Alvadam Ecclesia

18/01/2026

The tires buzz as the Volkswagen races over the rumble strips, my eyes scanning for radar guns and speed cameras. The relentless Washington suburban sprawl is ever-present, more highways, slap-dash suburbs and identikit shopping malls. Not a sidewalk in sight; the only greenery is the median strip and a Starbucks logo. The pace of concretization is remorseless, unstoppable and unspeakably sad to anyone who is not a property developer.

But there are still oases out there just beyond the desert of development, small unspoiled remnants of an older, slower, sounder world. Read more >>

The tires buzz as the Volkswagen races over the rumble strips, my eyes scanning for radar guns and speed cameras. The relentless Washington suburban sprawl is ever-present, more highways, slap-dash…

11/05/2025

Dante Alighieri, widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian poet, writer, and philosopher. His Divine Comedy is widely considered one of the most important poems of the Middle Ages and the greatest literary work in the Italian language.

One of those patrons, Lord Cangrande della Scala, once asked Dante how best to read the work. Dante’s response was legendary — not only because he explained how to interpret The Divine Comedy, but because he revealed a method for reading any epic text, including Scripture itself.

Dante’s answer was simple: the same way you can read the Bible.

Read more>>

In 1302, Dante Alighieri was exiled from his beloved Florence. For the next 19 years, he wandered through Italy, moving from patron to patron as he composed his magnum opus: The Divine Comedy.…

20/04/2025

At the heart of human experience is a powerful theme: the ongoing tension between life and death. For centuries, this mystery has inspired thinkers, artists, and cultures across the world. Easter is one of the clearest expressions of this theme—a celebration of how life endures, even in the face of death.

At the heart of human experience is a powerful theme: the ongoing tension between life and death. For centuries, this mystery has inspired thinkers, artists, and cultures across the world. Easter i…

17/04/2025

What does it mean to know a garden? To understand its seasons, to recognize the branches where birds rest? What does it teach us when we return to the same garden time and time again, to listen and learn from the trees? “Every day Jesus was teaching in the temple, and at night he would go out and spend the night on the Mount of Olives, as it was called.” Such a simple line. Jesus had a place that he loved, and he returned there. Why?

What does it mean to know a garden? To understand its seasons, to recognize the branches where birds rest? What does it teach us when we return to the same garden time and time again, to listen and…

10/04/2025

Meaning in the Economy – What Theology and Economics Can Learn from Each Other.
“There is a need for a bigger story than just making as much money as possible.” – Paul van Geest

“There is a need for a bigger story than just making as much money as possible.” – Paul van Geest At first glance, economics and theology appear to inhabit entirely different worlds. One is rooted …

06/04/2025

Forgiveness Isn’t Something You Feel. It’s Something You Do (Especially When It’s Hard)

“Uh, Father? You forgot to give me a penance.” I was sitting in my pastor’s study, a much younger man than I am today, my cheeks tear-streaked and my shame revealed. I had not planned on confession…

04/04/2025

On Tuesday, March 4, 2025, the Trump administration imposed tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico. In 2018, during President Donald Trump’s first term, the United States imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, citing national security concerns. This time, the Trump administration has cited concerns over the Canadian and Mexican governments’ alleged negligence regarding the flow of undocumented immigrants and illicit drugs—particularly fentanyl—into the United States.

Stephen Pitts, S.J., a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Applied Economics at the University of Minnesota, studies the causes and consequences of migration from an economic perspective. In a February interview with America Magazine, Father Pitts spoke about how the Trump administration’s tariffs align or conflict with the principles of Catholic social teaching.

On Tuesday, March 4, 2025, the Trump administration imposed tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico. In 2018, during President Donald Trump’s first term, the United States imposed tariffs on stee…

27/03/2025

One of the most misquoted verses in the Bible is 1 Timothy 6:10. Many people say, “Money is the root of all evil.” But what the verse actually says is, “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” That one word – love – makes all the difference.

Money itself is neutral. It’s simply a tool, like a hammer. A hammer isn’t good or bad—it depends on how you use it. The same goes for money. It can be used for incredible good or for great harm. It’s not the money that corrupts us, but our attitude toward it—our desires, priorities, and decisions surrounding it.

One of the most misquoted verses in the Bible is 1 Timothy 6:10. Many people say, “Money is the root of all evil.” But what the verse actually says is, “The love of money is a root of all kinds of …

26/03/2025

If there’s one thing Wierenga holds dear, it’s freedom. “I’ve always been a free spirit. I think it’s very Christian to be free, to dare. Not to settle for what you think you know for sure. Because there’s so much we don’t know for sure.”

Wierenga, a reformed literary scholar, has spent his life stepping outside the boundaries set by theologians within the liberated-reformed tradition in which he was raised. Many Christian dogmas leave him unconvinced. “I don’t know, I don’t see it that way, I can’t do anything with it,” he says plainly. “A Christian must nourish themselves with tradition, go through that school—just like the people in the Bible did. Let yourself be guided by what you’ve read. That’s how you grow up. Then step into the world with open eyes and dare to stand on your own, to make your own choices.”

Wierenga pleads for a literary-critical reading of the Bible. “It is, first of all, a text. Period. A magnificent library. As soon as you pretend it’s one single book, things fall apart—then it becomes contradictory, incomplete. It’s a collection of writings. Its power lies in the ‘intertext’—how one text refers to another: affirming, negating, qualifying, challenging. That’s how these books came to be.”

Wierenga envisions a Christianity that is both well-educated and brave—one that faces contemporary challenges with clarity and courage. Not merely managing problems, as he often sees in churches, but solving them.

He closes his book with a call to action: resolve the difficult issues. Confirm women in church offices without delay, and fully welcome homosexuals into the church. Paul’s words about women being silent in church? “That’s not a matter of interpretation—it’s clear what Paul meant. But we can ignore that for now. We are grown-ups. Paul didn’t know our world, but we do. We have mature, intelligent, energetic, devout women—use them.”

Such choices, he believes, can and should be made freely and with confidence—not by clinging to a literal reading of the Bible, but by embracing the responsibility of a thoughtful, informed faith. “A Christian should begin with openness, with confidence. Because he knows where to look—and how to look.”

  For Lambert Wierenga, a reformed literary scholar, reading the Bible is a bit like watching the Dutch TV series Farmer Wants a Wife—he reads with hope, searching for God. He titled his book …

26/03/2025

Als er iets is dat de gereformeerde literatuurwetenschapper Lambert Wierenga waardeert, is het vrijheid. ‘Ik ben altijd een vrije vogel geweest. Ik vind het heel christelijk om vrij te zijn, te durven. Om niet te berusten in dingen die je denkt zeker te weten. Zoveel dingen weten we niet zeker.’ Zelf week hij een leven lang af van de door theologen voorgeschreven conventies binnen de vrijgemaakt-gereformeerde zuil waarin hij opgroeide. Over veel christelijke dogma’s zegt hij: ik weet het niet, ik zie dat niet zo, ik kan er niets mee. ‘Een christen moet zich voeden met de traditie. Hij moet die school door, net als al die andere mensen uit de Bijbel. Hij moet zich laten gezeggen door wat hij gelezen heeft. Zo wordt hij volwassen. En dan met open ogen de wereld in en daar zelfstandig durven zijn, eigen keuzes durven maken.’

Wierenga pleit voor een christendom dat goed geschoold en gevormd is, en dan met het oog op deze tijd duidelijke, moedige keuzes durft te maken. Geen problemen ‘managen’, zoals hij veel in de kerk ziet gebeuren, maar oplossen.

Zo loopt zijn boek uit op het pleidooi lastige kerkelijke vraagstukken te beslechten: bevestig zo snel mogelijk vrouwen in de kerkelijke ambten en geef homo’s een volwaardige plek. Dat Paulus schrijft over het zwijgen van de vrouwen heeft volgens hem niets met interpretatie te maken. ‘Dat is uit en te na geïnterpreteerd. Het is duidelijk wat Paulus wil. Maar daar moeten we ons maar even niks van aantrekken. We zijn volwassen mensen. Paulus kende onze maatschappij niet, wij wel. We hebben volwassen vrouwen, intelligente vrouwen, daadkrachtige vrouwen, vrome vrouwen, profiteer daarvan.’

Zo’n keuze mag je vrijmoedig en vol vertrouwen nemen zonder het te willen baseren op precieze bijbelteksten, vindt hij. Dat is de vrijheid die je als goed onderrichte, geschoolde christen hebt. ‘Ik denk dat een christen als eerste open moet zijn, zelfvertrouwen moet hebben. Omdat hij weet waar hij het zoeken moet, en weet hoe hij zoeken moet.’

Voor de gereformeerde literatuurwetenschapper Lambert Wierenga, is bijbellezen een soort Boer zoekt vrouw: al lezend hoopt hij God te vinden. Hij schreef Mens zoekt God. ‘Ik hoop dat ik tot mijn la…

05/05/2020