By: Chris Pollock on February 6, 2020
Talking doesn’t come easy for me. Thinking, at times, can be quite overwhelming and attaching spontaneous vocalizations to thoughts has never been less than a challenge. When I observe or experience an injustice, I want to say something, I just don’t know how or what to say. The feelings (immensity of emotion) are there, as…
By: Greg Reich on February 6, 2020
Vincent Miller in his book Consuming Religion writes a “Consumer culture is best diagnosed not as a deformation of belief but as a particular way of engaging religious beliefs that divorces them from practice.”[1] Miller is not anti capitalism but is more concerned on what the affects a consumer culture has on religion and how…
By: Rev Jacob Bolton on February 6, 2020
Another week, another Canadian! Stephen Hicks, who teaches at Rockford University has put together a dense and highly critiqued tome Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault, which argues that postmodernism is a rhetorical strategy, created and kept aflame mainly by academics and elites on the far left, in response to the downfall…
By: Jer Swigart on February 4, 2020
Rectangles of colorful fabric saturated with images and prayers adorned the walls of the lobby which appeared to be strategically designed to resemble an elitist country club. Unlimited Fair-Trade coffee, complete with images and stories of coffee farmers and their families, was free for the drinking. Popular music playing at just the right volume set…
By: John Muhanji on February 4, 2020
Spencer’s purpose in writing is not pushing a political agenda here, but he is clear that the West’s Christianity past does not necessarily imply anything about how it should move into the future. Although from an Africa perspective, we differ with him and agree with some of his reasoning. Spencer does want to counter the…
By: Dylan Branson on February 4, 2020
For the longest time, I have argued that I can find more theology within a song written by the American rock group, The Eagles, than I can in almost any song written within the contemporary worship movement. One of my favorite songs of all time is “Desperado”, the title track to the Eagles’ 1973 album. …
By: Darcy Hansen on February 3, 2020
The emergence of the megachurch onto the American landscape in the 1980s, though seemingly novel at the time, has deep roots in the Protestant movement, beginning in the 16th century when Huguenot architect Jacques Perret envisioned and then constructed a large, multi-functional worship space. Then in the Revivalism of the 1700s, George Whitefield “pioneered a…
By: Joe Castillo on February 3, 2020
Scripture and consumerism Jesus spoke often about the challenge of materialism. Sure, there weren’t all the advertisements, brands, cosmetics and fashion magazines but he did explain in Luke 12 how things have a way of taking hold of our hearts and becoming our master. He did talk about how we can so easily give our…
By: Steve Wingate on February 3, 2020
Miller challenges us to consider, how does “consumer culture change our relationship with religious beliefs, narratives, and symbols.”[1] Concurrently, in a purely free market what influences our desires that drive our choices? I ask myself; do we need a renewed or restored idea of what the telos, God’s influence ought to be in our communities?…
By: Shawn Cramer on February 3, 2020
Vincent Miller’s subtitle of Consuming Religion captures an easily overlooked aspect from his book. The subtitle reads, “Christian faith and practice in a consumer culture.” While this book obviously unpacks and critiques consumer culture, it is also (and just as much) an articulation and reflection on the connection between “faith and practice” with consumer culture…
By: Nancy VanderRoest on February 2, 2020
Religion can be a difficult topic for many. In Hospice work, my patients will often say, “I don’t want any of that God stuff.” So, I don’t give them any of that “God stuff” verbally, but I always let them know I’m praying for them and interject little stories about my faith in our conversations.…
By: Digby Wilkinson on February 2, 2020
This is a little late, but hey, it’s here 🙂 Over the last decade or so, Christian authors from a wide range of backgrounds have been pushing back on the secular narrative that Christianity has no right to a public voice, given that enlightenment thinking has caused the decline of interest in the mystical traditions…
By: Wallace Kamau on February 1, 2020
It’s common knowledge that human beings will make good of every opportunity for fame and recognition and go to any length to gain them. History is full of men who would not hesitate to kill others or use other crude and unjust means in order to gain power, fame and all that goes with positions…
By: Harry Fritzenschaft on February 1, 2020
Will Jones emphasizes how Spencer recounts the pivotal role that Christianity has played in the formation of Western ideas, values, institutions, and culture in his book, The Evolution of the West. Through a series of essays developed through his work with Theos, a Christian think tank based in Westminster, UK, Spencer is careful not to…
By: Mary Mims on February 1, 2020
It is no surprise for those who know me, that I am a lover of all things relating to science. It started with the third-grade science teacher who defended me from students teasing me about the giant baby shoes I wore to correct my pronation. Since that time, I loved him and the class…
By: Sean Dean on January 31, 2020
My oldest and youngest seem to hate each other a large portion of the time. Of course they do not hate each other, it just seems that way. Frequently the situation plays out where JT asks JP if he can play with a particular toy because it is his turn. JP rejects JT’s request out…
By: Tammy Dunahoo on January 31, 2020
I live in a realm of policies, protocols and bylaws with a three-inch-wide “Guide to Services.” When questioning the curators of this knowledge, “Why does this exist?” one quickly discovers that every policy has a story behind it. A narrative about a situation where someone made a decision that had consequences, sometimes for many people.…
By: Jenn Burnett on January 31, 2020
The rise in populism in the west at times leads me to wonder whether the democratic system has run its course. At its best, democracy safeguards against extremism as elected officials presumably represent the majority centre of a given state. Unfortunately, we are seeing increasing polarization in many places resulting in election results that are…
By: Karen Rouggly on January 30, 2020
“At the bedrock of our politics will be a total allegiance to the United States of America, and through our loyalty to our country, we will rediscover our loyalty to each other. When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice. The Bible tells us, how good and pleasant it is…
By: Andrea Lathrop on January 30, 2020
I am three days into the Context, Culture and Mission intensive course with Dr. Len Sweet at Southeastern University. I would be lying if I did not admit that my brain is hurting. Several years ago I had a conversation with Dr. Sweet where he remarked that Jesus did not come to make us more…
