Just in case you, Christian, are in need of the occasional light-hearted look at what Christians — and we mean mostly conservative evangelical Christians — are like, what they quibble about and what they look like to outsiders … Get a copy of Jonathan Acuff’s hilarious, side-splitting and poke-us-in-the-heart ribs, Stuff Christians Like … Find a place to read it… Make sure it is away from people who need quiet … Or get together with a few friends, perhaps even... Read more
From Edward T. Oakes, at St Alphonsus in Chicago, fully pointing his finger at the sins, taking on the media issue, but at the same time stating that the media is not doing this for the good of the Catholic Church. Clipped from First Things: I have long felt that we Catholics will know that this crisis has finally been put behind us, at least in the United States, when the bishops, in one of their collective annual meetings, passes... Read more
A psalm of praise and wonder at the majesty and might of YHWH is found in Psalm 8 (after the jump). The psalmist praises God for creation, that is, for the glory that is evoked when one considers the awesome splendor of creation, as can be seen in this internet picture of the waterfalls. Even enemies are destined to declare your praise. Let’s be concrete: in our day, David would be saying that someday Dawkins and Hitchens and Harris will... Read more
I am currently reading a book by David N. Livingstone, Adam’s Ancestors: Race, Religion, and the Politics of Human Origins. David Livingstone is Professor of Geography and Intellectual History at Queen’s University, Belfast and this book reflects both of his interests. It is a readable, but thorough and academic, book looking at the history of the idea of pre-adamic or non-adamic humans in western Christian thinking from the early church (Origen, Gregory of Nyssa, and Augustine) through the middle ages,... Read more
— Law and Mission? This past Monday, the case of Christian Legal Society v. Martinez was argued before the United States Supreme Court. The case arises out of the refusal of the University of California, Hastings Law School to recognize a local Christian Legal Society chapter as an official registered student organization. As described in the CLS’ Brief, at U.C. Hastings, RSOs are entitled to meet in university rooms, to apply for funding to support various group activities, and to access multiple channels for communicating with students and... Read more
This is a pastor friend of ours in Coburg, Oregon, and this is one of the best stories I have ever read. What other missional stories are you aware of or a part of in your neighborhood? Surprising ministry in my community? Scot, I know I have shared my story with you before, but I think this fits in with the question you’ve asked. I am a pastor and had spent nearly a decade in our community pastoring a congregation... Read more
John Goldingay, in his book on the Psalms (Psalms, Vol. 1: Psalms 1-41 (Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms) ), calls Psalm 7:10-16 a statement of faith. I have the text after the jump, but his point will guide our comments today. Four opening statements, all quite personal and I’ve highlighted those elements: God is my shield, God is my deliverer, then he become a little more objective: God exercises authority and God expresses indignation (vv. 10-11).... Read more
James Davison Hunter, in his new book, (To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World ), examines the Christian Right. Two overall comments: this may be the best sketch of the popular perception of the Christian Right I’ve ever read. And, alongside that, this chp lacks an attempt to present the Christian Right’s theological underpinnings — and one could go to Luther or to Calvin or to Kuyper. Instead, Hunter presents a... Read more
From CSM… What do you think this tells us? Here’s some explanation. The blue is unemployment; the red line inflation. Read more
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