Men, Women, and Spiritual Friendship
In a catechesis address on April 15 at the Vatican, Pope Francis spoke about the difference between men and women. Some who wish to develop a discontinuous narrative of John Paul II and Benedict XVI as traditionalists and Francis as a progressive pope expressed their disappointment at Francis’s statements, as the pontiff warned against the prevalence of gender theory in modern society. “We risk taking a step backward,” Francis stated, and he claimed that “so-called
Weekly Reads (April 18)
Happy weekend, dear readers! Here is a round-up of different religion, theology, and current events articles from our own authors and across the internet. The following articles do not necessarily reflect the views or mission of Conciliar Post. These articles have been selected based on their prevalence across popular blogs and social media and their relevance to current events. We invite you to engage in friendly and positive discussion about these articles. If you read a thought-provoking
Unique Characteristics of Eastern Orthodox Spirituality (Part I)
When I first discovered Eastern Orthodox Christianity, I intuitively recognized a different “spirituality” from what I had experienced as an Evangelical Christian. Over the years, and especially since “spirituality” has become a buzzword within our culture, I have tried to identify the primary characteristic and distinctive features of Eastern Christian spirituality and to contrast them with where I came from. I did this first for the purpose of better understanding our Eastern Christian spiritual tradition
Cosmic Communion (Part III)
The Role of Creation in our Journey with Christ: Part III There is a running joke that Orthodox Christians do everything in threes, so this will be my last article under this title. In the past two articles I have been discussing the unique Christian approach to God’s earthly creation as a sacramental reality: that it can be and is in fact designed to be how we encounter intimate communion with God the Creator especially
Weekly Reads (April 11)
Happy Easter weekend, dear readers! And happy Easter to our Orthodox brothers and sisters! Here is a round-up of different religion, theology, and current events articles from our own authors and across the internet. The following articles do not necessarily reflect the views or mission of Conciliar Post. These articles have been selected based on their prevalence across popular blogs and social media and their relevance to current events. We invite you to engage in friendly
Truly, You are a God Who Hides Yourself
Truly, you are a God who hides yourself 1 You create the heavens and earth as wholly other Raised above all with arms outstretched You only come down to the face of the waters When all is black and chaotic and empty 5 And when you do show yourself, we
Weekly Reads (April 4)
Happy Easter weekend, dear readers! Here is a round-up of different religion, theology, and current events articles from our own authors and across the internet. The following articles do not necessarily reflect the views or mission of Conciliar Post. These articles have been selected based on their prevalence across popular blogs and social media and their relevance to current events. We invite you to engage in friendly and positive discussion about these articles. If you read
The Natural Desire to See God?
The human person—with his openness to truth and beauty, his sense of moral goodness, his freedom and the voice of his conscience, his longings for the infinite and for happiness—questions himself about God’s existence. In all this he discerns signs of his spiritual soul. The soul, the “seed of eternity we bear in ourselves, irreducible to the merely material,” can have its origin only in God (CCC 33). Such says the Catechism of the Catholic
What Day Did Jesus Die?
“When students are first introduced to the historical, as opposed to a devotional, study of the Bible, one of the first things they are forced to grapple with is that the biblical text, whether Old Testament or New Testament, is chock full of discrepancies, many of them irreconcilable…. In some cases seemingly trivial points of difference can actually have an enormous significance for the interpretation of a book or the reconstruction of the history of
Weekly Reads (March 28)
Happy weekend, dear readers! Here is a round-up of different religion, theology, and current events articles from our own authors and across the internet. The following articles do not necessarily reflect the views or mission of Conciliar Post. These articles have been selected based on their prevalence across popular blogs and social media and their relevance to current events. We invite you to engage in friendly and positive discussion about these articles. If you read
Can Christians Practice Yoga?
Recently, a new series of exercises DVDs emerged, marketed exclusively toward Catholics. SoulCore combines core strengthening, isometric movements, and the praying of the Rosary into 60 minute videos to exercise the body while nourishing the mind. SoulCore defines itself against one of the most popular forms of exercise, yoga. “SoulCore is not yoga, nor are yoga poses referenced at any time.”[1] Instead, SoulCore emphasizes uniting the mind and body in prayer and putting the body
Weekly Reads (March 21)
Happy weekend, dear readers! Here is a round-up of different religion, theology, and current events articles from our own authors and across the internet. The following articles do not necessarily reflect the views or mission of Conciliar Post. These articles have been selected based on their prevalence across popular blogs and social media and their relevance to current events. We invite you to engage in friendly and positive discussion about these articles. If you read
Ancient Christian Worship | Book Review
There are few times in history so important and yet so obscure as the years following the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, when the movement bearing his name transformed from a band of several dozen followers hiding in terror into an international community that would shape the subsequent history of the world. Despite the paucity of evidence from this period, historians and theologians alike continually return to the earliest years of the Jesus
Weekly Reads (March 14)
Happy weekend, dear readers! Here is a round-up of different religion, theology, and current events articles from our own authors and across the internet. The following articles do not necessarily reflect the views or mission of Conciliar Post. These articles have been selected based on their prevalence across popular blogs and social media and their relevance to current events. We invite you to engage in friendly and positive discussion about these articles. If you read
The Problem of Prophecy
Most people want to know the future. What is coming next? Will I be successful? Will my dreams come true? In charismatic circles of Christianity, some look to the gift of prophecy for answers to these questions. Like Pharaoh, or Nebuchadnezzar, they search for a Joseph or a Daniel to listen to the voice of God and then pull back the windows of time to reveal what has not yet taken place. Occasionally, certain Christians
Weekly Reads (March 7)
Happy weekend, dear readers! Here is a round-up of different religion, theology, and current events articles from our own authors and across the internet. The following articles do not necessarily reflect the views or mission of Conciliar Post. These articles have been selected based on their prevalence across popular blogs and social media and their relevance to current events. We invite you to engage in friendly and positive discussion about these articles. If you read
Ask Conciliar Post: Reformed Theologies? A Contemporary Comparison
One of the many unique features of Conciliar Post is the Ask function that allows readers to pose questions to the Conciliar Post community. Unfortunately, this portion of our attempts to further meaningful and informed dialogue has often resulted in questions which are (for a variety of reasons) not suitable for public response. That all changes today, however, as this article stems from the following question asked by a Conciliar Post Reader: What are the
Weekly Reads (February 28)
Conciliar Post Laura Norris, “The Big Bang and Christianity” Kenneth O’Shaughnessy, “The Seven Words of Creation” Kathryn Dubs, “Waterfall Moments” Jeff Reid, “Time’s End” Joseph Green, “Cosmic Communion: The Role of Creation in Our Journey with Christ (Part 1)” Chris Smith, “Houston, We Have a (Muslim) Problem” Johanna Byrkett, “A Chalice Remade” Guest Author, “The Hidden Drama of Late Winter” From Our Authors Jacob Prahlow, Pursuing Veritas, “American Christianity and the Hell of Paradise Lost” Johanna Byrkett, Ancient
Weekly Reads (February 21)
Happy weekend, dear readers! Here is a round-up of different religion, theology, and current events articles from our own authors and across the internet. The following articles do not necessarily reflect the views or mission of Conciliar Post. These articles have been selected based on their prevalence across popular blogs and social media and their relevance to current events. We invite you to engage in friendly and positive discussion about these articles. If you read
Weekly Reads (January 31)
Hello, readers, and happy weekend! Here is a round-up of different religion, theology, and current events articles from our own authors and across the internet. The following articles do not necessarily reflect the views or mission of Conciliar Post. These articles have been selected based on their prevalence across popular blogs and social media and their relevance to current events. We invite you to engage in friendly and positive discussion about these articles. If you read