Here's what I'm committing myself to as a priest.

I’m getting ordained to the priesthood this Saturday, November 02. For public/posterity’s sake, I wanted to post some of the main parts of the ordination liturgy (from the ACNA’s 2019 Book of Common Prayer). The Presentation The Bishop and People sit. The Presenters, standing before the Bishop, present the Ordinand, saying Reverend Father in God, we present N.N. to be admitted to the Order of Priests. Bishop: Has he been selected in accordance with the Canons of this Church?...

October 28, 2019 · 10 min · joshuapsteele

A Prayer for Relatives and Friends

O Loving Father, we commend to your gracious keeping all who are near and dear to us. Have mercy upon any who are sick, and comfort those who are in pain, anxiety, or sorrow. Awaken all who are careless about eternal things. Bless those who are young and in health, that they may give the days of their strength to you. Comfort the aged and infirm, that your peace may rest upon them....

October 28, 2019 · 1 min · joshuapsteele

"Why You Never See Your Friends Anymore" (The Atlantic)

Judith Shulevitz offers up a (depressing) eye-opening analysis of our overbusy lives. There is another way! But community and Sabbath both require sacrifice. Whereas we once shared the same temporal rhythms—five days on, two days off, federal holidays, thank-God-it’s-Fridays—our weeks are now shaped by the unpredictable dictates of our employers. Nearly a fifth of Americans hold jobs with nonstandard or variable hours. They may work seasonally, on rotating shifts, or in the gig economy driving for Uber or delivering for Postmates....

October 16, 2019 · 1 min · joshuapsteele

What are the most important theological terms that every Christian should know?

Which theological terms would make your shortlist? Here’s the list of terms found in “Jargon-Busting: A Glossary of Theological Terms,” at the back of Alister E. McGrath’s excellent Christian Theology: An Introduction (25th Anniversary Edition). adoptionism aggiornamento Alexandrian School allegory Anabaptism analogy of being (analogia entis) analogy of faith (analogia fidei) anthropomorphism Antiochene School anti-Pelagian writings apocalyptic apologetics apophatic apostolic era appropriation Arianism atonement Barthian beatific vision Beatitudes Calvinism Cappadocian fathers Cartesianism catechism catharsis catholic Chalcedonian definition charisma, charismatic Charismatic movement Christology circumincessio conciliarism confession consubstantial consubstantiation contemplation creed Deism dialectical theology Docetism Donatism doxology Ebionitism ecclesiology Enlightenment eschatology Eucharist evangelical exegesis exemplarism fathers fideism filioque Five Ways fourth gospel fundamentalism hermeneutics hesychasm historical Jesus historico-critical method history of religions school homoousios humanism hypostatic union icons ideology incarnation justification by faith, doctrine of kenoticism kerygma liberal Protestantism liberation theology liturgy logos Lutheranism Manicheism modalism monophysitism neo-orthodoxy ontological argument orthodoxy parousia patripassianism patristic Pelagianism perichoresis Pietism postliberalism postmodernism praxis Protestantism Quadriga radical Reformation Reformed Sabellianism sacrament schism scholasticism Scripture principle Socinianism soteriology synoptic gospels synoptic problem theodicy theopaschitism theotokos Thomism transubstantiation Trinity two natures, doctrine of typology Vulgate Zwinglianism

October 16, 2019 · 1 min · joshuapsteele

Here are all of William Witt's essays on Women's ordination, in a single PDF (with bookmarks!)

Over on his blog, “Non Sermoni Res,” Dr. William Witt has written several excellent essays on the topic of women’s ordination. Here’s the guide that Witt put together in order to orient readers to his essays. What I’ve done is to combine the blog posts into a single PDF, with bookmarks. Here it is:...

September 26, 2019 · 1 min · joshuapsteele

An Outline of Karl Barth's Church Dogmatics

![](https://joshuapsteele.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/BarthTimeline-2-1024x536-1024x536.png)[Karl Barth’s Church Dogmatics Original Publication Dates, courtesy of PostBarthian.com](https://postbarthian.com/2016/04/21/karl-barths-church-dogmatics-original-publication-dates/).If you’re trying to grasp the contours and contents of Karl Barth’s massive *[Church Dogmatics](https://www.logos.com/product/5758/barths-church-dogmatics),* it helps to have an outline! Here’s a helpful PDF version, with subheadings included, from Princeton’s [Center for Barth Studies](http://barth.ptsem.edu). [Barth\_Outline of Church Dogmatics](https://joshuapsteele.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Barth_Outline-of-Church-Dogmatics.pdf)[Download](https://joshuapsteele.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Barth_Outline-of-Church-Dogmatics.pdf)Below is a version that I’ve created from my Logos edition of *Church Dogmatics*. It’s the version found in the Index (CD V/1, 1–13)....

September 3, 2019 · 29 min · joshuapsteele

Barth, Bonhoeffer, and the Bible

John Webster’s Idea Like so many others, I desperately wish that John Webster were still alive. After all, my dissertation topic owes much to his essay: “Reading the Bible: The Example of Barth and Bonhoeffer.” The essay (previously published as ‘“In the Shadow of Biblical Work:” Barth and Bonhoeffer on Reading the Bible,’and then published in Word and Church: Essays in Christian Dogmatics) begins: Two things at least are clear about the relationship of Barth and Bonhoeffer: that disentangling the history of their relation is of considerable importance for making sense of Bonhoeffer, if not of Barth; and that the disentangling is a rather delicate operation which involves some discriminating interpretation of the writings of two complex theologians....

July 8, 2019 · 23 min · joshuapsteele

Only the Suffering God Can Help

April 20, 2019 · 0 min · joshuapsteele

Learn more about Rublev's Trinity icon [video]

I’ve always wanted to learn more about Andrei Rublev’s famous icon of the Trinity. If you’re also curious, check out this video.

March 8, 2019 · 1 min · joshuapsteele