The Wittenberg Door

Joan of Arc’s Grief

My grief would overwhelm me if I were not in God's grace. — Joan of Arc, February 24, 1431

Else Lasker-Schüler’s Grief

Her work is certainly redolent of sorrow and, as she describes it, the eternity that dwells within her. But her words also carry hope and surprising faith that she will see her son again.

Falling is Not Failure, and Getting up is Not the Point

Life knocks us down. It is the price of this world, however much we may kid ourselves otherwise. Our falls become part of us.

Pastoring while Living in the Trenches of Prison

Pastoral ministry in prison can change lives, but it doesn’t magically erase the pain of incarceration.

An Ode to the “Rest Is History”

For the task of understanding the past demands honesty, humility, and respect for all aspects of human nature, from the material to the intellectual and volitional and—above all—the spiritual.

Sacramental Ontology in a Christian School

To gaze upon creation through a sacramental lens is to admit that God is God and we are not; it is an antidote to the poison of Genesis 3.

On Beating Dead Horses

But I wonder: as it strains to get over Christ, will the West survive without noticing all the other beaten horses of the world? Or will it one day break its supposed sanity and collapse back into a foregone pity?

Sisyphus, Don’t Go it Alone

A Non-Believer Ponders Life, Death, and Staring into the Abyss

The Census Taker in a Church Pew, part 6

This rural mountain church continues to be good because it continues to do what is necessary.

Don’t Bite the Hand That Taketh Away

God is perverted in our minds from a giver into an imminent enemy. He becomes the all-knowing one who alone reads our hearts’ desires and who alone, in His power, can prevent their satisfaction.