When Religion Becomes Obsolete, Christ Does Not
By Russ Lackey | Mark Mattes
01/20/26
19mins

When Religion Becomes Obsolete, Christ Does Not

American religion did not become optional because the gospel failed. It became optional because religion slowly redefined itself around usefulness.
Behold the Lamb
Bradley Gray
Bradley Gray
01/19/26

Behold the Lamb

The Passover wasn’t just Israel’s story; it’s ours.
Psalm 12, Part 2: The Saint Fails, The Word Purifies
Steven Paulson
Steven Paulson
01/16/26

Psalm 12, Part 2: The Saint Fails, The Word Purifies

God makes us pure saints by planting us back in the earth we imagined we needed to escape.

All Articles

Philip Bartelt
Philip Bartelt
03/17/20

Apostle of Ireland: St. Patrick's Life and Ministry

Despite the grave threat of martyrdom during his roughly thirty years of ministry, St. Patrick persevered and experienced enormous success.
Martin Luther
Martin Luther
03/12/20

Dear Death, What Has Become of Your Spear?

Paul says that the power of sin is the law. The more clearly we understand the law, the more sin oppresses and stings us.
Joshua Miller
Joshua Miller
03/06/20

Martin Niemöller: Controversial Confessor

On this day in 1984, Lutheran pastor, Martin Niemöller, a leader in the anti-Nazi Confessing Church, died. He left behind a controversial legacy. How should we regard him today, thirty-six years after his death? Was he a hero? Was he a villain?
Craig Donofrio
Craig Donofrio
03/04/20

Binding Up the Brokenhearted

Into our world of sin, broken hearts, physical ailments, and psychological suffering, our Lord of grace descended.
Bruce Hillman
Bruce Hillman
02/25/20

The Suicide Prophet

Sometimes we have to strain hard to hear words deeper than our hearts. Words not from inside, but outside. Words from God, not our own self-spun narratives.
Philip Bartelt
Philip Bartelt
02/21/20

Remembering Anselm of Canterbury

Though not without his faults, Anselm of Canterbury is unquestionably one of the great theologians of the last millennium.
Pete Lange
Pete Lange
02/18/20

The Pilgrim's Promise

Ultimately the Christian life isn't about progress, it's about promise--the Pilgrim's Promise.
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley
02/17/20

When Sin, Death, and Satan Declare War

What a person quickly realizes when sin, death, and Satan attack in concrete reality is how inadequate and ill-equipped they are to fight them off.
Dan van Voorhis
Dan van Voorhis
02/14/20

Redeeming St. Valentine

How did we get love and romance associated with Valentine and his likely mid-February death?
1517 Staff
1517 Staff
02/12/20

The Psychology of Crucifixion

The implications were clear: Jesus’ death destroyed the things that distinguished people as educated or uneducated, rich or poor, free or enslaved, black or white, pious or godless.
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley
02/11/20

Addiction, Pain, and Mercy

There is true help in the midst of our pain. Someone who suffered as we suffer, who embraced all our pain in his suffering and death on a cross.
Bob Hiller
Bob Hiller
02/07/20

The Patience of Job

The following is an excerpt from "Finding Christ in the Straw," written by Robert M. Hiller (1517 Publishing, 2020).
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