Hellmut Traub about the Antichrist in the Bible (1954): „He is the Adversary par excellence. All sin, perdition, and wickedness find their concentration in him, and they find their expression in his denial that Jesus is the Christ and God the Father (2 Thessalonians 2:2; 1 John 2:22). Thereby he becomes the deceiver, by pointing people to themselves for their salvation, through self-help or self-redemption. Coercion and power, whose form can be total state control and economic boycott (Revelation 13), fabricated religion (Matthew 24:15; Revelation 13:4, 12), uniformization of people (13:16) and opinion (17:14), military and war (19:19; 17:14), are his means.“

As if Hellmut Traub had written about the Antichrist in the Bible for today: Antichrist in the Bible (1954) By … Mehr

George Bell, The Church’s Function in War-Time (November 1939): „The Church stands for the Cross, the gospel of redemption. It cannot, therefore, speak of any earthly war as a ‘crusade,’ for the one thing for which it is impossible to fight with earthly weapons is the Cross. Its supreme concern is not the victory of the national cause. It is a hard thing to say, but it is vital. Its supreme concern is the doing of the Will of God, whoever wins, and the declaring of the Mercy of God to all men and nations. The ministers, especially the leaders of the Church, have a great responsibility for making this plain. It is not only that the Church, if its clergy preach the gospel, offers a counter-balancing force of undoubted authority to the waves of national emotion, and so helps to preserve spiritual integrity. That is important. But what is still more important is the fact that the Church is the trustee of the gospel of redemption; and unless the gospel is preached, the Church is not the Church.“

The Church’s Function in War-Time[1] By George Bell, Bishop of Chichester What is the Church to do and say in … Mehr

Jochen Kleppers Lied ‚Die Nacht ist vorgedrungen‘ auf Englisch ‚The Night Will Soon Be Ending‘: „The night will soon be ending / The dawn cannot be far. / Let songs of praise ascending / Now greet the Morning Star! / All you whom darkness frightens / With guilt or grief or pain, / God’s radiant Star now brightens / And bids you sing again.“

Im Lutheran Service Book (LCMS, 2006) findet sich unter Nummer 327 die englischsprachige Fassung des Klepper-Lieds „Die Nacht ist vorgedrungen“ … Mehr

Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Letter to Mahatma Gandhi (1934): „It is no use to foretell the future which is in God’s hands, but if not all signs deceive us, everything seems to work for war in the near future, and the next war will certainly bring the spiritual death of Europe. What we need therefore in our countries is a truly spiritual living Christian peace movement. Western Christianity must be reborn on the Sermon on the Mount and here is the crucial point why I am writing to you. From all I know about you and your work after having studied your books and your movement for a few years, I feel we western Christians should try to learn from you, what realisation of faith means, what a life devoted to political and racial peace can attain. If there is anywhere a visible outline towards such attainments, than I see it in your movement. I know, of course, you are not a baptised Christian, but the people whose faith Jesus praised mostly did not belong to the official Church at that time either.“

Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Letter to Mahatma Gandhi Pastor Lic. Dietrich Bonhoeffer23, Manor Mount, S.E. 23. London October 17th, 1934 Revered … Mehr

Ruth Benedict on Guilt Cultures versus Shame Cultures (1946, The Chrysanthemum and the Sword): „True shame cultures rely on external sanctions for good behavior, not, as true guilt cultures do, on an internalized conviction of sin. Shame is a reaction to other people’s criticism. A man is shamed either by being openly ridiculed and rejected or by fantasying to himself that he has been made ridiculous. In either case it is a potent sanction.“

On Guilt Cultures versus Shame Cultures By Ruth Benedict In anthropological studies of different cultures the distinction between those which … Mehr

Im Memoriam of Shermain Lai: „Shermain was a lecturer in Christian Education at LTS – and she put her heart and soul into it. Often, students don’t consider Christian Education the most important field of study, but she persistently endeavoured to show the importance and relevance of Christian Education. Her teaching was focussed on the students, on helping them to grow. She was a dedicated teacher, creative, always looking for new and better ways to teach. She not only loved teaching, but also her students. In her role as the dorm warden, she carried strong compassion on them.“

IN MEMORIAM OF SHERMAIN LAI On 6 March, LTS received the news that Ms. Shermain Lai had died of cancer. … Mehr

Edward Kessler, Schmerz (Pain): „Vielleicht ist dein Schmerz wie ein Gedicht, / ein Mysterium, das durch Deutung lebendig bleibt, / aber niemals gelöst werden kann wie ein Puzzle. Ganz sicher / nicht von Ärzten mit der Nase im Empirischen – / als hätte Hiob bloß / ein Schmerzmittel und einen guten Hautarzt gebraucht. / An manchen Tagen wünschst du dir, dein Schmerz / würde sich auf einen Zeh oder Finger zurückziehen, / irgendein entbehrliches Körperteil, / statt durch das ganze Universum zu wandern / und sich mit klangvollen Namen wie ‚Angst‘ zu schmücken.“

Schmerz (Pain) Von Edward Kessler Weder Stoiker noch christlicher Heiliger,scheinst du kaum geeignet für den Schmerz.Und da du offensichtlich kein … Mehr

The Question of God in the Age of AI and the Freedom of the Children of God (2018): „If the future of Artificial Intelligence has caught up conceptually with the idea of God, then the metaphysical question of God can no longer be posed in the same way. It cannot be answered philosophically alone—it must be answered liturgically by Christians: within the gathered community of believers, the one God is invoked by name—the God who acted for the salvation of the nations through his people Israel and who revealed himself decisively in his Son, Jesus Christ. Christian faith is not directed toward whatever we can imagine as the greatest within ourselves, but toward the one to whom we may entrust ourselves ‚in life and in death‘ (Heidelberg Catechism).“

The Question of God in the Age of AI and the Freedom of the Children of God “That than which … Mehr

What a prayer: “Protect me from what I want” (Jenny Holzer, Times Square, New York, 1985). This plea for protection can be linked to the Lord’s Prayer: “Thy will be done”. It is not only a plea against soulless consumerism, but is also appropriate for people in positions of leadership and power. But who is able to pray this prayer wholeheartedly in our time …

What a prayer What a prayer: “Protect me from what I want” (Jenny Holzer, Times Square, New York, 1985). This … Mehr