As the lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19 drags on, questions regarding the nature and place of the Eucharist are becoming more and more important. Christians in all traditions are now forced to grapple with the reality that it may be some months before congregations and church families can meet again in person. Churches have had to scramble to figure out how they can keep on meeting, many turning to digital mediums like Zoom or Facebook Live to do so. However, the issue of whether the Eucharist may be celebrated by all members of the congregation in their homes remains hotly debated.
We are so thrilled to announce that coming soon in the next few weeks we will be launching The Two Cities podcast! Be on the lookout, and be sure to subscribe and spread the word when the new pod arrives. We began this blog back in the summer of 2011. Back then blogs were very popular; everyone had a blog and everyone blogged about everything. Blogs still exist, of course, but their dominance has been...
Over here at Bethel Seminary in St. Paul, MN we recently had an Apologetics event where we discussed the topic of Mormonism. Specifically, we wanted to help people think through the common question of whether Mormonism is really just another Christian denomination. Here’s a video of the event with three discrete talks and a question and answer time that follows: The talks include an introduction by Campus Pastor at Bethel University, Rev. Laurel Bunker, on...
I’m currently participating in an extracurricular reading group with students here at Bethel Seminary. We just finished reading through the first five books of St Augustine’s Confessions. It’s been a blast to read and discuss, and I thought I’d share one of my reflections so far. As I was reading the beginning of Book V, I was intrigued by St Augustine’s theological engagement with the Manichean sect that he was a part of for some time...
It’s been seven months since I have been involved in Biblical-Academic pursuit. In that time I’ve transitioned to a fairly normal blue-collar job, taken up interest in a career path in fitness (shameless plug: if you’re looking for coaching, I do Powerlifting, Bodybuilding and General Fitness!), got engaged and started planning a wedding. My primary focus has shifted away from scouring through libraries to making long-term financial goals, figuring out how to plan a date...
What is Fundamentalism? Christian fundamentalists (think R.A. Torrey, A.C. Dixon, or recently, John Piper, Norman Geisler, Paul Washer, John MacArthur, Wayne Grudem, etc.) are part of the movement in Evangelicalism that originated in 1910s America. This phrase has been used to connote religious bigotry, abuse, and close-mindedness, but fundamentalists are merely Evangelicals with a complex (we will see whether this complex is merited further on). This was the branch of American Christianity that found its roots...
What is the image of God? As I thought and read about this I came through very interesting concepts that are worth sharing. Let’s start with Paul’s statement of the image of God. Colossians 1:15 states that Jesus is the image of God. Now, Jesus was not simply human, he was fully God and fully human. Then, if He is the image of God, then we, who are only human must be something else. If...
In the Gospel According to St. Mark, Jesus introduces and institutes the Eucharist Feast in very few words: And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take, this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, “This is my blood...
I started a new job working as a high school humanities teacher for a public charter school the second week of July. As one of many new teachers coming into the charter school network, I have spent the last two weeks sitting through orientation lectures and training seminars. Between sessions on “Student Engagement” and “Discussion for Your Classroom” I’ve had the pleasure of meeting other new teachers. I’ve spent the last ten years of my...
Recently a new phenomenon has hit the Christian scene becoming a staple of most radio stations and many Sunday morning worship services, Reckless Love. No, not the Finnish Guns and Roses cover band, the worship song by Cory Asbury. This song, despite its insanely huge popularity, has taken some criticism from many high profile Christian authorities. Most recently, John Piper offered some veiled criticism of the song, implying that, even though he didn’t know the...
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