell). There is a sense that at the last judgment those spiritually outside of Christ will finally be dissolved; we could even say, annihilated. But the fact of the matter remains, according to Scripture’s teaching: the final annihilation of fallen human beings will be an everlasting existence in the midst of a conscious annihilation. Such that, the individual person will…

Issue 102 of Administration Matters January: Start the year strong with Portico’s 2026 New Year Checklist Kick off 2026 with tools and reminders designed to support your benefits administration work, including reviewing account access, reporting compensation changes, and accessing clergy and church tax guides. These quick checks can help ensure accurate benefits, smooth administration, and a confident start to the year for you and your employees. >More IRS issues standard mileage rates for 2026 Beginning Jan. 1, 2026, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car, van, pickup or panel truck are: • 72.5 cents per mile driven…

“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.   Prayer prompts: For an end to war, conflict, and uncertainty especially in Gaza, South Sudan, Ukraine, Iran, and Venezuela……

The creator of the Dilbert comic series, Scott Adams, just died today after a long battle with metastatic prostate cancer. He was also a popular author focusing on matters of daily life, and cultural commentary. I followed him on X. He had been publishing videos discussing his cancer, and the state he was in at that moment. Only a few weeks ago he said that he didn’t have much time left. Just a day or two ago he was placed into hospice care; and today he died. During these last few weeks, he said that he was considering becoming a…

ELCA Observes National Day of Racial Healing   CHICAGO (Jan. 15, 2026) — In observance of the 2026 National Day of Racial Healing, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), in partnership with Augsburg Fortress Publishers, will host “Just Us Narratives: A Night of Centering Multiracial Voices Across the ELCA” on Tuesday, Jan. 20, from 6-8 p.m. Central time. The free program will be available online and in person at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church Celebration Campus in Naperville, Ill. The National Day of Racial Healing — an annual observance that follows Martin Luther King Jr. Day — is hosted by the W.K. Kellogg…

Prepare Today marks the second Sunday after Epiphany when we again consider the baptism of Jesus and the different symbols used to describe him, as well as others. The Gospel of John begins proclaiming the good news of Christ in a way that is quite confusing at first glance, abruptly dropping us into John’s story. We read who John is not and who Jesus is said to be. Alongside this Gospel reading, in Psalm 40, we read a thanksgiving for all the ways God shows up for the psalmist in the midst of despair and fear.  Both passages present different…

German anthropologist and philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach stated: God is “the outward projection of a human’s inward nature.” A very telling observation with reference to a postEnlightenment turn-to-the-subject worldpicture. This remains a fitting observation even for our 21st century time; i.e., that people, by nature (according to Scripture, and empirical observation), in the inverse, have collapsed the classical attributes of God into the mirror of their own image. A postmodern, normative relativistic people simply wake up in the morning, look in the mirror in the bathroom, and say: “hello there God.” Even if not this overtly, it is the way us…