Regarding my recent post (Jan 6) about modernity, wisdom, and innocence, some further reflection. We have two small statues of fairies along the pathway to our front door, hidden slightly, in the bushes lining the pathway. I once told our oldest grandchild that at night, the two statutes come alive and fly around our house keeping watch. The grandchild, who is almost four, paused when hearing this and stared at the statues. Then he looked at me to see if... Read more
I wondered how long it would take and it didn’t take long. Jeff Iorg is the president of Gateway Seminary, my alma mater. It is a Southern Baptist, evangelical school. In a recent blog post, after watching the Golden Globe ceremonies and Oprah Winfrey’s speech, he wrote: “…But while Oprah is calling for moral leadership by men in power, she models immorality by a woman in power. She has openly acknowledged multiple sexual relationships in the past and has lived... Read more
If you remember your childhood, or have children, or grandchildren, or nieces and nephews, then you know what it is like to see the world as enchanted. In such a world, monsters exist…under beds, in closets, and so on. The dark can be foreboding. The forest holds secrets, both wonderful and horrifying. The night sky is an unending kaleidoscope of light and movement. Falling stars are magical. Grass and flowers are shockingly beautiful and “feel” good to our feet and... Read more
I look back at 2017 with some ambivalence. For me personally, it was a difficult year in many ways. Good friends passed to the next life. Close family lost homes in the northern California fires. We still struggle with a move to an area we would rather not be. I still struggle with my friendships tied to my prior evangelical/fundamentalist (FG) life. It is still awkward. However, I also feel I am now being much more authentic and true to... Read more
There are dominant myths and stories that provide the boundaries in which we perceive the world. As much as we might we think we are mavericks with our own personal, individual perceptions (Which, again, is simply a story we believe about our believing), we all are strongly influenced, educated, and discipled into perceiving things a certain way. We are catechized in the most innocuous and simple of ways, for instance, noticing the faint reactions of others we admire to what... Read more
I’ve always been fascinated by the story of the Wise Men (Matt 2). Even in my fundamentalist/evangelical days, I found their story intriguing. Their time in the Gospel accounts is limited, but profound. As we come to this season of Advent, of that first coming, what might we learn from the story of the Wise Men? Here are three reflections we might consider: God Acts Outside Traditional Frameworks/Understandings: The Wise Men were from the east—they were gentiles. They were not... Read more
Michael Martin (See here) in his most recent blog post (See here), writes: “…And by ‘poetic’ I do not mean less real than what we’re accustomed to. On the contrary, I mean more real than what we’re accustomed to.” Modernity tells a story about what is “real.” And that story goes something like this: Before the Enlightenment, before modern science, people were superstitious and believed fables, myths, and fairytales. And, they believed religious fables, myths, and fairytales too. In fact,... Read more
Given that arguments were just heard by the Supreme Court, arguments of cakes, rights, and weddings (See here) and what it is we think we are endorsing (or not endorsing) by our participation, I thought it might be good to revisit this post (See here). Read more
The above is one of the wonderful chapter headings in George Marsden’s classic book, “Understanding Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism” (Noted before, but see here). It is important to remember that secular fundamentalism and religious fundamentalism are always two sides of the same coin. They may arrive at completely different conclusions, but they begin with some of the same presuppositions or faith beliefs. They also display the same sort of sensibility, which is a curious mix of certainty, lack of imagination, and... Read more
In 1993, Os Guinness wrote a wonderful little book (See here) entitled, “Dining with the Devil.” The sub-title, was: “The Megachurch Movement Flirts with Modernity.” Guinness pointed out how the megachurch movement was borrowing tools, insights, and strategies from the modern management/business and marketing world to “reach” people. It was a sort of Babylonian captivity. What these churches often thought were the result of prayer, evangelism, or Biblical preaching, were, perhaps, simply the result of good marketing, management, and business... Read more
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