The Nihil Rule

  Byung-Chul Han: “I Practise Philosophy as Art” - ArtReview " The smartphone is the devotional object of the digital-information regime. As a tool of repression it acts like a rosary, which in its handiness the mobile device represents. To ‘like’ is to pray digitally. We continue to go to confession. We expose ourselves voluntarily, yet we’re no longer asking for forgiveness, but rather for attention." " Tapping and swiping a smartphone is almost a liturgical gesture, and it has a massive effect on our relationship to the world.  " " Blaise Pascal once said that instead of despairing over a loss of faith, one should simply go to mass and join in rituals such as prayer and song, in other words mime, since it is precisely this that will bring back faith. The external transforms the internal, brings about new conditions. Therein lies the power of rituals. And our consciousness today is no longer rooted in objects. These external things can be very effective in st...

  Where is the Life we have lost in living? Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information? The cycles of Heaven in twenty centuries Bring us farther from God and nearer to the Dust.

"Interpreters have noted that the evangelist gives the reader important hermeneutical guidance for understanding his Gospel, including its sacramental teaching, after the account of the cleansing of the temple in chapter two, where he states: “When, therefore, [Jesus] was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken” (John 2:22).7 Even as the original hearers of Jesus did not understand some of his teaching about his death and resurrection until after the resurrection (e.g., “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up” in John 2:19), so also they did not understand some of his teaching about the sacraments until after the resurrection and ascension when the sacraments began to play a very significant role in mediating the presence and forgiveness of Jesus. If one understands Jesus’ discourses in this Gospel as sermons that John delivered to the post-Easter church...

  Would that our WELS pastors and altar guilds took such pains with the holy body and blood of Christ.

Adiaphora is never done tabula rasa. Adiaphora is exercised in the context of the Church that has been handed down to us. "We believe, teach and confess that the community of God in every place and every time has, according to its circumstances, the good right, power and authority to change and decrease or increase ceremonies <that are truly adiaphora>. They should do this thoughtfully and without giving offense, in an orderly and appropriate way, whenever it is considered most profitable, most beneficial, and best for good order, Christian discipline and the Church's edification." (FC SD X 9)  That is, we have an existing set of practice which reinforces our doctrine, and in view of those existing practices we evaluate new ones against the criteria of which practice is: Most profitable Most beneficial Best for good order Best for Christian discipline Best for the Church's edification With the underlying assumption that these new practices reflect our Lutheran d...

" The gates of hell do not prevail, because the Church has hell under siege." TGC 214 — A Lutheran Kuyperian Vision? — Gottesdienst Weedon's Blog: Matthew 11:12 from Weimarische Bibel-Werk : But from the days of John the Baptist   (from the time when he began to fulfill his office)   until now the Kingdom of heaven suffers violence   (the Kingdom of God will be preached through the Gospel and everyone attempt to force an entry to it, Luke 16:16. Men seize the Gospel with determination like men taking a city. Luther: The consciences which have taken the Gospel to heart will allow no one to wrest it from them!)   and the violent  (the repentant sinners who in true faith stand against temptations by the power of the Spirit, and crucify and bring to nothing the evil desires of their sinful flesh)   take it by force  (press into the kingdom of heaven, from which it is apparent that John’s teaching and baptism have had a great effect).