By: Liz Linssen on February 21, 2014
“The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.” (2 Thess. 3:10) Weber takes the reader on a journey to understanding the strength of the connection between the drive of religious asceticism (within Calvinism, Pietism, Methodism and Baptist denominations), labour, and the rise of the spirit of capitalism over the last four centuries in…
By: rhbaker275 on February 21, 2014
There is an advertisement running currently by the venture capital branch of a large banking firm. The ad sequence follows an obviously entrepreneurial type person through several scenes of a busy workplace environment. Each scene depicts organized activity, unified effort, and the rapid transition through several scenes creates a sense of the purpose, growth, and…
By: Carol McLaughlin on February 21, 2014
Written more than one hundred years ago, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism requires the context and perspective of its translator, Talcott Parsons, even if that translation took place more than fifty years prior! I am realizing that to adequately translate material, whether it is from German to English or from modern to…
By: Telile Fikru Badecha on February 21, 2014
One of the things my ministry in partnership with the local churches in Ethiopia has been doing over the years is training local evangelists, church leaders, and young people in the church to become self-supported ministers. My ministry adapted the concept of “tentmaking initiatives” based on the apostle Paul’s mission strategy. Our tentmaking strategy benefits…
By: Julie Dodge on February 21, 2014
Once upon a time, a long time ago, a child misbehaved. The exact misbehavior is long forgotten. But at bedtime, as his mother tucked him into bed, she told him to be careful. If he was not good tomorrow, the bogeyman might come and steal the child away. Perhaps in a sack. Perhaps on a…
By: Bill Dobrenen on February 21, 2014
I have some pet peeves; we all do. Two of mine came up in this week’s reading. These pet peeves are related to the words “blessing” and “calling.” In my present understanding, these words are often misunderstood, particularly in Christian circles. Sometimes I sneeze. Sometimes I sneeze several times in a row. In the American…
By: Richard Volzke on February 21, 2014
I appreciate that Weber’s book, The Protestant ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, approaches capitalism from a Christian perspective. The focus of the creation of capitalism was a basic cornerstone for human rights. Weber points out that capitalism is not from the age of Enlightenment, which took place in the 1800s, but from the “Puritan…
By: Stefania Tarasut on February 20, 2014
Why are we so afraid of context? Why are we so uncomfortable with contextual theology? Why do we assume that if something is contextual it is also weak and unbiblical? Why do we contextualize some things… and refuse to contextualize others… like it’s ok to contextualize stoning in the Bible, but not women’s role in…
By: Stefania Tarasut on February 20, 2014
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism By: Max Weber Nothing just begins, but every “new thing” has its roots into yesterday and tomorrow’s “new things” begin today. The spirit of capitalism was born the moment Adam and Eve were escorted out of the Garden of Eden. This spirit was not born with the…
By: Fred Fay on February 20, 2014
Last week I had a coffee appointment with a man named Dave. I had totally forgotten who he was and why we were to meet. He reminded me that he sent me a book to read. I remember receiving it but had not been able to read it yet. This was awkward. I forgot who…
By: Sandy Bils on February 20, 2014
Last week the Oscar-winning actress Ellen Page was trending in all news and social media channels. At the Human Right Campaigns– conference “Time to thrive” she came out as a lesbian. The youtube video was seen by over 4.000.000 viewers after just one week. (here is the full text of the speech) I don’t want…
By: Sharenda Roam on February 20, 2014
Adrian Thatcher, in his book “God, Sex and Gender: An Introduction,” approaches the topics of sexuality and gender from a theological approach while Andrew Marin, in his book “Love is an Orientation: Elevating the Conversation with the Gay Community,” takes a personal look at the GLBT community and its relationship to contemporary Christians. Thatcher discusses…
By: Chris Ellis on February 20, 2014
Today’s theme music is brought to you by Salt-N-Pepper. Our D.Min. cohort has finally gotten to one of the most challenging and divisive topics for contemporary Christians: sexuality (specifically homosexuality). Our assigned texts were God, Sex and Gender: An Introduction by Adrian Thatcher and Love is an Orientation by Andrew Marin. Thatcher lays out an…
By: David Toth on February 20, 2014
Real theology can be real messy. A few days ago I traveled from Kyiv, Ukraine to Odessa, Ukraine by van with three others. We drove for over nine hours in fog, sometimes so dense that it was really difficult to see the white line in the road in the middle of the afternoon! Since I…
By: Deve Persad on February 20, 2014
I greatly dislike ordering a pop or soda from a restaurant. (I refrain from using the word “hate” because good Christian people might be reading this, but I lean strongly in that direction). Certainly the cost is a factor, and in the infrequent times that I do eat outside of our home, I tend to…
By: Sam Stephens on February 20, 2014
I must confess that my readings on the subject of sexuality and particularly that of same-sex orientation has been very limited. The two books I read this week God, Sex, and Gender: An Introduction by Thatcher and Love is an Orientation: Elevating the Conversation with the Gay Community Marin would be a rather unusual collection…
By: Ashley Goad on February 20, 2014
Tuesday, two colleagues and I sat together in a hotel room in St. Petersburg, Russia to debrief the day. The three of us were struggling as we processed a day full of typical tourist activities – perusing The Hermitage Museum, visiting the Fortress of St. Peter and Paul’s Cathedral, shopping for souvenirs, enjoying a dinner…
By: Phil Smart on February 19, 2014
In spite of the fact that I had to hide my God, Sex and Gender book by Adrian Thatcher within a newspaper while at church (the cover was a little risqué for some of my conservative friends),I found it fascinating and indicative of the prevailing shift in position among many evangelicals. My assumption is that…
By: Mark Steele on February 16, 2014
Stephen Garner in his chapter Theology and the new media, shares his thoughts about developing and reflecting about a theology of technology and the internet. Garner challenges his audience to expand theology from just talking about religion to reflecting about the internet from the Christian tradition p. 252. He further expounds upon three areas to…
By: Sandy Bils on February 16, 2014
In previous posts I already addressed the issue of social media in the daily life of our churches (e.g. here and here). In one of the articles we read this week, the author Stephen Garner enfolded the more underlying and fundamental topic of theology and internet in general. Garner approaches the discussion by defining theology…
