Bonhoeffer On American Christianity Without Reformation

October 12, 2019 By Clint Schnekloth

“God did not grant a Reformation to American Christendom. He gave strong revivalist preachers, [people] of the church, and theologians, but no reformation of the church of Jesus Christ from the word of God. Those churches of the Reformation that came to America either stand in deliberate seclusion and distance from general church life or have fallen victim to Protestantism without Reformation. There are Americans who announce with certainty and pride that they build on principles that are pre-Reformation and... Read more

What is political theology?

October 3, 2019 By Clint Schnekloth

There are multiple ways to come at defining political theology, which is what I’m trying to do in this little post, but basically, “classic” political theology (ala Carl Schmitt) argued that all significant concepts of the modern theory of the state are secularized theological concepts. Example: Sovereign is the one who decides on the exception. That’s the secular situation in politics. The parallel in theology is the miracle, which is the supernatural “exception”. Much of the reflection on political theology... Read more

Trump’s Devastating Dismantling of the Church’s Ministry of Resettlement

October 2, 2019 By Clint Schnekloth

Imagine if you would this scenario: the federal government, at the instruction of the president, announces that in 2020 only those patients with broken bones will be admitted into hospitals. No one else. The reaction would be swift and fierce. Those suffering from other ailments would demand services. Family members would advocate for change. The arguments for keeping the hospitals open would be myriad. We have the resources. We have the hospitals. We have the staff. The need is great.... Read more

No One Will Tell You This One Trick For Great Customer Service

September 20, 2019 By Clint Schnekloth

Customer service is really hit or miss, especially online. I know I much prefer walking into a store and talking to a representative. But you can’t always do this, as so many corporations these days are national or international. If you call, you sit on hold for hours. If you use the online customer service tool, you don’t get a response. If you send an e-mail, it disappears down a black hole. However, there is one way to guarantee excellent... Read more

Confessing to Plants #plantsofInstagram

September 19, 2019 By Clint Schnekloth

Confessing To Plants Somehow it’s absolutely not surprising at all that the same day I heard of the confession to the plants at Union Theological Seminary in New York, I also listened to NPR and learned there has been a massive uptick in houseplant sales nationally. Basic summary: houseplant sales are way up, especially among millennials. Therefore media attention. Sales are up because of a Venn diagram of factors: a popular hashtag on Instagram, #plantsofinstagram, an increased focus on environmental... Read more

Pastoring In Public

September 11, 2019 By Clint Schnekloth

I'm protesting at a detention center for unaccompanied minors. I’m in my collar, the full wrap-around kind, and it’s decorated like a rainbow. He says, “We need more of you out here. The church leaders, I mean." Read more

A Revelation On Climate Change: To The Seven Continents That Are On Earth

September 2, 2019 By Clint Schnekloth

I would not claim this letter is from Jesus Christ himself, as John does of his at the opening of his revelation. It is not. It is rather simply a blog post from one who like Kierkegaard is trying to be a Christian, posted on a platform that, at least theoretically, can be read even more widely than John’s apocalypse was, that wild and disturbing visionary letter posted at the end of the New Testament, the one addressed to the... Read more

Ice Cream Doesn’t Melt In Tucson

August 31, 2019 By Clint Schnekloth

If you ask where to run mid-afternoon in Tucson front desk will kindly suggest treadmills and pool on the sixth floor They might know a lawsuit is at risk. “Don’t tell the patrons how to run to the trail.” It’s under the interstate and the sidewalks fry eggs. The heat will pre-sap the sweat from all your pores as if dryness were Calvinist, predestined. Turn the corner and there are two (count them) two ice cream shops.... Read more

Labor Day And The Elaine Massacre Of 1919

August 26, 2019 By Clint Schnekloth

September 30th, 2019 marked the 100th anniversary of the Elaine Massacre, often characterized as the most deadly racial confrontation in Arkansas history, and perhaps the bloodiest post-Civil War racial (and labor) conflict in the United States. The massacre certainly was racially motivated. African-American sharecroppers had gathered at a church in Hoop Spur, three miles north of Elaine, working to obtain better payment for their cotton crops. White plantation owners. Black sharecroppers. This was the racial landscape in Jim Crow America.... Read more

A Blessing For Those Beginning Fall Semester

August 26, 2019 By Clint Schnekloth

A wandering Aramean was my ancestor (Deuteronomy 26). Where were they going without ever knowing the way? (Fastball) “Do you want to have a humble share in perpetuating wisdom among humanity, in gathering up the inheritance of the ages, in formulating the rules of the mind for the present time, in discovering facts and causes, in turning humanity’s wandering eyes towards first causes and their hearts towards supreme ends, in reviving if necessary some dying flame, in organizing the propaganda... Read more