Are You a "Hipster Christian"?

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 5:01 pm By Tony Jones

Well, supposedly I am, being that Brett McCracken devotes chapter seven, in the heart of his book, Hipster Christianity: When Church and Cool Collide to the emerging church movement. “The emerging church,” we are told by McCracken, “undergirds much of what hipster Christianity is all about these days.” And, cribbing a quote from my chapter in An Emergent Manifesto of Hope about the ECM being “pluriform and multivocal,” McCracken responds with this devastating critique: “I mean, how hip is that?”... Read more

Meaningful Deaths

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 5:01 pm By Tony Jones

That seems to be the sweet spot of Jon Krakauer’s writing. Driving to and from Dallas in the past week, I listened to two of Krakauer’s books, Into Thin Air and Into the Wild. The first is the author’s firsthand account of the 1996 Mount Everest Disaster in which eight climbers died in one day, and 15 in that season. The second is his investigation of the journeys and eventual starvation of Chris McCandless, also made into an eponymous movie.... Read more

Almost Christian: Going Viral for Jesus

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 5:01 pm By Tony Jones

I’m blogging through Kenda Creasy Dean’s new book, Almost Christian, a theological follow up to Christian Smith’s Soul Searching. I hope you’ll join me. Find all the posts here. In chapter 7, “Going Viral for Jesus: The Art of Testimony,” Kenda begins by tackling three of the questions that I heard voiced after Soul Searching came out. First: Maybe the teens interviewed by the NYSR were just uncomfortable talking to adults about their faith. Second: Maybe teens are deeply religious... Read more

Ponderings on a Faith Journey: A Legal Analysis of the Recent Prop 8 Decision

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 5:01 pm By Tony Jones

Bob Cornwall, a consistently thoughtful, progressive voice, has a guest post from an attorney in his congregation regarding the recent Prop 8 ruling, now being considered by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. I highly recommend that you read it, especially if you’re so caught up in the religious/moral aspects of same sex marriage that you haven’t really considered the legal aspects. Here’s a taste: In its Equal Protection analysis, the court determined that Proposition 8 was discriminatory based on... Read more

Snooki, You Sicken Me

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 5:01 pm By Tony Jones

I’m no prude. I’ll watch just about anything, and laugh out loud, from the homoerotic comedy of Tosh.0 to gruesome war movies to, well, as I said, just about anything. So I was shocked at my reaction to my first viewing of Jersey Shore, the wildly popular and culturally ubiquitous MTV series populated by such characters as Snooki and “The Situation”: I found it the single most disgusting piece of television I’ve ever seen. Jersey Shore is, of course, rife... Read more

Almost Christian: Parents Matter Most

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 5:01 pm By Tony Jones

I’m blogging through Kenda Creasy Dean’s new book, a theological follow up to Christian Smith’s Soul Searching. I hope you’ll join me. Find all the posts here. Kenda begins Part Three, “Cultivating Consequential Faith” of Almost Christian, with chapter six, “Parents Matter Most: The Art of Translation.” Here, Kenda takes a bit of a turn, into the neo-liberal world of theologians like Hans Frei and George Lindbeck. This is particularly interesting to me because it is territory that I know... Read more

What Is the "Gospel" Response to the Prop 8 Ruling?

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 5:01 pm By Tony Jones

That’s the question that Christianity Today asked a variety of evangelical leaders and thinkers. Since not one of them affirmed the recent ruling by Judge Vaughn Walker, and since their email asking my opinion must have gone into my spam folder, I figured I’d weigh in here. Here’s my answer to their question: Both our sacred text and the Christian tradition equivocate on what, exactly, is marriage. It’s a fluid concept, and it has evolved over time. As Christians, we... Read more

A Plea for Big Tent Christianity: Don't Suck

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 5:01 pm By Tony Jones

This post is part of the Big Tent Christianity Synchroblog. I’ll be emceeing the Big Tent Christianity event next month, along with my partner-in-crime, Doug Pagitt. And, I’ve gotta say, this event is rife with potential — potential to be great, or to suck. The potential has everything to do with the amazing roster of people scheduled to participate — leading lights in from center to the left of contemporary American Protestantism. Each of them could probably carry the stage... Read more

An Authoritative Bibliography on Emergent Christiantity by Phyllis Tickle

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 5:01 pm By Tony Jones

At ExploreFaith, Phyllis has put together a thorough list of the most interesting and helpful books for understanding the current emergence of Protestantism in the West. (I’m happy to report that two of my books made the cut.) See it HERE. Read more

Happy Birthday, Albert!

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 5:01 pm By Tony Jones

Today, the newest addition to the Jones brood turns 1! When one gets a dog, one never knows. Some turn out to be duds, have bad personalities, etc. And, when the purchase is a purebred dog from a breeder, genetic problems are a real possibility. But one year in, Albert is more than I could have even hoped. He’s got a great disposition — he’s fierce when it comes to retrieving in the thick stuff, but he’s downright passive when... Read more