Welcome to Some, uh, Theologica, the blog of Mark Schaefer, pastor, attorney, and author, containing articles, sermons, and reflections on faith, theology, and language. Most of the posts here are sermons preached over the years reflecting on a number of different topics, but you’ll also find essays, articles, reflections, and an occasional translation. You can also find information on Rev. Schaefer’s books The Good News according to Mark and The Certainty of Uncertainty.

Popular Posts

Recent Posts

Cover of Delivering the Commonwealth
Book Information

Something Otherworldly, and not in the Usual Way

Nov 18, 2023292 min read
November is National Novel Writing Month (#NaNoWriMo) in which thousands of aspiring novelists commit to writing 50,000 words of their attempt at the next Great American Novel. I am one of those aspiring thousands.
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Video: A Religious Argument Against the Flat Earth
Video

Video: A Religious Argument Against the Flat Earth

Jul 10, 20233141 min read
In a way, there is a religious fundamentalist quality to this globe-denialism, and it occurred to me that there is a quasi-religious foundation for people’s stubborn belief in a flat earth. I’m no scientist, but I do know religion, and so into the fray I jumped with a video entitled “A Religious Argument Against the Flat Earth.”
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Image of St. Mark from an Armenian edition of the gospels
Book Information

At Long Last: The Good News according to Mark

Mar 18, 202311017 min read
My primary aim in this book was to put before the reader a presentation of different levels of translation for this sacred text. In so doing, I hoped to allow the reader to see the fundamental strangeness of the text and its familiarity at the same time, and come to see just what it is that I have come to love about Mark’s gospel.
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Billboard reading:
CultureReflectionTheology

The Shitty Theology Along I-95

Mar 9, 20237581 min read
On a recent road trip to through the South, I saw a series of billboards with religious message. These billboards were clearly part of a single theological viewpoint. And that theological viewpoint is terrible.
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King Arthur and his knights from Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Sermons

A King Like No Other

Nov 20, 20228333 min read
There is some embarrassment in the modern church about Christ the King Sunday. It’s viewed as patriarchal, monarchist, and imperialist: all the things that a good modern-day Christian should oppose. And we should. But there’s something missing from that understanding, and that’s that proclaiming Christ as King has always been a subversive act. 
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Icon of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
Sermons

A God of the Living

Nov 6, 20227042 min read
Jesus responds to the Sadducees’ ingenuous question with solid legal analysis, theological understanding, and linguistic analysis. But even more than the deftness with which he deals with the Sadducees’ hypothetical, he teaches us a powerful lesson about God’s nature.
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Nescio; adhuc fido (
ReflectionTheology

On Christian Agnosticism

Oct 28, 20225651 min read
If I’m going to be honest about what my true religious tradition is, a tradition that embraces faithful doubt and metaphor, then I have to acknowledge that I am a Christian Agnostic.
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Tissot: The flight of the prisoners from Jerusalem
Sermons

Making a Home in Exile

Oct 9, 20227753 min read
What if the church, were not a place that promised that everything was okay, but that acknowledged that everything was not? What if the church were a place where people could be broken without feeling like they were somehow being terrible Christians because they still feel broken? Even after coming to church and singing hymns about how everything is great.
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Fresco of Lazarus and the Rich Man at the Rila Monastery
Sermons

In the Hands of a Few

Sep 25, 202262210 min read
The chasm in the afterlife is erased when we fill in the chasm in life, when we take care of the poor, when we ensure that no one has to worry about where their next meal is coming from, no one has to worry whether they’ll be able to afford life-giving treatment.
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Browse this Blog

There’s a lot of content on this blog, which you can explore by visiting the posts page or by exploring the different types of content below.

Sermons

The most recent sermons can be found above. If you like, you can also browse the complete list of sermons by subject, date, title or scripture passage.

Reflections

In addition to sermons, I have written essays and reflections on culture and current issues. The most recent essays are above or you can browse the full list.

Biblical Exegesis

From time to time, I do an in-depth analysis of a biblical text. As a result, there are explorations of particular passages and even entire Psalms. These tend to be a little more academic, but if you are interested you can browse the exegetical essays.

Language

I have a life-long fascination with language. In addition, I have come to understand that language reveals our deep assumptions and our thoughts. Because of that, I enjoy exploring the implications of our language, especially in matters of faith and culture. Above are some of the most recent language essays. To browse the rest, check out the language collection.

Theology

Everything here has some theology. That is, because I’m a pastor, I tend to see things through a particular lens no matter what I’m writing about. However, sometimes I like to explore a particular religious idea more fully, especially if it’s been in the news or is relevant to recent events. From the rapture to our attitudes about death and more, you can find these topics in the theology posts.

Thank you for coming by and enjoy your visit!

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Mark Schaefer

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