The Main Wycliffe Blog

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Who was St. Patrick, and what example does his life and mission have for us today? First, a few pertinent facts. We know that Patrick was born in the late fourth century in Roman Britain, the son of a deacon, and grandson of a priest. We glean most about him from his Confession (access it www.ccel.org), a work he wrote late in life. The Confession is not autobiography as we might consider the Confessions of St. Augustine (his near-contemporary) to be; rather Patrick’s is part apologetic, part testimony.

Who should you listen to?  Who do you trust to learn something from?  These are important questions for students, obviously. But they are important for everyone in a society like ours that is torn between hyper-criticism and the gullible consumption of what we now call “fake news.”  We are taught to mistrust teachers and experts because most of their views are driven by self-serving bias; yet we gravitate to a plethora of (mostly internet) claims about all kinds of goods and ills – medical, psychological, social, political – that have very little proven basis behind them.

Esther was one of many gracious life-long members of our church. A real salt-of-the-earth type, who with her husband had raised three kids to be successful, fully-launched adults. She was now thoroughly enjoying a bunch of grandkids, most of whom were already teenagers. But Esther was troubled by something. The focus of the sermon that week had been on God’s call to teach the faith to the next generation. I noticed her waiting, as other parishioners cleared out, so she could have a private word with me at the back of the church.

"What is the best Bible translation?"

As a biblical scholar, I am asked this question more than any other.

"What is the best Bible translation?"

As a biblical scholar, I am asked this question more than any other.

We are in a season of ordinations. In January, we witnessed the ordinations of Logan Hurst, Alison Hari-Singh and Alexandra Pohlod, to mention three Wycliffe students. And soon Philip Gearing and Orvin Lao will present themselves to the bishop for the laying on of hands. There are more to come. We are expecting as many as seventeen MDiv graduates to cross the convocation stage in May. This season especially Wycliffe becomes a proud alma mater!

But with ordination comes the question, “Is there really a difference between clergy and laity?”

This blog post is adapted and abbreviated from an article by Prof. Mangina that appeared in The Living Church, Jan. 1, 2012

What can be said about Christian unity in a month that has seen yet another church propose to split? (See: "The Methodist Church will probably split in two over homosexuality, and that's bad for all of us" )

I think about this question with increasing difficulty because there is a weight of sorrow in my heart. But it is upon us, intractably and practically, in deep divisions over marriage and what it means to be a faithful Christian in this time.

Europeans generally think of Americans as very religious. They see things like a public swearing-in with a hand on the Bible and read a lot into that—even as it is somewhat of a formality that may have no obvious religious significance for those taking an oath. “So help me God”—this is less a final declaration freighted with Christian significance than a necessary legal obligation.

Jesus talked a lot about money. Though I haven’t done the accounting, I suspect that money is one of his primary topics. Think of Jesus’ parables: the lost coin, the two debtors, the rich man and Lazarus, the Pharisee and the tax collector, the talents, and so on.