Last weekend, I preached at the ordination service of a friend. I thought it was strange of her to ask me, being that I don’t really find ordination helpful anymore (I did once, and I am ordained). It’s not so much the institution itself (though I do have problems with it), but the way it’s used that I find so troubling. It’s too often used as some kind of worldly power grab, an excuse to make someone call you “Pastor,”... Read more

Youth Specialties has just announced that it it refocusing its efforts on youth ministry and, thus, will no longer be partnering with Emergent-US in running the Emergent Convention (nor will they partner with Zondervan on the National Pastors’ Convention). Those of us on the Emergent-US organizing team are very much in support of YS’s decision. And YS is still in support of Emergent — just today I received an invitation to speak at all three National Youth Workers’ Conventions, and... Read more

OK, everyone, I think we successfully avoided coming to any kind of consensus as to how we move forward with this thing. And as much as I am flattered, I think it’s loopy that some of you want to plan the meetings around my schedule in Princeton. However, because I want to spend time with all of you and am, at my core, selfish, we will indeed meet when I am next in Princeton, and that is next week. Though... Read more

I don’t care what all you snooty St. Olaf grad/classical music lovers say, this is a great radio station… …but this is still better. Both stream online. Read more

Habermas: What up, G? Say, I’ve read all your stuff on hermeneutics, and I think it’s pretty good. But I’ve got a couple of major concerns. Gadamer: OK, shoot. H: Well for one, I’m not really down with your rehabilitation of tradition. I mean, tradition is there, I understand, but it is nothing more than a carrier of prejudice. G: I know, and I think prejudice is just fine, too. H: But prejudice and tradition are tools of The Man.... Read more

The big paper I was working on for the past two weeks was on that very subject, phenomenological hermeneutics. Now, I’ve gotten several emails and comments from people basically laughing at how silly and pointless the mental masturbation like this seems. So, in order to justify my own existence, I’ll give a little run-down of the contents and try to show that this is actually significant. Hermeneutics is the art of interpretation. Up until the mid-20th century, it was dominated... Read more

…because you’ll start sounding like this: Following Heigedder, truth for Gadamer is historical; that is, truth is truth only to a human being situated in time and place: “Being itself is an event of truth.” This commitment to the Husserlian-Heideggerian line of phenomenology leads Gadamer to adopt Husserl’s concept of “horizon” as a metaphor for the “flow of experience” that constitutes the human “temporality of consciousness.” The concept of horizon, then, both opens and delimits the human experience; on the... Read more

I’m not quite done with my 40-page paper on phenomenological hermeneutics (it’s due at midnight, EST), thus the blogging silence. However, I was just looking at the bibliography for the paper so far, and I instinctively started singing the old Sesame Street song, “One of these things is not like the other.” Let’s see if you can spot the one that doesn’t seem to belong: Bibliograpy <!–[if supportFields]> ADDIN EN.REFLIST <![endif]–>Bauckham, Richard. The Theology of Jürgen Moltmann. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1995.... Read more

Quite possibly the greatest blog post I have ever read. Read more

I won’t be at the conventions this year, although it grieves me. I have to study for my comprehensive exams and truly cannot afford any time away from that. However, I think you should go; and you can help promote it by linking here. Read more