The Road to Perdition is Paved by Antichrists

Posted on June 29, 2015 by Paul Harris

I feel sorry for the LGBT community – if “community” is what a group of people who prey on each other sexually can be called. Right up till June 26, though we celebrated them in song and on screen, though we revered them as downtrodden, our society didn’t legitimize homosexuality. With gay marriage being the law of the land, we have both redefined marriage and recognized homosexuality as normal. Pigs now fly; fish now drown, and the last barricade on their road to perdition has been taken down. Continue reading →

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Lutheran Hour Ministries Wants to Connect You with Their Lutheranism

Posted on June 22, 2015 by Paul Harris

Lutheran Hour Ministries has developed an adult instruction course to connect you to their vision of Christianity. The course is titled “God Connects – A Course in Christianity.” It’s a 12 part course, and it is better than the 4 – 8 hour one day classes offered in my area. It may even be better than CPH’s Lutheranism 101 which aims to be more popular than confessional. But like the latter it tiptoes around the fellowship issue. They mention close and closed Communion – equating the two – but at the end of the day they are vague about how those who don’t confess the same faith are not to commune together or how it is impossible to hold contradictory faiths. Here are their own words. Continue reading →

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A Letter NOT from the Trash Can

Posted on June 15, 2015 by Paul Harris

Not all my letters end up in trash cans. I ran across this one from 1999 which Logia did publish. Continue reading →

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The Body for the Body

Posted on June 8, 2015 by Paul Harris

I haven’t been satisfied with how liturgical worship has been defended, and I think its detractors, rather successfully, have been using Colossians 2: 16 to paint it with the same brush Paul used to paint Old Testament ceremonies. Continue reading →

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More Computing Power than it took to get to the Moon

Posted on June 1, 2015 by Paul Harris

How many times have you heard that a desktop computer, a laptop, a tablet, and now I suppose a smartphone has more computing power than they had to get to the moon? I don’t know about that one way or the other. I do know that we shouldn’t forget that a similar thing can be said about Bible manuscripts. Continue reading →

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Like Shepherd and Sheep to Slaughter

Posted on May 11, 2015 by Paul Harris

Theodore Roosevelt was running for governor of New York. He had gained renowned as the leader of the Rough Riders.  To energize his flagging campaign, he took along on his stump speeches veterans of that famous charge up San Juan Hill. At one of the stops a Rough Riders gave this as his endorsement of Roosevelt for governor: Continue reading →

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Deep calleth Unto Deep

Posted on May 4, 2015 by Paul Harris

In 1981 I attended a Synod-sponsored introduction of the then “new” hymnal, Lutheran Worship. This is where we adapted the thoroughly inaccurate “And also with you” in mimicry of Rome. Our new, new hymnal Lutheran Service Book (How I wish they had named it Lutheran Book of Service. The acronym would have been priceless.) retained it saying that it was so popular now there was no way of going back. Rome about- faced easily enough in their new order. Give us another 20 years, and we probably will too. Continue reading →

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Surprised by Surprised by Joy

Posted on April 27, 2015 by Paul Harris

I think I know why Surprised by Joy is not spoken of as much as other works by C. S. Lewis.  It’s his defense, apologetic, explanation, or toleration of homosexuality.  Having leveled such a charge I surely must put up or shut up. Continue reading →

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Do I think we’re the only one’s going to Heaven?

Posted on April 20, 2015 by Paul Harris

We practice closed Communion not because we think we’re the only ones going to heaven but because there is only one way to heaven. Continue reading →

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Was it ever really a laughing matter?

Posted on April 6, 2015 by Paul Harris

“Vice is a monster of so frightful mien / As to be hated needs but to be seen;/ Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face, /We first endure, then pity, then embrace.” Alexander Pope wrote that in the early 18th century, but it seems we didn’t learn that lesson by the 20th century, and neither do I think we took that exact path. Continue reading →

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