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The Diagonal Way

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General Christian

2022-08-03T07:23:45-05:00

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.

Grief and Hope in a Suffering Creation

Last updated on: August 3, 2022 at 7:23 am By Anthony D Baker

While traveling this week, I read Elizabeth Kolbert’s Sixth Extinction. The book, in my opinion, is worth the hype and Pulitzer that it has collected. It’s got me thinking about a blogpost I wrote for my seminary in the early days of the pandemic. I’m reposting it here as an invitation to contemplate grief and hope. I also want to note, as I approach a year of The Diagonal Way, and 100 posts on this page graciously hosted by the... Read more

Uncategorized

2022-07-27T09:58:58-05:00

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.

ROCOR: The (A) Russian Church Abroad

Last updated on: July 27, 2022 at 9:58 am By Anthony D Baker

This summer I’ve continued my life-long submersion into Russian theological and intellectual culture. I’ve written previously of the theological disaster that is Patriarch Kirill’s current political stance. A new book by Sarah Riccardi-Swartz, alongside a no longer new book by Lesley Chamberlain, has given me deeper insight into this disaster. Especially as it relates to the U.S.-based ROCOR, or the Russian Orthodox Church outside of Russia. Orthodoxy in Appalachia The Riccardi-Swartz book is currently stirring up controversy in the American Orthodox... Read more

Doctrines for Various Occasions

2022-07-23T08:03:51-05:00

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.

Hosea, The Diagonal Prophet

Last updated on: July 23, 2022 at 8:03 am By Anthony D Baker

The prophets of Judah and Israel are often seen as vertical in their messaging. The hand of God, that is, reaches straight down from heaven with a burning coal and they suddenly have something to say. Despite being just a boy (Jeremiah), a man of unclean lips (Isaiah), or a shepherd and sycamore arborist from far away (Amos), God puts words in their mouths. I don’t think this is the full story for any of the prophets. But it is... Read more

Doctrines for Various Occasions

Biblical Interpretation

Family

Prophecy

2022-07-19T08:28:39-05:00

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.

Adventure and Mystery in Scott’s Rob Roy

Last updated on: July 19, 2022 at 8:28 am By Anthony D Baker

Those who have been reading this column will be aware of my summer adventures in the U.K. With the help of a grant for seminary professors like us, my wife and I had the privilege of wandering from the southern edge of England all the way to Edinburgh, Scotland. On the train north I alternated between watching the landscape and, just because I’m a dreamy romantic, reading about Francis Osbaldistone’s journey through the same lands in Sir Walter Scott’s Rob... Read more

Theology and Literature

mystery

2022-07-17T12:50:27-05:00

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.

Two Summer Poems

Last updated on: July 17, 2022 at 12:50 pm By Anthony D Baker

This past week I’ve been homemaking. Cooking, hosting family. Saying my prayers while watching the barn swallows on my patio hatch. Sitting and reading while my daughter rides her horse at the nearby farm. Rather than my usual meditation on text or idea, I’ll depart into the (for me, less safe!) literary landscape. Here are two poems. The second I imagine as a hymn, though I suppose musicians (I am not one) would need to play around with the lines... Read more

Ecotheology

Theology and Literature

2022-07-08T13:21:56-05:00

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.

Why is Jesus of Nazareth Important?

Last updated on: July 8, 2022 at 1:21 pm By Anthony D Baker

A Patheos reader sends us this question. When it comes to faith, the ground level question is often the one to ask. Christians gather to baptize in Jesus’ name and preach from the Bible about his life, death, and resurrection. We celebrate his birth by pulling out all the stops. We attempt to live lives that, through integrity and generosity, are faithful to his. But why is Jesus of Nazareth so important? Can Anything Good Come from Nazareth? Consider the... Read more

Doctrines for Various Occasions

2022-07-06T07:35:24-05:00

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.

Apocalyptic Hospitality: A Sermon on Luke 10:1-20

Last updated on: July 6, 2022 at 7:35 am By Anthony D Baker

This morning our gospel points us to what I’m going to call apocalyptic hospitality. My message is this: you are a unique invitation into the divine life that God has sent out into the world. Slowing Down to See In Luke 10, Jesus is sending out 70 Apostles like harvesters into the fields, but also like sheep among wolves. To get a sense of what he’s up to here, let’s back up a few verses into ch 9. The mood... Read more

Doctrines for Various Occasions

Apocalyptic

Biblical Interpretation

Gospel according to Luke

Trinity

2022-07-02T07:37:38-05:00

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.

Tammy Faye and the Prosperity Gospel

Last updated on: July 2, 2022 at 7:37 am By Anthony D Baker

Long plane rides provide guilt free screen time. Especially headed west when, the way I see it, one’s only job is to stay awake and fight the coming jet lag. It’s just self care, really. Which is how, in between Ghostbusters and Licorice Pizza, I found myself absorbed in the life of Tammy Faye Bakker and the mysteries of the prosperity gospel. The Bakker Story Some of you won’t know, or will only vaguely recognize the name. Tammy Faye and her... Read more

Doctrines for Various Occasions

Evangelicalism

Prosperity Gospel

2022-06-29T09:25:36-05:00

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.

Lear’s Shadow: Reading Shakespeare with the Army

Last updated on: June 29, 2022 at 9:25 am By Anthony D Baker

My travels this month gave me the unique opportunity to discuss tragedy, courage, and Shakespeare’s King Lear with a group of UK army chaplains. I called my talk “Lear’s Shadow.” The entire experience was unlike any other I’ve had in my life. Tragedy at the Chapel The invitation came from Fr. Deiniol Morgan, a chaplain based in London who, among many other responsibilities, organizes study days for his colleagues. His energy for building connections between art, theology, and the hard work... Read more

Theology and Literature

2022-06-29T09:47:39-05:00

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.

My Date with Rowan William

Last updated on: June 29, 2022 at 9:47 am By Anthony D Baker

Last week I had the pleasure of talking theology, literature, and ecology with Rowan Williams. I’ll admit feeling a bit like a kid from the Indiana woods as I waited for him at the pub inside King’s Cross railway station. I’d asked the servers to give me a table in a quiet section. They’d taken me to a perfect spot in a room in the back, but then I worried about how Williams might find me. “Do you know what... Read more

Ecotheology

Theology and Literature

Literature

Old Testament

Rowan Williams

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