Ralph Waldo Emerson is one of those authors we all read in school. "Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string" is an exhortation that every student recognizes the verity of when read for the first time. What many of us don't know is that Emerson was more than just a writer and leader of the American transcendental movement. He also was...
There is a humorous story about an American congressman who, fighting for the sanctity of the English language, exclaimed that if English was good enough for Jesus Christ it's good enough for him! As most of us know, Jesus did not speak English. His native language was Aramaic. And the Gospel scriptures were written in Greek. One of the early great progressive Christians was...
It's a shame that in the United States, we no longer teach Latin in our schools, for Latin has a grace, beauty, and music that English has a difficult time rivaling. This is not to say that Latin is better than English, only that each language has different strong points; and gracefulness is one area where Latin usually triumphs. We should be thankful that...
The following is the Lord's Prayer from The King James Version (KJV) of the Holy Bible, the prayer which Jesus taught his disciples when they asked him how to pray, the prayer which is the Rosetta Stone for understanding the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The prayer appears twice in the KJV Holy Bible: in the Gospel of Matthew 6:9-13, and in the Gospel of...
Radical German theologians such as Paul Tillich and David Friedrich Strauss have had a tremendous impact on what we call the Progressive Christianity today, their works being as vital and contemporary now as when they were written. One of our favorite Paul Tillich quotes is: "The courage to be is rooted in the God who appears when God has disappeared in the anxiety...
The Lord's Prayer played a strong role in the services and worship of the Germans who settled in Pennsylvania. In homage to them, we offer a Pennsylvania Dutch (Deutsch) translation of The Lord's Prayer, the prayer which Jesus taught his disciples when they asked him how to pray. It is this prayer that Jesus advises us to pray instead of making requests for...
We have already shared the Lord's Prayer in Old English, so today we will follow that up with the Lord's Prayer in Middle English. The Old English (Anglo Saxon) literary period began around the middle of the 7th century, and Middle English slowly developed from there, with the classic work Canterbury Tales (by Geoffrey Chaucer) being written in the 1390s. A couple important things...
When looking for the Lord's Prayer in modern English, there are many versions from which to choose. One might think that we at the Living Hour would choose the Lord's Prayer as found in our own work "The New Century Gospels". However, in our version of the Gospels we balance the modern forms of English usage with the poetic King James Version, which...
Mary Baker Eddy (1821-1910) was founder of the Christian Science movement, which become popular in the latter part of the 19th century---and today maintains over 1,700 affiliated churches around the world. While we at Living Hour don't consider ourselves Christian Scientists (with a capital S), we are strong believers that progressive Christianity can exist side by side with science, as you can read...
The Lord's Prayer in French is certainly one of the most beautiful versions of the "Our Father" (Notre Père') prayer. There have been many progressive Christian theologians and ministers among the French throughout history. If you aren't familiar of who the Living Hour considers to be progressive Christians, please see our post: Progressive Christianity Defined. One of our favorite progressive Christians among the French...
Today we would like to share a version of the Lord's Prayer in Old English (Anglo Saxon). For many of us, our only experience with Old English is reading the classic Old English book Beowulf. However, we also have a version of the Lord's Prayer in the West Saxon literary dialect. Old English itself is the earliest historical form of the English language, having...
In this Living Hour post, we'll share a Spanish translation of the Lord's Prayer (Padre Nuestro). Whenever one thinks about Spain and its contribution to progressive Christianity and theology, the works of Miguel de Unamuno come to mind—especially his book The Agony of Christianity. Don't let the title fool you, Unamuno's work isn't one of despair or depression but rather love and hope. In...
John Bradford (1510—1555) was an English Reformer and martyr, who was imprisoned in the Tower of London for alleged crimes against Mary Tudor (aka "Bloody Mary"). He continued writing and preaching while imprisoned in the Tower, and thus was ultimately burned at the stake on 1 July 1555. Many scholars attribute the phrase, "There but for the grace of God, go I" to...
Some of the most eloquent Lord's Prayer commentary delivered by a 20th century minister was that of German Protestant theologian and lecturer Helmut Thielicke, who also was the rector of the University of Hamburg from 1960-1978. His sermons on the Lord's Prayer were delivered to congregations in Stuttgart during the punishing WW II air raids that the allies inflicted on Nazi Germany. They...
John Wesley's sermon on the Lord's Prayer is certainly among the most well-known sermons on the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples. Wesley (1703-1791) was known as a strong opponent of the doctrines of Calvinism, and after engaging with the Moravians, he ultimately became recognized as a co-founder of the Methodist movement, as well as having an strong influence on Pentecostals. Wesley's sermon on...
The Lord's Prayer is a popular subject for the Sunday sermon. One such sermon was delivered by Charles Kingsley and included in his old book Sermons for the Times. Kingsley was a 19th century priest of the Church of England, a university professor, historian, social activist, and a novelist (as well as a friend of Charles Darwin). Kingsley's analysis of the Lord's Prayer differs...
Throughout Christian history, there have been various pastors and writers who have attempted to explain the meaning of The Lord's Prayer, as seen through the lens of their personal belief system and interpretation of the Gospels. Below you will find a short analysis written by the Reverend Andrew Murray in 1896. For a longer and more contemporary analysis, please read The Living Hour's Progressive...