The authors of "Colossians Remixed" write: If with Christ you died in your baptism to the principles of autonomous consumerism that still hold the world captive, then why do you live in a way that suggests that you are still in the iron grip of its ideological vision? Why do you submit yourself to its regulations to consume as if there were no tomorrow, to live as if community were an impediment to personal fulfillment, to live as if everything were disposable, including relationships, the … [Read more...]
the danger of saying: “I just do what the Bible says…”
July 24, 2012 By 5 Comments
" I just follow the Bible" is a potentially ridiculous and dangerous thing to say. If you've heard of the crusades, the travesties of colonization and land theft, the unholy wedding of violence and the name of Christ, you'll know why. Take, for example, Ezra 7:26 where King Artaxerxes says: "Whoever will not observe the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed upon him strictly, whether for death or for banishment or for confiscation of goods or for … [Read more...]
Stories… and why we sometimes miss them
July 20, 2012 By 2 Comments
"Do you see this woman?" - Jesus the Christ, Luke 7:44 Camp is marvelous. This is my second week speaking at camp this summer, having just completed a week at Sandy Cove on the east coast. I love that there are families who invest their precious vacation weeks in gathering at a place where, as a family, they gain revelation from the scriptures, enjoy recreation, have all the meals provided, and sit amidst creation for a little time of breathing - all for far less than the cost of any … [Read more...]
The Prophets: Clues into “The Common Good”
July 19, 2012 By 7 Comments
There's always a lens. Your eye's a lens, and if it gets tired, or old, or damaged, it can't see what's really there. When that happens you get another lens. Glasses bend the light and the distortion enables you to see clearly. When I read through the prophets, I sometimes think that their way of communicating is a sort "light bending distortion" that's intended to help people see more clearly. Jeremiah after all, wears the same underwear for a multi-day hike, then buries it in a cave … [Read more...]
Daniel: The importance of being relevant and subversive
July 11, 2012 By 3 Comments
Theology should be done with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other - Karl Barth My "coffee with God" times are taking me through the book of Daniel these days, and I've been refreshed by finding a model for what it actually means to live right in the thick of culture without allowing oneself to be taken captive by culture. Daniel had some food limitations that were presumably related to his Jewish faith, and held to those convictions as a captive in the midst of Babylon. … [Read more...]
Wordless Sermon: Lessons learned from climbing with my son
July 6, 2012 By Leave a Comment
"First of all a good alpinist should be a good man and this is a really difficult goal to achieve, often a whole life is not enough." - H. Barmasse With ten days left before his wedding, my son and I took two days out of our busy lives and climbed together. It was supposed to be a whole family affair, but things happen and in the end it was the two of us, tied together on a rope, making our way up a few faces in the Icicle canyon of Leavenworth. Outside is what we do, what we've always … [Read more...]
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