Why Christmas Matters

Last updated on: December 24, 2012 at 5:30 pm By Timothy Dalrymple

There are now, and long have been, two variations on the Christmas theme. There is the version in which Christmas is a largely commercial enterprise. At its best, this version of Christmas is an exercise in generosity, a celebration of the goodness of created things, and an opportunity to turn away from professional pursuits and remember the fundamental importance of family. At its worst, it is an unseemly weeks-long binge of expenditure and acquisition, an exercise in rank consumerist materialism,... Read more

Breakfast Links for 12/24/12 – Gun Control Fantasies; Jesus and the ‘God-button’; Tebow and the Patience of Job

Last updated on: December 23, 2012 at 11:31 pm By Timothy Dalrymple

BREAKFAST LINKS 12/24/12: Johnnie Moore, Patheos/Philosophical Fragments: “We must let what we know about God compensate for what we don’t understand about Him. While we think we need answers, what we actually need is God Himself.” Stephen Greenhut, Orange County Register: Utopian Fantasies of Gun Control Advocates J. E. Dyer, Patheos/The Optimistic Christian: “What a beginning it was, those twenty centuries ago, when Jesus came as a newborn baby to live among us. The world then was a darker place... Read more

When Children Are Killed at Christmastime

Last updated on: December 23, 2012 at 9:30 pm By Timothy Dalrymple

One of my intentions for Philosophical Fragments — and for the Evangelical Channel at Patheos in general — is to bring together some of the finest examples of evangelical thought leaders engaging the issues in the public square. So I’ve been honored to host excellent guest posts recently from Peter Wehner of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, Jennifer Marshall of the Heritage Foundation, Josh Good of the American Enterprise Institute, Greg Scott of the Alliance Defending Freedom, Andrew Marin of... Read more

The Callous Theology of James Dobson

Last updated on: December 21, 2012 at 11:29 am By Timothy Dalrymple

When I received this piece from Peter Wehner, I wanted to publish it right away — and the fastest way to do so is as a guest post. For those who don’t know, Pete has been one of the leading evangelicals in Washington for a long time now. He served in the Reagan and George H. W. Bush administrations, and headed George W. Bush’s in-house policy shop, the Office of Strategic Initiatives. He co-authored City of Man: Religion and Politics in... Read more

Breakfast Links for 12/21/12 – End-of-the-World-Party; 300 Million Locked and Loaded; Atheist Kids in Pews

Last updated on: December 20, 2012 at 8:16 pm By Timothy Dalrymple

BREAKFAST LINKS 12/21/12: Andrew Marin, Patheos/Love Is An Orientation: “In either case, Brenda (my wife) and I are holding an End of the World Party tonight for our friends. It’s not a theme party, it’s a party with our close friends just in case the Mayans, er, the extreme rapture ready crowd, is right. Here’s hoping they are!” William J. Bennett, CNN Opinion: The Case for Gun Rights Is Stronger Than You Think Frank Viola, Patheos/Frank Viola: “Years ago I... Read more

Breakfast Links for 12/20/12 – Gold, Frankincense and M-16’s; Religion of Certainosity; Gun Control Ignorance

Last updated on: December 19, 2012 at 7:31 pm By Timothy Dalrymple

BREAKFAST LINKS 12/20/12: Bill Blankschaen, Patheos/Bill In the Blanks: “Maybe Jesus was born away in a manger, just not like the one made in China on the shelf at Wal-Mart. But in the “tower of the flock”, Migdal Eder, surrounded by holy shepherds, set apart to certify the birth of the ultimate Passover Lamb.” Thomas Sowell, Real Clear Politics: Ignorance on Gun Control David French, Patheos/The French Revolution: “Mankind, by its very nature, is fallen — broken and sinful —... Read more

Breakfast Links for 12/19/12 – Death, Mortality and Sandy Hook; Mary and Abortion; Expectations and Testing

Last updated on: December 19, 2012 at 12:50 am By Timothy Dalrymple

BREAKFAST LINKS 12/19/12: Frank Viola, Patheos/Frank Viola: “Jesus did not meet John’s expectations. If you’ve not met that side of God yet, you will. He will not always meet your expectations. And when that day comes, faith gets tested.” Glenn Harlan Reynolds, USA TODAY: Gun-Free Zones and False Security Tim Dalrymple, Patheos/Philosophical Fragments: “I believe that God feels the same “NO!” that I do, and he hated death’s promise of permanency with such enormous intensity that he went to the cross... Read more

Sandy Hook and the Revolt Against Death

Last updated on: December 18, 2012 at 1:33 pm By Timothy Dalrymple

An odd thing happened to me the night before the mass murder at Sandy Hook Elementary School. My wife and I had watched a recorded episode of Parenthood in which Kristina, a wife and mother, very nearly passes away in a hospital. The recording she had made for her children, in the event of her death, was powerful, especially for the grief and anger Kristina showed when she addressed the newborn baby girl who would not remember her mother. So mortality was... Read more

Breakfast Links for 12/17/12 – Children, Shootings and God’s Plan; Living on the Cliff-Edge; Lessons of “Zero Dark Thirty”

Last updated on: December 16, 2012 at 4:58 pm By Timothy Dalrymple

BREAKFAST LINKS 12/17/12: Amy Julia Becker, Patheos/Thin Places: “Advent is a time of longing, of crying out for God to continue to break into this broken world and make it right. And so, with anger and fear and sorrow and the thinnest wisp of hope, we cry out. Come, Lord Jesus. Come into the horror. Make it right.” Kyle Roberts, Patheos/Cultivare: “Among the many things Jesus showed us about God, is this: When we suffer, Jesus weeps. And so God... Read more

These Aren’t the Religions You’re Looking For: Jedi Church, Postmodern Spirituality and the Christian Response

Last updated on: December 14, 2012 at 12:16 pm By Timothy Dalrymple

After I noted recently the UK Census trends on religion, and (rather in jest) pointed out that there were more self-declared Jedi in England and Wales than self-identified Pagans and Atheists, I heard from my good friend, John W. Morehead, who heads the evangelical chapter of the Foundation for Religious Diplomacy. John’s an excellent scholar of religions, especially emerging religious movements, and he offered to write on the census data and what evangelicals can learn from it. Here is his... Read more