Rama Ramanathan

Did the reformation succeed in the city where it began?

Today we attended the 10 am Sunday worship service at Castle Church, Wittenberg. The church building is massive. The congregation is tiny, at just over a hundred members, the majority of whom seem older than 50-years. The service was in German, but the liturgy was familiar. The church is the resting place of the corpses …

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How did Luther design the first protestant church building?

Yesterday, we visited Hartenfels Castle in Torgau. It is now used by the government as an administrative building. It used to be the seat of “Elector John Frederick the Magnanimous.” In the 16th century, a church was built in it – designed intentionally to be “evangelical,” the watch-word of the Reformation. The design has a …

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Mission means refocusing the world, with others

Mission EineWelt (One World Mission) is the centre for partnership, development, and mission of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria. It conducts “mission” activities both within and outside Germany. I put “mission” in parentheses because it’s not just about proclaiming the gospel. It’s about apprehending God’s goals for the world, the current state of the …

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Straight: The Surprisingly Short History of Heterosexuality

If you could discuss gender with a person who professes an “alternative gender,” would your views on gender change? I put myself to the test. But not by discussing with a real-life person. (I am in circles which include alternative gender persons.) Because that would take too long, would be too scattered, and too hard …

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What do you think of transgender persons? Six theses.

To-date, I’ve avoided discussing transgender[1] persons. Why? Because I prefer not to write on subjects about which I don’t have firm opinions. But today, I feel compelled to write about transgender persons. Below, I’ll explain why. I wish to speak calmly through a long essay, rather than through short bursts which quickly deteriorate into battles …

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