What is a Methodist? By Thomas Lambrecht I have argued before that a consistent Methodist identity has been blurred and obscured in The United Methodist Church. What it means to be United Methodist varies from church to church and conference to conference. A wide latitude in what we believe, even
Church history is persistently a contentious affair, especially when it comes to debates about doctrine. From the Gnostics to the Modernists, these disputes get a lot of coverage in various histories of the Church. While our times have their own doctrinal disputes, we are faced with a pastoral crisis more
St. Thomas deals with free will and impeccability on several occasions: first, around 1254–1256, in his commentary on the second book of the Sentences; then, in 1258 or 1259, in the De Veritate; around 1259–1261, in the third book of the Contra Gentiles; around 1265–1268, in the first part of the
Did you know that the preparation for the Last Supper began with a miracle? It’s subtle, and most readers of the account will not see it—but when you understand the culture and the setting of the time, it’s obvious and it’s amazing. This week’s podcast explores the setting and doctrine
Of Borrowed Lawnmowers and United Methodist Clergy Status By Bob Phillips A man went to his neighbor’s house and asked to borrow his lawnmower. The neighbor said no. The man politely asked why, since it was sitting unused in the garage. The neighbor replied, “Well, I have to shave.” Puzzled,
In Romans 10:14 Paul says, “How, then, can they call on Him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about Him?” These questions and their relevance today drive so much of the “Disciples Multiplying Disciples” strategy within our Brentwood Baptist Church family. The church exists
Welcome to Sundays at All Hallows. This Sunday is the First Sunday after Pentecost in the liturgical calendar of the Western Church. It is also known as Trinity Sunday. It celebrates the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, the three Persons of God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy
All of the official documentation of the Church agrees that virginity or celibacy, whether embraced as one of the evangelical counsels vowed by consecrated religious, or as part and parcel of the vocation to the priesthood in the Roman Catholic communion, carries a special “sign” value. Virginity or celibacy is