John Stephenson, part deux

As a bonus, I include some pithy quotes from the good doctor's lecture last spring...

On 1 John 4:8:
"'God is love' doesn't mean that God is a wimp."

On faith:
"There is no faith apart from people who believe in Christ."

On the Higher Critical Method:
"The Higher Critical Method is trying to evade reality."

On angels and the Lutheran Hymnal:
"The angels are liturgical spirits. They follow page 15."

On providence:
"In history, nothing is accidental."

On pride:
"Being prideful before the Lord is not advisable."

On C.H. Dodd:
"C.H. Dodd was either moderately conservative or moderately liberal, depending on your point of view."

On his own book:
"If you suffer from insomnia and you want to get to sleep, read it [Eschatology by John Stephenson]."

On pastoral practice:
"If you excommunicate every ditsy old dame who sasses you, you won't have a church next week."

On St. Polycarp:
"Polycarp is the most pertinent figure of our time."

On Law and Gospel:
"If you're not a repentent sinner, the Gospel is Law."

On the Book of Revelation:
"If anyone tells you that they have the definitive answer about everything in Revelation, call 911."

On liberals:
"There is nobody on earth more illiberal than a liberal."

On pastoral health issues:
"You go to one of these Lutheran pastors' conferences and mention hemorrhoids and they'll all jump up like Baptists giving their testimony."

On history:
"History makes you appreciate people who are different than you."

On the mystical union:
"The mystical union is not a labor organization for clairvoyants."

More on the mystical union:
"The mystical union is a kind of internet connection among the communion of saints."

On the Bible:
"It does have its uses in theology from time to time."

On aging:
"I'm middle-aged now - which really bugs me. But there's nothing you can do about it, right?"

On prayer life:
"There are times when you're praying in church and you know you're dealing with live wires, other times you don't realize it."

On being prepared for the second coming of our Lord:
"If you've gone to a proper divine service, you're prepared."

On the sacraments:
"The sacraments are supernatural, not magical."