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A Plenteous Seed of Witnesses

Mathew Block

On July 1, 1523, two Augustinian monks were burnt at the stake in Brussels for adhering to Martin Luther’s teachings. Johann Esch and Heinrich Voes were the first Lutheran...

A Rose in Bloom: Luther’s Reformation at 500

Mathew Block

In many ways, Lutherans occupy an unusual space in world Christendom—too “Catholic” for their Baptist friends and too “Baptist” for Roman Catholics. The hallmarks of what we consider Protestant...

Death and the Reformation

Mathew Block

Earlier this month I was in Wittenberg, reporting on the World Seminaries Conference of the International Lutheran Council. It was not my first trip to Wittenberg, but it was...

Evangelicals, Heresy, and Scripture Alone

Mathew Block

Back in 2014, LifeWay Research published a worrying study that suggested most Evangelicals hold views the early church long ago declared heresy. Now, a follow-up to that study has...

The Age of Outrage

Mathew Block

There is no question that we in North America are living in an age of outrage. In Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell imagined a world in which the public manifestation...

Celebrity Deaths

Mathew Block

As January 2016 draws to a close, it seems clear that this month will be remembered by many as a time of unexpected grief. The deaths of Alan Rickman,...

50 Years of Lutheran-Catholic Dialogue

Mathew Block

Acting as it does as a summary and analysis of five decades of Lutheran-Catholic dialogue, 2015’s Declaration on the Way: Church, Ministry, and Eucharist will undoubtedly be a helpful touchstone in...

The Vatican and Arms Dealers

Mathew Block

In light of Pope Francis’ recent criticism of the hypocrisy of arms manufacturers and investors who call themselves Christians, I’ve seen a number of people on Twitter and Facebook...

“O Christian Art, Why Can’t You Be Good?”

Mathew Block

Recently The Week published a provocative piece entitled “Who Killed the Contemporary Christian Music Industry?” In it, Tyler Huckabee notes that the CCM industry has shrunk dramatically. “In CCM’s...

Canadian Doctors’ Religious Freedom Under Threat

Mathew Block

Wesley J. Smith’s article “The Coming of Medical Martyrdom” highlights a concern that is ever present in my own mind. As Smith notes, the College of Physicians and Surgeons...

A Victory for Religious Freedom in Canada

Mathew Block

Yesterday brought news of a significant victory for religious freedom in Canada. The Supreme Court of Nova Scotia found in favor of Trinity Western University (TWU) in its case...

Slaughtered Sons

Mathew Block

Today we remember the Holy Innocents—those infant boys of Bethlehem who were slaughtered at Herod’s command in an attempt to snuff out the young life of Jesus.We all like...

The Evangelical Catholic Tradition

Mathew Block

The news that Russell Saltzman is leaving Lutheranism to the Roman Catholic Church calls to mind previous headlines. The story of evangelical catholic Lutheranism—of which Saltzman was a part—involves...

Misreading Scripture Alone

Mathew Block

A new survey on American Evangelical beliefs reports grim news, according to an article published yesterday by Christianity Today. The first line says it all: “Most American evangelicals hold...

Uprooting the Christian Masculinity Complex

Mathew Block

Do You Have the Balls to Worship at America’s Manliest Church?” That’s the html header of a recent article at Vocativ profiling Pastor Heath Mooneyham of Ignite, a church in...