Sometimes there's a fine line between madness and religious genius and whether its one or the other can be a matter of interpretation. A recent lecture about the beginnings of the Moravian Church held at the Moravian Archives in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, reveals that the early inhabitants of Herrnhut found themselves wrestling with this question as they witnessed … Continue reading How a mad prophet helped start the Moravian Church
Moravians
The Top Ten reasons I keep coming back to Bethlehem (PA)
I was privileged to attend gatherings of two of my favorite groups recently. The biennial meeting of the Conference on Faith and History (CFH) met in Grand Rapids last weekend. I became involved in CFH while in grad school and it has served as a tremendous encouragement over the years. The meeting this year was … Continue reading The Top Ten reasons I keep coming back to Bethlehem (PA)
My Ongoing Sojourn with those Radical Moravians
Even though Moravians comprise part of the tagline of this blog, they haven't received much attention recently! I hope to remedy that a bit through this week's post. I have been sojourning with the Moravians for over a decade now. This is not say that I'm a card-carrying member of a Moravian congregation, though I … Continue reading My Ongoing Sojourn with those Radical Moravians
The Moravian Origins of the Missionary Newsletter
Missionary newsletters are a mainstay of evangelical culture. Those of us who have grown up in evangelical churches can attest to this. This informal literary genre typically contains a combination of updates on continuing mission efforts, requests for financial gifts and "prayer support," as well as cultural insights and descriptions about what mission work is … Continue reading The Moravian Origins of the Missionary Newsletter
Moravians, peace ethics, and bridal mysticism
How's that for an interesting grouping of topics? As The Hermeneutic Circle continues to get retooled, I am taking some time this week to review some of my guest posts over at The Pietist Schoolman. I've enjoyed revisiting some of the topics I wrote about there and I continue to be grateful to Chris Gehrz … Continue reading Moravians, peace ethics, and bridal mysticism
The Hermeneutic Circle 