The Articles of Religion of the Church of England state in article XXV that sacraments are “not only badges or tokens of Christian men’s profession” but that they are “sure witnesses,” “effectual signs of grace, and God’s good will towards us.” Further, sacraments work “invisibly” in humanity and “not only quicken but also strengthen and confirm” humanity’s faith in Jesus. It is within these bounds that Lancelot Andrewes preaches his sermon on the Holy Spirit on Pentecost — Whit-Sunday — in 1625. In a sermon ostensibly about the Holy Spirit, Andrewes presents a strong scriptural and theological case for baptismal regeneration — baptism with actual effects — and salvation through adoption. Andrewes accomplishes this while maintaining space for faith — the Reformation’s sola fide —, ensuring God’s initiative, and resisting ex opere operato understandings of sacraments. In his sermon, Andrewes presents baptism as an act whereby God creates the ark that makes his adopted children holy and leads them to salvation in Jesus Christ.
Read more...Anglicanism is a diverse and varied tradition. Before the Reformation, Anglicanism refers to whatever Christians were doing1 in the British Isles. Post-reformation, Anglicanism applies to the ecclesial bodies identifying with the pre-denominational Christianity of Britain and continuing to live in that communion.2 Anglicanism, on the one hand, identifies as an ancient expression of the Christian faith existing before the Great Schism. Thus, Anglicanism is — with the Roman and Eastern churches — a Catholic and apostolic body. Further, however, the Anglican Communion did not resist the Reformation. It accepted and adopted many reformational tenants; Anglicans identify — to varying degrees — as at least Reformed, but also Protestant. Reformed and yet Catholic is the lived middle way — via media — of Anglicanism.
Read more...A modern English translation of Andreas Althamer’s 1527 Dialloge hoc est, conciliatio locorum scripturae, qui prima facie inter se pugnare videntur extended and translated into early Modern German in 1528 in Nürnberg (Nuremberg) and published as Diallage, das ist vereynigung der streytigen sprüch der schrifft, welche im esten anplick, scheynen wider einander zesein.
Nichts streyten auch dise zwen sprüch / denn das herz Pharaonis ist ein mal verhert aus dem gericht Gottes / nacher nit mehr erweyckt. / Got hat im kein new hertz geben und das staynen herz von im genumen / sonder in seiner blindheyt gelassen / das er an im erzeygte sein glori. Darumb leydt nicht daran du sagest. / Pharao hab sein herz verhert oder sey im aus dem rath Gottes verhert worden. / Denn was Gott in uns thüt / das thun wir auch. / Was die axt thüt / das thut der zymmerman auch. / (Was der werckmeister thüt dz instrument auch) / feyrt er / sie auch wirckt er sei mit. / Der hamer schmidt mit dem schmid und ist baydes war / das fewz macht das eysen weych der schmid macht das eysen weych. / Pharao war ein vaß des zorns / und wiewol er etwo von seiner boßheit durch die mirakel und zaychen erschreckt / abstund / so ist erdoch bald wider in sin art geraten. / Er mochte nit warlich von herzen layd tragen uber sein boßheit / denn das staynen herz ward nicht von im genumen / sonder ye mehr und mehr wurde er verhert / nicts bewegt von wunder und zaychen. / Dann die natur Gottes ist / das sei die gotlosest mehr und mehr verstockt, / verblendt, und böser macht. / wie die sunne den schelmen stinckent macht / und die böse augen haben gar plendt / ist doch die ursach nicht in der sunnen / sonder an den augen und schelmen. / Also erregt Gottes wort die art der gotlosen / wo es auff sie scheynt / und ist doch den gotlosen wesen feynd / Psal. 5 wie die sunne dem gestanck / was für einer natur eyn yeder ist / also wirckt das wort in im. / Ist er aus Got geporen und ein Christ / so wirckt es in im leben und selickeit. / Ist er Adam und nicht widergepron / so wirckts nichts denn todt und verdammus in im. / Wie die sunne das wax waych macht, / den laym hört / das gras grün das hew dürr/ und ist doch ein sunne / die in einem yeden wirckt was es ist / und ist ein ursach aller ding on schuld.
Read more...Though I’m not a huge fan of JavaScript, I include a small bit of it in this site to track page views and to generate the tag cloud on my search page. Since my project had already been polluted with JavaScript, I decided a while back to go all in and use WebPack and Gulp to bundle my JavaScript code, build my Hugo site, minify everything, and then upload the whole thing to S3.
Read more...On October 8, I was invited to preach at McKendree Village where I did my field education last year. It was a blessing to be back with so many friends and to see the healing God had brought to many of the people I had visited in the rehabilitation center.
Since I’m taking A.J. Levine’s course on Mark this semester, I decided to preach on the miracles of the feeding of the 5000 and Jesus walking on water in Mark 6:30-52. My focus was on how God has revealed himself to us and how we often miss the Mark. Though we miss the mark, however, there is still hope. As Jesus was patient with the disciples, he will be patient with us. If we, like the crowd, go to the places Jesus will be — among the poor, the sick, the prisoner, the widow, etc. — he will meet us there. If we open our hearts to him, Jesus will be our shepherd.
Read more...Recently I came across the need to automatically update my status in Slack. I have class Monday and Tuesday afternoons/evenings which requires me to leave work a little early. As I’m often rushed, I don’t always remember to set my status. This has, at times, left my team waiting on a response to a message I won’t see for a few hours.
Luckily, using Slack’s legacy tokens and following the guidance of Made by Munsters I was able to use IFTTT to quickly automate the updating of my Slack status.
Read more...
]
]
]
]