The Wandering Heretic

In the cultural milieu that Jesus and Paul (and John the Baptist for that matter) operated, water baptism already had a specific place and practice. It already had a defined modus operandi. To quote William Tighe, as cited here: Gentiles who converted to Judaism—in the case of men by “proselyte baptism” followed by circumcision, in [...]

In a previous post, I noted that if we assume that Scripture is both complete (or “sufficient”) and “clear,” then only one Biblical pattern for baptism is given to us; at least by way of example. A person is baptized with water upon his profession of faith. Here the Bible agrees with the Baptists. However, [...]

There are two doctrines of Scripture that Protestants hold very dear. The first is the Sufficiency of Scripture. The second is the Clarity (or Perspicuity) of Scripture. These doctrines are aptly named. Both mean exactly what they sound like they mean. The sufficiency of Scripture proclaims that nothing needs to be added to the Bible [...]

I have some affinities with the theologians who write from within the Federal Vision framework. I think the attraction has to do with their desire to interpret the Reformed Creeds, and primarily the Westminster Confession through the lenses of the Bible and not the other way around. For this they have become the pirate ship [...]

Once again, I have had another defining moment at church.  For most people, their defining moment is an epiphany, sometimes of the mystical variety, that situates them in their proper place in the universe.  Mine was less personal, but somewhat more encompassing: it defined our church's place in the throne room of God. To give [...]

Church is becoming a disconcerting experience for me, especially the singing or "worship" portion.  Now I have commented before that singing is not my gift, but my latest discomfort has nothing to do with my lack of talent.  It has to do with the actual lyrical content of the songs we sing.  This time, the [...]

I have discussed the resistance of our current calendar system to the revolution brought about by Christ.  This reactionary response of our measurement of time to the changes wrought by the Gospel has remained in when the year is started and how the months are named.  It is also reflected in the way the days [...]

As I noted in my last post, the calendar has been one of the most stubborn reactionary hold outs to the Revolution that was started with the Resurrection of Christ.  Now the calendar has been around awhile, although in its present form not as long as people may think.  For example, Great Britain did not [...]

There are many things, in fact most things, on which the liberal wing and the conservative branch of Christianity disagree.  Yet there is one fact that the SBC and the Jesus Seminar both agree upon with nary a dissenting voice: Jesus' movement was a revolutionary force within occupied Jerusalem.  In The Search for Paul, even [...]

Sarah Dylan Breuer's lectionary blog (SarahLaughed.net) really hit home for me today.  This particular post was dealing with the Common Lectionary Reading for the Forth Sunday of Easter, Year B.  (That's part of the Book of Common Prayer liturgical year Scripture Reading schedule for the Episcopal Church and others, just in case you are a [...]