Having studied Applied Theology (oh yes, there is/was such a thing here in the UK) this short essay is one I could and should have written myself. I talk about this all the time but have not put it in print. Having left the church (but not the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth), party because it failed spectacularly in its actions to demonstrate love for neighbour, I see the failure to demonstrate love as one if it's chief flaws. Good essay, thanks for writing it.
Our theology should stir our hearts and inform our actions. If it’s merely for head knowledge, for knowing more than your fellow man, then you’re missing the point.
The Good Samaritan wasn’t a lecture on categories; it was a collision between need and mercy. I also think it’s helpful to remember that Augustine’s ordo amoris begins with loving God rightly — and when that love is rightly ordered, it reshapes how we see proximity, identity, and even nation. The Kingdom always relativizes our borders. I’ve been reflecting a lot lately on how simple, lived faith — daily relationship, real obedience, tangible love — is what keeps theology from becoming abstraction. If you’re interested, I recently wrote about that here: https://theeternalnowmm.substack.com/p/eternal-love?r=71z4jh
This is a misreading of the Good Samaritan. The Good Samaritan is about the universal jurisdiction of the Church: hence the Levite/Jewish Priest (the ethnic exclusivity of the Old Covenant) and the Samaritan ("heretical" Jewish sect). Hence also the sacramental nature of the Samaritan's gifts: oil and wine (Confirmation and Eucharist); healing (Confession); the two denarii (Viaticum).
Having studied Applied Theology (oh yes, there is/was such a thing here in the UK) this short essay is one I could and should have written myself. I talk about this all the time but have not put it in print. Having left the church (but not the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth), party because it failed spectacularly in its actions to demonstrate love for neighbour, I see the failure to demonstrate love as one if it's chief flaws. Good essay, thanks for writing it.
Our theology should stir our hearts and inform our actions. If it’s merely for head knowledge, for knowing more than your fellow man, then you’re missing the point.
The Good Samaritan wasn’t a lecture on categories; it was a collision between need and mercy. I also think it’s helpful to remember that Augustine’s ordo amoris begins with loving God rightly — and when that love is rightly ordered, it reshapes how we see proximity, identity, and even nation. The Kingdom always relativizes our borders. I’ve been reflecting a lot lately on how simple, lived faith — daily relationship, real obedience, tangible love — is what keeps theology from becoming abstraction. If you’re interested, I recently wrote about that here: https://theeternalnowmm.substack.com/p/eternal-love?r=71z4jh
Love this. I recently wrote a post on Hemingway and the gospel. Would be really curious what your thoughts on it might be.
https://dbtaylor.substack.com/p/hemingway-longed-for-the-gospel?r=22o631
This is a misreading of the Good Samaritan. The Good Samaritan is about the universal jurisdiction of the Church: hence the Levite/Jewish Priest (the ethnic exclusivity of the Old Covenant) and the Samaritan ("heretical" Jewish sect). Hence also the sacramental nature of the Samaritan's gifts: oil and wine (Confirmation and Eucharist); healing (Confession); the two denarii (Viaticum).