The Templeton Committee met for the first time on October 21, 2015. Pastor Michael Tavella had received a $5000 grant from the John Templeton Foundation through the auspices of Earl Whipple, a staff member of the organization and a member of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church. The grant will be used to develop a manual for churches and individual Christians on how we should conduct ourselves when in conversation with atheists and others who do not attend Church (the “nones”), either one on one or in a public forum. The biblical basis for the project is I Peter 3: 15b-16. The proposal includes field testing the manual in church adult classes and then holding at least one public forum in which Christians and non-Christians dialogue with one another. These conversations will constitute a Christian defense of the faith (ἀπολογία, apologia, English-apology) and a witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
For the Day of Pentecost the Second Lesson appointed comes from the Book of Acts where Saint Peter addresses the crowd of Diaspora Jews gathered in Jerusalem for the celebration of the pilgrim Feast of Weeks. From different lands the visitors to the city spoke different languages. As a result of the descent of the…
Many people are familiar with the story of the Tower of Babel. At the Tower the people attempted to build a structure that would reach heaven. God frustrated their plans by confusing their languages, making it impossible for them to complete their task. The inspired writer of this story in the primeval history of Genesis…
The fires in the cities do not purify or cleanse. They destroy. The Holy Spirit, the fire of God makes clean those who believe. What renews the world is not the mob that destroys but the assembly of all those who hear the Word and receive the Sacraments, the holy catholic and apostolic church (The…
After Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, His enemies plotted to kill Him and Lazarus. Following the raising of Lazarus in chapter 13, Jesus predicted Judas’ betrayal. The dark clouds gathered. An extensive section of discourses of Jesus are found in chapters 14-17. It is in chapter 13 that we are told of Judas’…
Some who saw Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead believed in Him; others sought His death. Responding to those who were worried about Jesus’ bringing people to belief and the possible violent reaction of Rome, Caiaphas said, “You know nothing at all. Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man…
A virus is not just a virus. It has become the focus of the on-going ideological battle between the left and the right. Stop reading this article if you think you will be disappointed, because I do not take a political-ideological position. Rather, I will attempt to take a Christian position. The virus is not…
Lazarus, a friend of Jesus, was sick. Jesus was informed of his condition, but He delayed for two days His trip to Bethany where Lazarus lived. Before the Lord arrived, Lazarus had died. Martha, who met the Lord, chastised Him for not being there before her brother’s death. The two sisters, Mary and Martha, and…
When I was visiting a dying parishioner in the middle of the night, I spoke in the hallway with an orderly about religion I don’t remember how this conversation got started. He said to me that he was spiritual rather than religious. What he meant was that he had invented his own spirituality, his own…
Neither the French nor the Russian revolution was beneficial to the people. While the French revolution provided some benefit, it also established a reign of terror in which many people were killed and provided a platform for Napoleon and the Napoleonic wars. The Russian revolution provided little or nothing for the Russian people. Terror, especially under…
We moderns know about invisible realities of which our ancestors had no awareness. Micro-organism were first observed under a microscope in the late 17th century. Radiation beyond visible light was first detected at the very end of the 18th century. Microbes and radiation, not known till recent times, have a tremendous effect on our lives. …
