Category: Emerging Thoughts
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A regular discussion Christa and I often have centers around redemption and whether or not people can truly change who they are (i.e. character, behaviour, etc.) This sounds pretty straightforward on the surface, but as you dig a little deeper it becomes apparent that it is a complex issue. Typically, when we pose the question…
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"There are two Gods," Tolstoy once said. "There is the God that people generally believe in–A God who has to serve them (sometimes in very refined ways, say by merely giving them peace of mind). This God does not exist. But the God whom people forget–the God whom we all have to serve–exists, and is…
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I keep meaning to post this introduction to a manuscript I’m reading about doing "church" in a postmodern context. The manuscript (Houses that Change the World) is now a book I believe, but the copy I’m reading was printed from the internet before it was published. It’s by a German Christian by the name of…
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He’s only hitting .277 for the season! In this particular game, he’s 2 for 4 with a solo home run and 2 RBIs. The home run was off of Randy Johnson if that matters to anyone! His name: Jeff Cirillo. Oh, you haven’t heard the last of him. You know him as my least favorite…
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My wife recently unearthed a Christian tract that she had stowed away in some of her childhood belongings. The tract looks like a folded $20 bill. When you unfold it, you realize that the bill is a counterfeit and intended to give you the following "good news" (printed as it appears for your reading entertainment):…
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In 1967 the sociologist Peter Berger defined secularization as the loss of "the sacred canopy." In other words, in the modern world we suffered the loss of an overarching religious belief system that provided personal and communal meaning. In historian Christian Smith’s recent look at American religion, he says that while we may have lost…
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What an awesome time we had down in Long Beach, Washington. The pictures posted below really tell the whole story (well, not the whole story, but as the locals say, "What happens in Long Beach, stays in Long Beach" –wink-wink, nudge-nudge.) Anyway, instead of talking about the refreshing time the Yeti and Mrs. had down…
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Yesterdays post on the afterlife generated a few comments that got me to thinking about my views further. In retrospect, I wanted to offer one disclaimer to my opinion on the relevance of the afterlife to my understanding of the gospel. So here goes: I think that the idea of heaven (which is described in…
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I wrote a pretty long book review the other day about the issues I have with (what I call) demonizing Islam and the Muslim belief system. The more I read Daughters of Islam, the more affirmed I feel in this opinion. Here’s a thought provoking quote taken from Adeney’s book which shows keen spiritual insight.…
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I don’t know why I punish myself this way, but I’ve been reading Brian McLaren‘s A Generous Orthodoxy. I think thoughtful Christians who are genuine and open-minded in evaluating their beliefs in a post-modern (emergent) environment will find themselves flinching often as they read McLaren. Or maybe it’s just me. I liken it to a…
yeti speak... 