What is wrong with reformed theology? By a Christian PhD
Reformed theology is a broad religious system with many different elements. Its theology is organized around the absolute sovereignty of God—the idea that God is in total, complete control of everything. In grappling with this ...
The First Friday Devotion and the Sacred Heart of Jesus
The devotion was started by Margaret Mary Alacoque. She was a Catholic nun and mystic who received private visions of Jesus for two years, in which he revealed to her the practice of devotion to the sacred heart of Jesus. One m...
Missio Dei: A Protestant Movement Redefining the Church
Missio Dei is the name of a broad theological movement among several branches of Protestantism. It was popularized by Presbyterian and other Reformed churches, but there are examples from Lutherans and other traditional Protest...
“I Believe in God the Father”: Creeds and Controversies
If you’ve been around any older Christian traditions, such as Catholicism, or even some Lutheran or Methodist groups, you’ve probably heard them talk about “the Creed.” The general idea behind a creed is that it’s an official s...
Barachiel and Baraqiel: Angels named outside Scripture
Investigating angel lore is a tricky subject. There are a lot of false leads and made-up information, as well as careful distinctions that need to be considered. One issue is that angel names tend to derive from Hebrew, and the...
St. José Sánchez del Río, modern child martyr
At the beginning of the 20th century there was a conflict in Mexico that lasted from 1926 to 1929. As a part of the Mexican Constitution of 1917, the government attempted to make Mexico more secular—in the face of its deeply Ca...
Who was St. Gemma Galgani, patron of students?
St. Gemma seems to have had a variety of health problems throughout her life. As a child, she was generally of ill health. At age 16, she developed spinal meningitis. She prayed to the sacred heart of Jesus for recovery from he...
A PhD explains the phrase "What the devil meant for evil"
There isn’t a single, specific Bible verse about what “the enemy meant for evil,” but the closest is Genesis 50:20: “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this...