I’ve just read an article that I agree with, but can’t relate to. The article, by Carl Trueman, is about the problems with hagiographies (a hagiography is a ‘saint-biography’: an account of somebody’s life that treats them as a hero of holiness and leaves out the naughty bits).1 He argues that hagiographies are bad for multiple reasons: they’re not good history, they promote an unhelpful black-and-white view of the world, and they make readers feel depressed and inadequate when they don’t measure up. I think he’s right. But I just don’t feel his pain. (more…)
Tag Archives: Idols
Visions of God
Couldn't Help Noticing
All sorts of people have claimed to see visions of God, of Christ, of Mary or of the saints over the centuries. And, from time to time, the Roman Catholic church has endorsed such visions and used them to encourage people in their allegiance to the Roman church. But Martin Luther, the great Reformer and opponent of Roman Catholic teaching, also saw visions— sometimes in considerable detail. Here he describes one such appearing:
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Emoting about idols
Couldn't Help Noticing
They say that the psalms are the hymnbook of Israel. I don’t know if this is true, but if it is I sometimes wonder what the atmosphere in ‘church’ was like back then. (more…)