By: Miriam Mendez on March 3, 2015
Charles Taylor’s gift as a cartographer takes the reader on a journey to track the move from some elite unbelief in the eighteenth century to mass secularization in the twenty-first century. He does this by introducing religious forms at different stages. He begins with the “ancient regime” form. This is where there is an inextricable…
By: Travis Biglow on March 2, 2015
The Spirit and Ethic of Greed March 1, 15 As a pastor I have been able to be around a lot of great Christians leaders. Many of them are straight shooters. But many of them are motivated by greed and money. It is so sad to say but it is true. I have found that…
By: Carol McLaughlin on March 1, 2015
(Reposted, since the link was broken. Thanks Bill and Liz for letting me know) Sitting on the veranda of the oldest Baptist Church in Australia within the Central Business District in Melbourne, Australia my new Aussie friend and I were discussing life, our stories of faith, the weaving of doubt and faith, trust and…
By: Dawnel Volzke on March 1, 2015
The Protestant ethic is a concept that says that large numbers of people were influenced to work hard and diligently as part of the way they demonstrated their faith. Weber, in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, looks at the distinct characteristics of modern capitalism, which he defines as the achievement of profit…
By: Richard Volzke on February 28, 2015
Continuing this weeks reading of, A Secular Age, I came across a quote in Chapter 13 that specifically illustrates what I believe is a major problem in churches within the US and other Western countries. “Most of us in America believe a few simple propositions that seem so clear and self-evident they scarcely need to…
By: Bill Dobrenen on February 28, 2015
Recently, I was selected to be part of a group that is studying and dealing with issues of racial and ethnic equity. This group is made up of eight different colleges and universities in the state of Oregon. Each school has 4-7 representatives that come from various departments; there are college presidents, student service workers,…
By: rhbaker275 on February 28, 2015
This week provided a challenge to continue to absorb a-little more, seek to go deeper and basically unravel Charles Taylor’s A Secular Age. Throughout the writing, Taylor creates and maintains an inquisitive approach that engages the reader. At the outset, Taylor asks a seemingly unpretentious question, “What does it mean to live in a secular…
By: Jon Spellman on February 27, 2015
As I spent time this week with The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism I found several things to be of interest. In psychology there is a terminology known as “the fundamental attribution error” which describes our tendency to more positively view our own motives than those of others when the outcomes are virally identical.…
By: Ashley Goad on February 27, 2015
Yesterday was one of the longest days I have ever had. Traveling westward across time zones made for a 33 hour Wednesday; however, 33 hours provides ample opportunity for reading and reflection! Of all of the mission trips I have led over the years, something like 60 or 70, I had a first yesterday. On…
By: Telile Fikru Badecha on February 27, 2015
The impact of western secularism has great implications for Christianity and social change in Ethiopia. The reality of globalization and the ever-growing cultural exchange between Western and developing countries, like Ethiopia, makes the impact of modernity inevitable. Unarguably, there are benefits of being connected with everyone and everything but we need to pay attention to…
By: Brian Yost on February 26, 2015
As a red-blooded American, I grew up with a certain understanding of life. America was the greatest country on earth, blessed by God and hard work, and everybody wanted to be like us. Our military was the best in the world and every war we every fought was righteous, defending freedom and fighting oppression. Our…
By: Mitch Arbelaez on February 26, 2015
We have all encountered them. Those individuals, that, as you attempt to share a loving personal God with them, simply replied back that they believe a god may have been instrumental in the whole creation of the universe. They concede that this god may have implemented natural laws that currently guide said universe with a…
By: John Woodward on February 26, 2015
The movie The Theory of Everything is an inspirational story about Stephen Hawking’s life and is rich in juxtapositions. One such juxtaposition is the development and growth of Hawking’s mind and thinking as he body rapidly weakened. Another is Hawking’s rational, mathematical view of the universe contrasted with his deep passion for music, his family,…
By: Liz Linssen on February 26, 2015
“The number of Christians in Communist China is growing so steadily that it by 2030 it could have more churchgoers than America.” [i] According to Taylor, the battle of our time is “between neo- and post-Durkheimiam construals of our condition, between different forms of religion and spirituality.”[ii] He explains how “the gamut of beliefs in…
By: Michael Badriaki on February 26, 2015
Humanity continues to be impacted by ideas from religion and culture. It is difficult to distinguish religious practice from the culture in which it emerges. Why pinpoint at the two categorizes and not others like banking, the modern biomedical enterprise and so forth? I believe that they are all inseparably intertwined but while studying…
By: Phillip Struckmeyer on February 26, 2015
I came across an interesting article this week in the massive amount of reading I am doing these days. I forget the name of the article (not a good research practice) but it took me to a link where a recent speech by U.S. Senator Marco Rubio was given. The nature of the article was…
By: Deve Persad on February 26, 2015
Over the last few months, it has been a privilege for me (on an interim basis) to be part of the youth ministry of our church family. One of the goals for my involvement has been to challenge our youth to develop critical and biblical thinking within the world they live. It’s been an exciting…
By: Nick Martineau on February 26, 2015
Max Weber’s classic book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism was a book I heard referred to often but had never gotten my hands on. I kind of understood the premise going in but it wasn’t until actually holding my book (actually two books because it’s not just the older cohort members that…
By: Dave Young on February 25, 2015
What? Did Webner really say “Protestants… have shown a special tendency to develop economic rationalism which cannot be observed to the same extent among Catholics”.[i] Isn’t he saying – Protestants work better then Catholics? After my initial double take, I was intrigued. How will this German sociologist make the case that Protestantism is a contributing…
By: Mary Pandiani on February 24, 2015
I see a play in Seattle that creates quite a conversation between the four of us who attend. Later, someone asks me, “A good play?” While I didn’t particularly enjoy it musically, I say “yes,” with the idea that the play causes great dialogue over the thematic issues. The greatness of a book, a play,…
