The Anglican Rosary as a Spiritual Discipline

Most Christians have heard of the rosary, but relatively few know that using beads as a tool to aid in prayer is an ancient practice that can be found in Anglicanism and Orthodoxy as well as Roman Catholicism. Since I’m Anglican, I’m going to focus on the Anglican rosary as a spiritual discipline. The Anglican rosary (like the Roman Catholic rosary and the Eastern Orthodox prayer rope) is intended to be used as...

Trusting and Taking Risks: A Reflection on J.P. Moreland’s Lecture on “The Spiritual Life”

Over the past few weeks I’ve been challenged to think more deeply about spiritual growth. At the summer residency for Biola’s graduate Christian Apologetics Program, I attended an outstanding lecture by J.P. Moreland on the spiritual life, in which one of his topics was the impact of the Fall on our lives. Dr Moreland explained that because of the Fall, we are in a state of separation (from God, from others,...

Useful Restlessness

“Restless” literally means “lacking rest.” That doesn’t sound good – but in fact restlessness can be a good thing. St Augustine famously wrote in the Confessions that our hearts are restless until they rest in God; restlessness can be the spur that drives us to arise from our entrenched state of alienation and dissatisfaction to seek after what we really need. On a more practical level,...

What Is Prayer? (3) Why Bother?

Christians pray. But why? What’s the point? What do you say to the One who knows you better than you know yourself? ...

The Christian Past and Future

Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. Past, present, future. They’re all there – all true – all part of the Christian life....