The Fourth Discourseman “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.” The so-called parable of the prodigal son, masterfully brought to life in this painting by Rembrandt, is justifiably famous.Continue reading “Brothers of the heart”
Category Archives: Church
God of the Valley
The Fourth Discourseman It’s a common experience in the Christian life to feel near to God when things are going well. I don’t mean well in a purely worldly sense; spiritual flourishing can ripen in the midst of great worldly pain, and sometimes misfortune even adds to that. There are moments when we know aContinue reading “God of the Valley”
Good works are good
The Fourth Discourseman Why should we do good works? There’s a way of telling the gospel that makes this a normative question, perhaps even a virtuous question. The logic goes like this. I am a sinner, and the consequence of my sin is God’s righteous judgment. But God has, graciously, provided a way to dealContinue reading “Good works are good”
Lessons from early-modern atheism
The Fourth Discourseman It’s something of a truism to observe that today belief in God is less ubiquitous than it was in past incarnations of our society. I could cite Pew Centre research that seems to show the decline of religion in the United States, or similar data for European countries; but the main pointContinue reading “Lessons from early-modern atheism”
The Golden Rule
So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them… Jesus, Matthew 6:12
Don’t Love Everyone
And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” And he said to them, “LetContinue reading “Don’t Love Everyone”
Green Conservatism, Green Christianity
The First Discourseman Conservatives, Christians, and most of all conservative Christians are unenthusiastic about the environment. Largely it’s an issue that goes unmentioned; few would say it doesn’t matter, but the more radical calls for environmental justice or stewardship are met with indifference at best.
The Four Discoursemen 