Eighteen years ago, Pope John Paul II wrote in Centesimus Annus: “Can it perhaps be said that, after the failure of Communism, capitalism is the victorious social system, and that capitalism should be the goal of the countries now making efforts to rebuild their economy and society? Is this model which ought to be proposed to the countries of the Third World which are searching for the path of true economic and civil progress? The answer is obviously complex.... Read more
I admit that I love Garrison Keillor’s books; I’ll also admit I’ve almost never listened to The Prairie Home Companion though Kris and I have twice gone to hear him at Ravinia here in the northern suburbs. What I most like about his stories is when he finds himself among church folks, begins to observe and then weigh in with some judgment — never as harsh or cynical as Mark Twain but with almost as much wit. His new book, Life... Read more
I’d like to suggest that Amazon and Ebay manifest a doctrine, and it’s a variation on the Protestant doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. I call this Amazon- and Ebay-based doctrine the “priesthood of all consumers.” There was a day when bookstore dealers sold books, Clothing stores sold clothes, Jewelers sold jewelry, and sports stores sold sporting goods. But not now. Everyone can sell everything with a little ingenuity, a little work, and sometimes with little more than no... Read more
The cycle continues but this time with a new twist in Lystra — Paul’s miracles evoke an attempt to worship him and Barnabas, a stock response in the ancient world (see Beverly Gaventa’s The Acts of the Apostles (Abingdon New Testament Commentaries) ): 14:8 In Lystra sat a man who could not use his feet, lame from birth, who had never walked. 14:9 This man was listening to Paul as he was speaking. When Paul stared intently at him and saw he had... Read more
Today I begin a series of posts looking at Harvey Cox’s new book The Future of Faith. We’ll see how long it goes – at least a couple of weeks. Cox is the Hollis Professor of Divinity emeritus at Harvard and is best known for his 1965 book The Secular City. I first became familiar with Cox and his work through his book When Jesus Came to Harvard: Making Moral Choices Today, a very thoughtful and thought provoking book. The... Read more
Manfred Brauch, now retired from many years of teaching at Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary (now Palmer), calls us to a more serious approach to Scripture in order to end the all-too-common abuse of Scripture. Scripture is used for everything by everyone … what I mean is that everyone thinks the Bible is on their side. Which means we’ve tamed the “blue parakeet” passages. But I’ve been thinking of the many who have a great idea, know the texts where that... Read more
Tony Stiff is a graduate of Westminster seminary, a friend, and a solid young thinker — and he will do a four part series for us on “Missional” theology and Bible reading. I look forward to this series and I ask you to join in the conversation. I must tell you how much I appreciate folks like Tony — regular readers of this blog, regular commenter, and one willing to offer suggestions like this for the blog. It is folks... Read more
The Book of Acts, once it turns to Paul, turns almost exclusively to Paul — Peter mostly drops from the narrative (except in chp 15) and we now read about Paul’s missionary travels, and we need to remind ourselves that Paul’s missionary travels are his chasing down where God’s Spirit was guiding and where God’s Spirit was at work. So, Paul moves from Pisidian Antioch to Iconium: 14:1 The same thing happened in Iconium when Paul and Barnabas went into the... Read more
Greg Boyd, in his newest book, The Myth of a Christian Religion: Losing Your Religion for the Beauty of a Revolution , begins with this: “Once upon a time I embraced the Christian religion… [which he lost and that was] “a tremendous blessing. Because when I lost my religion, I discovered a beautiful revolution.” The reason there are Greg Boyds in this world is because American evangelicalism has been a thin remix of Romans, a religion shaped too much by... Read more
Tim Keller and Greg Boyd have the same message: eschew all idols and devote yourself completely to the one God, the God of the Lord Jesus Christ. Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian in NYC, in Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters treats the subject of the idol of money in chp 3 of his fine book. “The new explosion in executive salaries, the increased emphasis on luxury goods, the rapacious... Read more
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