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.
He gazed into the obdurate dark, As tolled the clock the late hour of two. And then as if in a moment’s time He heard at three the horologic chime. Between these signals in the night His soul embraced in dreamful sleep– Wherein, within–a stream of signs That points him to his heart’s designs….
I revised the poem I sent you and thought I would send you the update. At Present The dark-rimmed clouds came sweeping in To shade the land like sullen sin. Such mirth is struck from human hearts; Such sombrous thought despair imparts! What chance today for solar bright? What hope for coming starlit…
The dark-rimmed clouds came sweeping in To shade the land like sullen sin. Such mirth is struck from human hearts; Such sombrous thought despair imparts! What chance today for solar bright? What hope for coming starlit night? The forecast calls for trem’rous storms. Their rage remorselessly deforms. “There is no hope,” so many…
Modern American culture defies any easy description. Overall, one could say that it has no center that would make it a coherent phenomenon. There are numerous hard things we can say about it. Modern American culture defies the traditional virtues, both cardinal–courage, self-control, justice, and prudence and theological–faith, hope, and love–in favor of sexual intemperance…
After a long respite, we continue our series on the early Christian apologists. Athenagoras was a second century Christian writer from Athens. He addresses his apology to Emperors Marcus Aurelius Antoninus and Lucius Aurelius Commodus. He reminds these rulers that nations have different customs, especially religious ones, that Rome tolerates, because atheism is impious. It…
For the purpose of review, we return to the verse that started it all. In I Peter we read, “But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make…
Was the article, State of the United States, disrespectful? Let me answer my own question. You should answer the question too. In that article I used such words as nonsense, psychosis, and silly to describe the views of those who oppose the Christian faith. They are strong words, but are they disrespectful of others? If they…
We live in the midst of confusion, uncertainty, chaos, turmoil, near anarchy, and violence. The thesaurus could provide many more negative terms to describe our miserable plight. Our elite offer us the option of complete rejection of our heritage, institutions, culture, and history in favor of a radical world view and agenda that conform to…
Albert Camus was a French philosopher whose literary output included essays and novels. Recently, I read his book, La Chute (The Fall), adding to my list of The Stranger, The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays, and The Plague. The Fall is unusual in that it is a monologue of a man to an interlocutor whom the narrator…
To be a disciple of Christ means that we are engaged in a battle against evil. A central tension in the plot of the Gospels is Christ’s battle with the devil and the human opponents who represent him or defend his cause (see the confession at Caesarea Philippi in Matthew 16: 23 concerning Peter’s rebuke) …
