Mathew Block

Communications Director for the International Lutheran Council (@LutheranCouncil) and Editor of The Canadian Lutheran magazine.

[Mathew Block @mathewablock]

The new issue of Lutheran Theological Review is out, so you can finally see that paper on Catholic-Lutheran dialogue centered on the Augsburg Confession that I teased months ago! [Link in replies]

[Mathew Block @mathewablock]

East Regional Pastor Bublitz Reelected, New Regional Pastors for Central and West Regions:

https://t.co/ZbIS4acf7V

[Mathew Block @mathewablock]

Lutheran Church-Canada has elected Rev. David Haberstock to serve as its new synodical president:

https://t.co/NmjyaJsX2B

[Mathew Block @mathewablock]

My family is fine. We had some water in the basement Monday morning from the storms, but since then we're keeping up with the water. But more big storms are expected later today. Swan has declared a state of emergency, and folks are preparing for the situation to worsen.

[Mathew Block @mathewablock]

Dear friends, in your kindness please pray for Swan River and all the communities in the Swan Valley. Minitonas suffered massive flooding Sunday night as a result of major storms, and the overland flooding reached the south side of Swan last night. Highways are washed out.

[International Lutheran Council @LutheranCouncil]

The International Lutheran Council's (ILC) Chairman, Bishop Juhana Pohjola, responds to recent comments by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF):

https://t.co/yeXiDvHtt5

[WIRED @WIRED]

A book about how AI shapes perceptions of reality came under fire for using AI-generated quotes. Its problems go beyond that. https://t.co/fT2RiQAnks

[International Lutheran Council @LutheranCouncil]

Papers from the International Lutheran Council’s (ILC) 2024 World Seminaries Conference—on Church and State—have now been released. The texts are available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese:

https://t.co/tBGEe1k4Ex

[Mathew Block @mathewablock]

@DrJordanBCooper This is 100 percent correct, and I honestly can't believe it still hasn't taken place. At least we've been blessed in recent years with a few new translations of Melanchthon into English!

[Mathew Block @mathewablock]

@mjjhoskin Very nice. If you're ever in Regina, check out Centennial Books. I've had good luck there from time to time (picked up a couple of volumes of the Sermons of John Donne, for example, among other treasures).

[Mathew Block @mathewablock]

@WmWeedon @DrJordanBCooper Yes, translation is one area I can imagine it being more useful than others. That said, I tend to prefer NMT (Neural Machine Translation) like Google Translate to rather than LLM (Large Language Model) AI, given the latter's propensity to hallucinate!

[Mathew Block @mathewablock]

@DrJordanBCooper Thanks. It's definitely a subject Christians need to think more critically about.

[Mathew Block @mathewablock]

@MichaelFKane "Haikus in English?
Don't: they're meant for Japanese.
Cut it out, you goose."

[International Lutheran Council @LutheranCouncil]

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya (ELCK) held its General Assembly in April, during which time the church recognized new dioceses, heard reports from the Archbishop and others, held elections, and voted to withdraw from the LWF.

https://t.co/uo3ko8NZ4p

[International Lutheran Council @LutheranCouncil]

Päivi Räsänen and Bishop Juhana Pohjola have announced they are appealing their conviction to the European Court of Human Rights.

https://t.co/UpuoKsDQ1j

[Mathew Block @mathewablock]

@TheDonStein @FrDylanSchrader If he had been a better Lutheran, he wouldn't have listened to the spirit claiming to be his father.

[International Lutheran Council @LutheranCouncil]

Rev. Christian Hoffmann has taken on the responsibility of leadership in the Lutheran Church of Uruguay (Iglesia Luterana del Uruguay – ILU).

https://t.co/ddDP1bjoKm

[Mathew Block @mathewablock]

@GudimJason More likely to find his remains on Venus, I think.

[Mathew Block @mathewablock]

I've been looking for years to find a copy of Sutcliff's retelling of The Odyssey with the wonderful illustrations by Alan Lee. Finally broke down and ordered a used copy online a few weeks ago with exorbitant shipping. So of course I find one now at the thrift store for $2.00.

[Mathew Block @mathewablock]

And what lessons might this little-known period of ecumenical history have for Lutheran-Catholic dialogue today? Find out in this article for LTR:

https://t.co/yMLTprhC0U

[Mathew Block @mathewablock]

Did you know that many Roman Catholics pushed for their church to recognize the Augsburg Confession in the leadup to its 450th anniversary in 1980? Even Joseph Ratzinger (the future Pope Benedict XVI) expressed optimism in this regard!

So what happened to scuttle those hopes?