Wade Johnston, Life Under the Cross: A Biography of the Reformer Matthias Flacius Illyricus, Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis: MO, 2025.
This ancient “tale of two mothers” concerns far more than theological semantics—it is the difference between a God who sends and a God who comes.
This story points us from our unlikely heroes to the even more unlikely, and joyous, good news that Jesus’ birth for us was just as unlikely and unexpected.

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Saying the words of the prayer together meant that if my voice became too weak or shaky, other voices would be around to support and continue the message.
"Faith Alone, The Heart of Everything" written by Bo Giertz and translated by Bror Erickson, is now available for purchase from 1517 Publishing
There is a power that is stronger and mightier than the power of separation in death. And that power is the power of God’s love for you and me.
Faith Alone is a translation of Bo Giertz’s second novel, which was originally titled Tron Allena.
Your prayers are not what make you acceptable in his sight. You have already been made acceptable through the blood of Christ.
He is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters, even as we curse and yell at him for not pleasing us with our pettish wishes.
We have seen a vision better than an angel. We have seen God on the cross. A God who is willing to suffer for us.
That is why we dance on graves. That is why we smile in the midst of sorrowful tears. That is why we retell old stories and share humorous memories.
We already know how the war will conclude. Jesus wins.
Is there anything abiding, anything long-lasting that can inspire us to hope again?
The biggest point Luther makes about the descent is not that Jesus triumphed over hell idle and unaffected, but that Jesus defeated hell by suffering hell away.
In his last novel, Islands in the Stream, Hemingway shows us what we get when we look to nature for ultimate truth: death.