By: Sean Dean on February 20, 2020
In the book Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress experimental psychologist Steve Pinker explains that using the tools of the Enlightenment humanity is seeing measurable progress. He argues that, while there are risks to be aware of, there is reason for optimism in a world that seems to be bombarded with…
By: Wallace Kamau on February 20, 2020
In most the African traditions, children were taught by their aunts and grand parents through stories which have been passed through generations, that help explain certain myths and traditions that are related to specific communities. Its common in Africa to have stereotypes that are related to particular tribes. Its through these stories that you can…
By: Shawn Cramer on February 19, 2020
In our call this week we talked about the power of metaphor. Metaphors are not just rhetorical devices, but are visions or pictures by which we align our will. Metaphors capture stories by which we orient our lives. I will suggest here that we (American Evangelicals) need to exchange the metaphor of the promised land…
By: Greg Reich on February 18, 2020
Pinky: “Gee, Brain. What are we going to do tonight?” The Brain: “The same thing we do every night, Pinky. Try to take over the world” This was the response at the beginning and end of every episode of the 1995 animated parody television series oriented around two genetically altered lab mice with the intentions…
By: Steve Wingate on February 18, 2020
Dr. Hunter, a social theorist, provides summaries of world-changing philosophies and practices by comparing and contrasting views on how to change the world. His book, To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity Today addresses various modes and means of both groups and individuals; their effort and ideals for how to make…
By: Dylan Branson on February 17, 2020
Ever since I read Hunter’s To Change the World last summer, I have been wrestling with the thoughts and implications presented. What made this so relevant to me was being in the midst of the political turmoil and calls for freedom in Hong Kong. To summarize the recent Hong Kong political climate, the trouble began…
By: Joe Castillo on February 17, 2020
Who is Hunter? Hunter began his career at Westmont College as an Assistant Professor of Sociology from 1982-1983. He then moved to the University of Virginia, where he taught as an Assistant Professor of Sociology from 1983 to 1989. He then became a Professor of Sociology and Religious Studies from 1989 to 1994. He held…
By: Darcy Hansen on February 17, 2020
“If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.” Isaiah 58:10 This is the foundational Bible verse for Noonday Collection, which was founded by Jessica Honnegger in 2010 after a transformative trip…
By: Chris Pollock on February 16, 2020
There was a time when I was less affected. Everyday there is opportunity for a new awakening. I believe there is an easier way, one that I can’t seem to get far enough away from. That way is apathy. Over the last year, whilst facing confounding heartbreak, I asked my mom to pray that I…
By: Rhonda Davis on February 16, 2020
**First, I apologize for my tardiness to this discussion. All five members of my family are recovering from round three of the flu. I have either been acting as a nurse or patient over the last couple of weeks, and this week got the best of me. I am happy to be back in touch…
By: Nancy VanderRoest on February 15, 2020
Life is all about experiences: some are good, and some are bad. But experiences are what make up our perceptions and perspectives. It is through experiences that our story is told. I have a friend who wrote a powerful book a few years ago. Roxanne became a close friend who unexpectedly passed away recently. But…
By: Digby Wilkinson on February 14, 2020
Jordan Peterson: Canadian clinical psychologist and a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto and author of many books – but who cares, what matters is YouTube and controversy. He’s also extremely unwell. Publicly critiquing Jordan Peterson feels like naively leaping into a mixed martial arts fighting ring with Floyd Mayweather or Connor McGregor…
By: Jenn Burnett on February 14, 2020
How much does the motivation for our research impact what we find? How much does the goal of a journey we undertake determine where we will get to? This is both a question that I kept coming back to in this week’s reading as well as a question raised within the reading. Canadian Jordan…
By: Harry Fritzenschaft on February 14, 2020
Jordan Bernt Peterson (born June 12, 1962) is a Canadian clinical psychologist and a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto. His main areas of study are abnormal, social, and personality psychology. Peterson’s first book, Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief (1999), examined several academic fields to describe the structure of systems of beliefs and myths, their role in the regulation of emotion, creation of meaning, and…
By: Mary Mims on February 14, 2020
“The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. Eccles. 1:1-2 (KJV)” These words of King Solomon were written in the book of Ecclesiastes thousands of years ago expressing the frustration of a King, who had great wisdom, great riches,…
By: Mario Hood on February 14, 2020
The famous or infamous University of Toronto professor and clinical psychologist Jordan B. Peterson, PhD, is an unlikely celebrity in our current culture. Known for his straight forward demeanor and political incorrectness. He is also the author of 12 Rules for Life and this weeks reading Maps of Meaning. In Maps of Meaning, Peterson sketches…
By: Tammy Dunahoo on February 14, 2020
There is a proliferation of materials and models in the psychological world in recent years regarding meaning making. The heightened need for humanity to make sense of the events of life we are witnessing and personally experiencing no longer seems to fit neatly inside the box of this technologically advanced society. It’s as if the…
By: Sean Dean on February 13, 2020
In May of 1977 we were introduced to the Star Wars universe and its ragtag group of nobodies whose combined talents (and a bit of luck) would save their universe from the ravages of the Galactic Empire. Within this group was the hero Luke Skywalker, who within the scope of the original three films, would…
By: Karen Rouggly on February 13, 2020
I’ve always loved the creation story. Most cultures of the world begin with a creation story.[1] Any good biblical exegesis should first ask the question as to why an origin story is needed. What do people need to know about how the world came into existence, and what did the author(s) of Genesis really intend…
By: Andrea Lathrop on February 13, 2020
I was excited to read another book by Jordan Peterson. Maps of Meaning was much more challenging than his 12 Rules for Life and certainly shows he has an academic and popular style in his writing repertoire. Peterson is a former Harvard professor and clinical psychologist, among other things. His own relating of his nightmares of…
