When Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses outside the door of the campus church in Wittenberg, he had no intention of dividing the Catholic Church. But within a decade of that event, such acts of protest had gained irreversible momentum, and “Protestantism” was officially born. Throughout the 16th century new church governments were formed, new...
Author: Kirk Winslow
Gospels, Part 5: Jesus, Prophet of the Kingdom
One of the greatest challenges to understanding the message of Jesus is knowing how to categorize him as a speaker. When those first audiences gathered, who did they think they were going to hear? A teacher? A philosopher? A political leader? Or something else? In this fifth installment in the Next Steps into the Gospels course...
Gospels, Part 4: Satan, Demons, Devils and Exorcisms – Jesus’ Confrontation with Evil
Few elements of the biblical story cause contemporary readers more difficulty than talk of demons and devils. To our (post-?)modern sensibilities, they seem, at best, misdiagnoses of psychiatric conditions, and, at worst, conjure images of the church at its most misguided (witch trial, anyone?). And yet, Jesus’ confrontation with demonic powers is a fundamental dimension...