T.C. Judd's Page

Today is the celebration of the Feast of Epiphany in the Western Church, that day when the Magi from the East (aka. ‘wise men’) are to have finally found the infant Jesus. Writing on the events surrounding the journey and visit of the Magi, C.F.W. Walther writes:

God chose to lead the Wise Men to Bethlehem, not exclusively by the star, but also via a detour. The Jewish king, with his chief priests and scribes, first had to show them from God’s Word that Bethlehem was

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For all of those living along the Texas Gulf coast, looking back on 2008 cannot fail to bring to mind thoughts of stormy weather (Tropical Storm Edouard and Hurricanes Dolly, Gustav, and Ike). Those who stayed endured several frightening and sometimes dangerous days. Those who fled were left worrying about friends, family, and property. Some lost everything. All lost something. With Ike’s memories still burned into my brain as fresh as in early September, C.F.W. Walther’s writing for this last d… Continue

Last Wednesday, Dr. Ben Witherington (Asbury Theological Seminary) posting a very fine, interesting response to a John Piper interview about the perceived arrogance and negativity of Calvinists. Having been raised in, studied in, and served in Calvinistic circles for many years before coming to Lutheranism, I found some of Dr. Witherington's comments both striking and brilliantly perceptive. He writes:

For whatever reason, Calvinism seems to feed a deep seated need in many persons f

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(From my blog at Taking Thoughts Captive...)

Anyone who has been a believer for any time at all will soon come to a point in life where they simply wonder why God has acted the way he has or allowed things to play out the way they did. I suppose there is comfort in knowing that, “Why?” is one of the universal questions of the Christian life. Luther says:

God leads and directs his people in mysterious ways. In the Bible, we r

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Loving our neighbors is one of the greatest challenges in both the Old and New Testaments. Our sinful nature and selfishness make us naturally put ourselves first, in direct contradiction to the command of God. Added to this, our contemporary American culture and its infatuation with the supremacy of the self has lessened any cultural emphasis on selflessly helping others in need. Sadly, contemporary American Christianity is following our culture’s emphasis on the infatuation with self and has d… Continue