Kris and I both love to read memoirs. Kris likes those memoirs that probe one’s psychological state or get into some deep story, while I like memoirs of writers and thinkers (which is not to say they don’t sometimes explore the inner world nor to say that those psychological memoirs aren’t by thinkers). In fact, I like memoirs by folks who are primarily writers and memoirs is their specialty. Like Joseph Epstein, whose other books, including the new one about... Read more
Yesterday we finished off a discussion of John H. Walton’s fascinating look at The Lost World of Genesis One. In the discussion of scientific explanations of origins in proposition 16, p. 136 Walton draws an analogy (He uses a few examples, I am going to paraphrase a bit to use only one example). We believe that God controls the weather, yet we do not denounce meteorologists who produce their weather maps day to day based on the predictability of natural... Read more
What makes Chris Armstrong’s new book, Patron Saints for Postmoderns: Ten from the Past Who Speak to Our Future , unique is the choice he makes of those whom we can learn from. Antony and Gregory the Great are not surprising; Dante Alighieri is (at least that choice surprised me). One winter here in Chicago I spent lots of my down time reading The Divine Comedy: Inferno; Purgatorio; Paradiso (Everyman’s Library) . I loved it; read a biography of Dante... Read more
Missional communities are apostolically-shaped communities where the wonders of God are seen but where the wonders of God sometimes provoke persecution of the people of God. But persecution provokes courage on the part of the missional community. Read Acts 5:27-32: Having brought the apostles, they made them appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are... Read more
This is my last post on Walton’s book, but RJS will have one tomorrow ... We come today to the end of John Walton’s (professor at Wheaton) new book, The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate, and he finishes off this book with a conclusion that is worthy of serious discussion by those of us interested in public education: Public science education should be neutral regarding purpose. Here’s a major thesis of this book: “If... Read more
According to Jim Belcher, a pastor-theologian, there is Third Way with, between and beyond the traditional and the emergent. He sketches such a Third Way in his new book, Deep Church: A Third Way Beyond Emerging and Traditional . One thing he has to do is define “emerging.” No small task. But he observes that emerging can’t be reduced to reaching a new culture by recontextualizing. Emerging is more theological and philosophical than that. And that is where the issues... Read more
President Obama’s speech has a singular goal: to convince the public. The Democrats in Washington DC are already convinced, but the American public right now is unconvinced. The Senators learned that when they went home. They don’t want that to happen again because they have to answer to the people in a State. A sizable block in the American public is unsure of what the “problem” is and many are just as convinced the current suggestions (Congress proposals and now... Read more
Many of you know about Tokens: “TOKENS features Nashville’s finest musicians and songwriters, provocative interviews with best-selling authors, and cultural and political satire dished up by the Tokens Radio Players. TOKENS is like listening to your favorite old-time public radio show on Saturday night, with theological engagement and cultural critique.” Well, I’ve been invited to be a guest on Tokens at the live showing October 15th at Lipscomb University, joining Ashley Cleveland and Odessa Settles and the Settles Connection. Read more
Missional communities are apostolically-shaped communities where the wonders of God are seen but where the wonders of God sometimes provoke persecution of the people of God. Here is Acts 5:17-26: Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out.... Read more
Michael Kruse, who blogs at the Kruse Kronicle, is one of our most faithful conversation partners on the Jesus Creed blog. He has over and over instructed us about economics and so we asked him to do a series for us on basic economics. I’m looking forward to this series. This is the first in a series of posts reflecting on how economics touches on aspects of our Christian Life. Let me make clear at the start that I’m not... Read more
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