A little while back I wrote a post entitled “When Jesus Is Present Where Jesus Isn’t Present.” It stemmed from a National Geographic program I watched about the Dhavari slum in Mumbai, the same slum from the movie Slumdog Millionaire. In that post I talked about a group serving the people of that community which, though not Christian, sure seemed a lot like what we would expect Jesus to be like if he lived in the Dhavari slum. As I... Read more

We’ve already got the LEGO New Testament. It was only a matter of time before medieval Christian literature got the LEGO treatment too, right? Ok, maybe not, but this is still pretty awesome. I wonder if I can build this and turn it is in as my Medieval Theology semester project instead of writing a paper? Oh, wait, never mind. I’m terrible with LEGOs. Anyway, here’s a quick preview, but make sure you click this link and see all 9... Read more

This weekend I had the honor of speaking at a Jamaican church in Far Rockaway, NY that was hit pretty badly by Hurricane Sandy last year. As cliche as it sounds, they really have bounced back stronger than they were before. They are an incredible congregation and it was a privilege just being around them. Anyway, they’ve got a Japanese gospel choir coming in to perform at their church in a few weeks. You read that right. A Japanese gospel... Read more

The neat thing about school is that every once and a while you learn something new. Yesterday, I learned that Thomas Jefferson wasn’t the biggest fan of John Calvin. Actually, that would be an understatement. Now, this raises a really important quandary for a lot of patriotic Americans. You see, if you’re a real American patriot, then you’ve gotta love Jefferson. And if you’re a Calvinist, you’ve gotta love Calvin. But if you love Jefferson, then you love the guy that... Read more

As Facebook tells me, this is apparently what Matthew meant when he wrote, “The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve.” -Matthew 20:28 Read more

(original image found here)   This semester I’ve been taking a class called “Worship, Culture, Technology.” As you might expect from the name, the class is about the ways technology is affecting the church and the Christian faith in general. As you also might expect, as a Christian blogger I’ve really enjoyed the class. The past couple of weeks we’ve had a visiting professor from Germany sit in on our classes. He stopped by our class originally to talk about... Read more

According to a recent study, belief in an angry God is “significantly associated with an increase in social anxiety, paranoia, obsession, and compulsion.” That doesn’t come as much of a surprise to me. Believing that an all powerful being is constantly ticked off should create some anxiety, particularly if, like Mark Driscoll, you think this ticked off all powerful being personally hates you. But such is the nature of God for many Christians, particularly those of the Calvinist persuasion who... Read more

It’s been a little while since I’ve shared the private revelations of one William Tapley. It’s not that The Third Eagle of the Apocalypse hasn’t had anything to say. He has. But when you denounce the demonic phallic imagery at an airport, you’re setting the bar pretty high for apocalyptic zaniness. Now, I’m not saying Tapley has reached that bar in this video. He hasn’t. But it’s pretty wonderful nonetheless. In a fantastic followup to his analysis of Gangnam Style,... Read more

This semester I’m taking a class held in a building called Linsly-Chittenden Hall. It stands at the south end of Yale and makes up what is known as “the old campus.” It’s called “the old campus” because the oldest building dates back to 1750. If those long dormant history class nureons are firing in your brain, then you know this means that building, Connecticut Hall, is older than the country it stands in. Of course, so is Yale. It was... Read more

As I’m always welcoming new people to the blog I sometimes like to revisit an old post or two that sparked a good conversation, but may have been missed by those who weren’t around when it was originally posted. In light of the tragic events at the Boston Marathon yesterday and the inevitable search for why such madness occurs, I thought this post would be appropriate to share again as it pretty much sums up my thoughts on the widely held notion... Read more