The news today is that the Crystal Cathedral has filed for bankruptcy. It’s much easier to sit here in judgment on Robert Schuller and the “gospel” he preached, but there’s perhaps something redemptive to find in this story. What can we learn from this? We also wonder what will happen to this building? Sarah Pulliam Bailey, one of CT’s fine writers, gives us some thoughts: Crystal Cathedral Ministries, which owes about $7.5 million to unsecured creditors, filed for Chapter 11... Read more
From CNN.com: Washington (CNN) — As e-book readers and tablet computers become more common, one prominent tech mogul says that physical books could disappear sooner than expected. In an interview with CNN’s Howard Kurtz on “Reliable Sources,” author Nicholas Negroponte, founder of One Laptop per Child, said the physical book’s days are numbered. “It will be in five years,” said Negroponte. “The physical medium cannot be distributed to enough people. When you go to Africa, half a million people want... Read more
It’s the time of the year in Swaziland when the summer heat is rising and the children at Mabanteneni will begin to have even more needs. It’s a time we think again about how we can help these kids. Through our Jesus Creed community, we have sponsored 21 children which is awesome. We have 4 more to sponsor (which will total 25) before Tom Davis and HopeChest give us the next challenge of helping out with Care Point needs in... Read more
I participated in Tim Dalrymple’s ongoing series on whether or not patriotism is idolatrous for Christians. You can find what I wrote through the link, but a few other posts there got me thinking about how we detect when Christians have become idolatrous in their relationship to the State. I have a suggestion for you to consider, and I’d like your feedback: Christians become idolatrous when they believe more in the State than the Church (not to mention Christ), when... Read more
“… if God cares for so much for all creatures, why didn’t God create a world in which there would be no natural disasters?” Terence Fretheim asks why God created a world in which bad things happen in his new book, Creation Untamed: The Bible, God, and Natural Disasters (Theological Explorations for the Church Catholic). He opens with an observation I think few of us have thought of: God created a world that was good, but not perfect. His previous studies... Read more
Joe Carter, a leading voice at First Things, a (mostly?) Roman Catholic publication, takes some swipes at evangelicals and our quirky evangelism habits. What do you think of his points? Would you add some? I will quote a bit, and then list his Ten Fixtures, and then I want to give a brief response … There are two types of evangelicals in America: those who naively embrace whatever trendy items happen to be hot sellers at “Christian” bookstores—WWJD? bracelets, Testamints,... Read more
From the Chicago Tribune: Half-built homes have popped up all over Chicago and the suburbs, a jarring leftover from the real estate market meltdown and ongoing foreclosures. Many were tear-downs of existing homes, replaced by skeletal structures that neighbors fear will lower their property values. The languishing construction site on the North Side is a glaring case study of the difficulties that frustrated residents, communities and lenders face in grappling with abandoned, half-finished homes. Though numbers are hard to measure... Read more
Immigration is becoming an increasing issue in Europe, none more serious perhaps than in Germany. A nation’s integrity is a value to many, but the value of tolerance is creating issues with the traditional sense of national integrity. We are praying the Church can speak into these issues in the direction of justice and peace. This is all very complicated, but I’m wondering what you are seeing and hearing. What do you think is at the heart of a European... Read more
From the moment I heard about it until Friday I was looking forward to begin reading the new complete, authoritative autobiography of Mark Twain. By the time Univ of California and its editors finish this mammoth project, left in tatters by Twain himself and then bungled up in one way or another by well-meaning editors after Twain died, the official autobiography will be three big volumes. What’s your favorite Twain-ism or book? Well, Twain’s such fun for me — and... Read more
I read through a series of posts at Patheos on this question, and thought it might make for a good Sunday conversation. The sort of thing we can talk about over Sunday meals. In 100 words or less, why do you take communion? Read more
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