By Madison Wasinger [This post is part of a conversation around the new book by Dutch theologian Abraham Kuyper, Wisdom & Wonder: Common Grace in Science & Art, now featured at the Patheos Book Club.] Artists On Call in Culture: A Generous Mind Conversation I am excited about this new concept, “On Call in Culture.” When first hearing about it, I was immediately challenged on how I might apply the idea to my life, particularly in the area of my personal organizing business.... Read more

I must confess that I judge books on spiritual transformation based on whether or not they address the wider issues of social transformation and justice.  While I found some wisdom, for example, in the best-selling new age book The Secret, I discovered that there was not a word about justice or fairness in the whole text; it was all about individual success.  Its vision of humankind implied that those who are traumatized or impoverished were, in fact, blamed for their... Read more

A number of years ago I got very into the “Not So Big House” movement, loving Sarah Susanka’s emphasis on great domestic design as a means to maximize comfort. People feel comfortable in small spaces, which is why we gravitate toward window seats and inglenooks, and why everyone crowds together in the kitchen at a party. Small, private, carefully planned spaces are havens. We know what to expect from them, and we feel safe. I’ve been thinking about that scaffolding... Read more

[This post is part of the conversation around the new book, Hijacked: Responding to the Partisan Church Divide, now featured at the Patheos Book Club.] It’s a truism, isn’t it?  In order to change, well, one has to want to change.  During a recent conversation about the steps that we can take to reduce the rancorous and divisive partisanship that has infiltrated our churches, a friend commented along the following lines.  He observed that the suggestions we had outlined to step... Read more

The world of real church doesn’t always reflect much of the New Testament Gospel and living there can make you crazy. Read more

[This post is part of the conversation around the new book, Hijacked: Responding to the Partisan Church Divide, now featured at the Patheos Book Club.] I just finished watching the HBO movie “Game Change,” which gives one perspective on the selection of Sarah Palin for the GOP vice-presidential slot in the 2008 McCain campaign.  Those on the political right seem to be convinced the movie was too hard on Palin; those on the political left are sure it was too... Read more

[This post is part of a conversation on the new book Wisdom & Wonder: Common Grace in Science & Art, by Abraham Kuyper, at the Patheos Book Club here.] During a recent power outage, a woman picked up her phone to hear the frantic voice of her fifty-five year old daughter. “The power’s off! The microwave and stove are dead. What are we going to do to eat?” Mom took a deep, slow breath and replied, “Honey, you have a... Read more

In the first sentence of his new book, Spirituality and the Awakening Self, David Benner lays the context for all that is to follow: “Being human is a journey of becoming.”  Benner, an internationally known psychologist and spiritual guide, brings his 35 years of experience to his latest book and plunges head and heart-first into the depths of human transformation to reveal what author J. Harold Ellens calls a “pyscho-theology of growth.” Lauded by many of the most respected names... Read more

"Sacrilege is my attempt to start a groundswell at the street level where the entire story of Christianity began and can be reborn." An interview with Hugh Halter, the author of the new book Sacrilege. Read more

[This post is part of a roundtable discussion on a new collection of essays on grace by Dutch theologian Abraham Kuyper called Wisdom & Wonder. For more conversation, visit the Patheos Book Club here.] Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920) is one of the primary modern interpreters of Reformed theology.  Following John Calvin, Kuyper sees the universe as the “theater of God’s glory.”  The world is the reflection of God’s common, preserving and orderly work in creation.  Despite the tragic impact of human sin,... Read more