Presiding Bishop Curry’s Christmas Message 2018 Via the Office of Public Affairs In the Third Chapter of John’s Gospel, Jesus says at one point, “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that all who believe in him should not perish but have everlasting life.” For years, I’ve often thought that that passage only referred to Jesus giving his life as a … [Read more...] about ‘Love Came Down at Christmas’
redemption
Relentlessly Baptismal
Knight of Cups Dogwood Films and Waypoint Entertainment Directed by Terrence Malick Review by Hannah Ruth Earl The mythos of a California setting is culture-worn and well trod. Waves and palm trees serve as harbingers of a particularly American form of self-direction via self-destruction. In Knight of Cups, director Terrence Malick subverts this popular narrative … [Read more...] about Relentlessly Baptismal
No Substitute for Substitution
Defending Substitution: An Essay on Atonement in Paul By Simon Gathercole. Baker Academic. Pp. 128. $19.99 Review by Fleming Rutledge It may or may not come as a surprise to some readers of The Living Church to know that the simple statement, “Jesus Christ died in my place for my sins,” might bring down the wrath of the academic community upon the unsuspecting head … [Read more...] about No Substitute for Substitution
Still-Amazing Grace
By Retta Blaney“I am not what I ought to be. I am not what I hope to be. But by the grace of God, I am certainly not what I was.” — John NewtonChristopher Smith had never heard of John Newton when, with a little time to spare and in search of some air conditioning, he browsed through the children’s section of a library in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, looking for inspiration … [Read more...] about Still-Amazing Grace
Christmas and Pelagius
The Rt. Rev. Scott Anson Benhase, Bishop of Georgia, writes in his newsletter, eCrozier: Research released this fall illuminated something I’ve had a hunch about for some time: Many Christians, even those who claim they hold orthodox belief, actually have theological convictions that aren’t congruent with the Church’s traditional teaching. In some ways, this shouldn’t be … [Read more...] about Christmas and Pelagius