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Catholic

2019-03-13T15:42:04-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

How Monotheism Arose with the Jews’ God of history

Last updated on: March 13, 2019 at 3:42 pm By Jack Hartjes

The story the Bible tells is a story of monotheism from beginning to end. But that does not reflect the real history of the Jewish people. For them monotheism only gradually became the general rule. The process started with the novel idea of a god of history, then developed into a whole new mindset about history and reality. This is the eighth in a series on the Creed of Christians. An introduction consists of my retelling of the Creed’s story.... Read more

The Creed

2019-04-29T08:16:45-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Shrinking Glaciers and SOTU’s Great Omission: The Church has Expertise to Respond

Last updated on: April 29, 2019 at 8:16 am By Jack Hartjes

In what ways and how much should the Church should get involved in politics? Presumably the sanctity of life is an issue where the Church has both interest and competence. Catholic sources have approved Trump’s defense of unborn life in his State of the Union address. Not many know that in recent decades the Church has also developed competency on global warming. The esteemed Pontifical Academy of Science has done groundbreaking work on the warming-caused shrinking of glaciers. Pope Francis insists that climate change is a moral and... Read more

Ecology

2019-03-13T15:41:40-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

What the Jews Gave Us – The Story of a World Going Somewhere

Last updated on: March 13, 2019 at 3:41 pm By Jack Hartjes

Among my crowd of acquaintances and friends are some Pagans. Present-day Pagans believe in a number of gods and goddesses, but I do not think they hold the cyclical worldview that lay under ancient Pagan beliefs, a world that depends on always going back to a sacred beginning, never forward to something new.. Between ancient Pagans and the modern world came the Jews, who could not long abide the thought of a world going nowhere. The take on reality that they... Read more

The Creed

2019-03-13T15:41:08-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

One God, Part 1: The Worldview behind the Many Gods of Paganism

Last updated on: March 13, 2019 at 3:41 pm By Jack Hartjes

The fourth word in the Nicene Creed is “one.” It distinguishes Jewish and Christian belief from Paganism, with its many gods. There’s more to it than just one versus many, though. It’s not as if Jews disbelieved in all the gods except one and atheists disbelieve in one more. Monotheism in its Jewish form arose in the midst of an ancient culture with many gods AND a definite view of reality. The Jews changed both. In the next few posts... Read more

The Creed

2019-04-29T07:53:57-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Enter into Life Blind, Crippled, and Maimed: Jesus Teaches Something New

Last updated on: April 29, 2019 at 7:53 am By Jack Hartjes

A priest in Madison, Wisconsin, got a laugh with the opening lines of his homily. He was preaching on the passage where Jesus recommends a startling new way to enter into life: If your hand/foot/eye causes you to sin, cut it off/pluck it out. Better for you to enter into life [without them]. (Mark 9:43-48) “That is why we Catholics do not always interpret the Bible literally,” the priest quipped. I don’t suppose there are many Christians who do interpret this saying of Jesus... Read more

Stories of Jesus

2019-03-13T15:40:21-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Inclusive Language: Its Place in Church and in Personal Piety

Last updated on: March 13, 2019 at 3:40 pm By Jack Hartjes

Inclusive language is an important, but puzzling, theme in the Church’s life. I was at a dinner party with friends, and after we’d drunk a decent amount of wine, the conversation turned to religion. I made a statement referring to God as “he,” and one of the participants immediately corrected. “You mean ‘she,’ don’t you?” I thought, If I’m going to talk about God when I’m this far under the influence, I shouldn’t have to worry about inclusive language or my personal pronouns. This... Read more

The Creed

2019-03-13T15:39:26-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

God as Mother: Thinking with the Bible and the Church

Last updated on: March 13, 2019 at 3:39 pm By Jack Hartjes

There’s no question: The images the Bible uses for God are overwhelmingly male. God is judge, shepherd, warrior—all male roles in Biblical times, though not necessarily so today. Mostly God is king in the Hebrew Bible and Father in Christian scriptures. Is God ever Mother? This is the fifth in a series on the Creed of Christians. An introduction consists of my retelling of the Creed’s story. That and links to other posts in the series are here. God as mother in the Bible Female... Read more

The Creed

2021-08-13T14:19:45-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Praying the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary with Scripture

Last updated on: August 13, 2021 at 2:19 pm By Jack Hartjes

Before Pope Saint John Paul II added the Luminous Mysteries to the traditional Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious ones, I felt something was missing. I wondered if, among other things, the Transfiguration ought to have been included. I would have put the Transfiguration with the Glorious Mysteries, though. John Paul II did much more than add some mysteries to the Rosary. He brought the whole working career of Jesus into this important part of the prayer life of the Church. There are theologies of salvation, soteriologies, that emphasize the Incarnation,... Read more

Rosary

2019-03-13T15:38:39-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Credo, I Believe in … the Father (Comma)

Last updated on: March 13, 2019 at 3:38 pm By Jack Hartjes

The first thing we say about God in the Creed is that God is Father. Actually, in the current English translation we name God “Father almighty.” I prefer to separate these two ideas with a comma. As I explained in my last post, I can think of God as Father and as almighty, but not both at once. If you’re thinking of yourself as especially mighty, I suggest becoming a father to cure your delusion. This is the fourth in a series on the Creed of... Read more

The Creed

2019-03-13T15:37:47-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

‘The Weakness of God is Stronger Than … Strength’

Last updated on: March 13, 2019 at 3:37 pm By Jack Hartjes

St. Paul wrote: “The weakness of God is stronger than human strength.” (1 Cor 1:25) Formerly, I translated this in my mind as a clever way of saying, “God’s strength is really strong.” I take God’s weakness more literally now. This is the third in a series on the Creed of Christians. An introduction consists of my retelling of the Creed’s story. That and links to other posts in the series are here. God’s kingdom When I look at Jesus, I don’t see a lot... Read more

The Creed

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