Download Audio Barely cousins Small wonder, then, as David Schmiel has remarked, that the casual observer in the 1850s “would hardly have imagined two more disparate groups of Lutherans than the Wisconsin and Missouri synods.” Their differing theological positions shaped their development, as did circumstances that brought the two together. The Missouri Synod “stemmed from […]
Download Audio Chapter 1 Sister Synods Milwaukee historian John Gurda has described the 1930s as “a decade of deepening darkness, a nightmarish descent into a totally unforeseen state of worry and want.” Neck bones and spareribs replaced more expensive cuts of meat at evening meals, and “one-meatball casseroles” became a popular staple. Many people deferred […]
Download Audio The WELS Mission for the Visually Impaired presents A Tale of Two Synods, by Mark E. Braun, published by Northwestern Publishing House, Copyright 2003. Please note: citations to sources for information in this book were not included in this audio version. A Tale of Two Synods Introduction On each generation a date is […]
Download Audio The WELS Mission for the Visually Impaired presents Your Life Has Meaning: Discovering Your Role in an Epic Story, by Luke George Thompson, published by Northwestern Publishing House, Copyright 2019. I started writing this book some ten years ago while teaching philosophy and logic at a college in the United States. It was […]
Download Audio Chapter One EVERYTHING IS MEANINGLESS “That’s my life. Nothing stays together; things are just, well, falling apart.” A hush fell over the room as it started to sink in. Then another student said, “I think the point is that all of our lives are somehow falling apart. That’s how life is.” My […]
Download Audio Chapter Two WISDOM IS MEANINGLESS “I believe we can construct meaning. Suppose science does tell us there’s no mind behind the big bang. We just need to deal with it. And I think we can.” My friend works for the Canadian federal government as a scientist. He’s brilliant. There’s no denying it. […]
Download Audio Chapter Three PLEASURES ARE MEANINGLESS THE NEW RICH I had stretched myself too thin. I had said yes to too many projects, boards, committees, and task forces. Between my family, the church family I served as a pastor, and the invitations to help the Christian church on a larger scale, I just […]
Download Audio Chapter Four WORK IS MEANINGLESS WALTER WHITE AND OZYMANDIAS Andre was flipping out. “You’re the one writing a book about meaninglessness, so you probably know what I feel like.” “No, Andre, researching and writing about a feeling isn’t the same as having one. You gotta explain it to me.” We were sitting […]
Download Audio Chapter Five HUMAN LIFE IS MEANINGLESS THE QUESTION It was a drawing of a man shooting himself in the head. I wasn’t prepared for the amount of pain, suffering, and despair I was going to help people through as a pastor. I had great seminary training; they worked hard to get us […]
Download Audio Chapter Six EVERYTHING IS MEANINGFUL THE HUMAN NEED FOR STORY Michael Chandler and his associates at the University of British Columbia . . . canvassed Native communities through much of western Canada. What struck them almost immediately was the astounding suicide rate among teenagers—500 to 800 times the national average—infecting many of […]