Maturity or Masculinity
OK, here is a good post on men in the church. I have nothing to add to it. Men, let’s read it and put it into practice. Hat tip: Lingamish.
Denominational vs Non-Denominational
My wife and I have had several discussions recently about apportionments in the United Methodist Church. For those of you who are not Methodist, apportionments are funds paid by the local church to their conference or other higher authority to support the work of the broader church. Many of these funds go to administrative functions…
Inreach and Outreach
My previous post, The Most Wasted Piece of Architecture, didn’t generate discussion here, but it was picked up by Locusts and Honey with a substantial quote, and some interesting discussion took place there. The discussion seemed to center a good deal around the specific issue of church sanctuaries. But what I would hope we would…
The Most Wasted Piece of Architecture
As I was driving with my wife yesterday, I made a comment that had been bugging me all day. “You know,” I said, “A church sanctuary is the most wasted piece of architecture you’ll see on the landscape.” Now my wife knows not to go wild when I say things like that. She didn’t ask…
Christian Carnival CXL
Christian Carnival CXL has been posted at Lux Venit. There’s a good deal of good stuff to check out. Without prejudice to the whole list, I’d like to call special attention to the following: Tight Theological HatbandsI’m not reformed in theology, but I have long thought one of the strengths of the reformed camp was…
The Prosperity Gospel
And another exciting entry, more than a week old, from Ben Witherington, this time, ‘Just in Time’– ‘God Wants You Wealthy’, dealing with the “health and wealth gospel” or “prosperity gospel.” I’m very slow to condemn movements, but the prosperity gospel seems to be just about diametrically opposed to the spirit of Jesus Christ. Go,…
Ben Witherington on the Pope’s Speech
While I have reflected largely on the single item in the Pope’s speech and the Muslim reaction, Ben Witherington has posted an analysis of the larger content of the speech. He underlines some things that I would want to debate in the speech as well. A key item from my point of view here is…
Criticizing Religions
I have long been an advocate of permitting criticism of Christianity, because I think allowing such criticism is good for my religion. I have friends who would regard my religion as a delusion, and I encourage them to speak directly about what they believe. This is not a matter of commitment to legal free speech,…
Muslim Protests of the Pope’s Remarks
I have not been very excited about the vatican over the last few years, and I was not overjoyed when the current pope was elected, but in general since I’m not a catholic, it’s not something I get very excited about. But the current round of protests about the Pope’s quotation of a medieval text…
Nation Whose God is the LORD?
Today while doing grocery shopping, I saw a T-Shirt with the slogan: My faith and my freedom are one. Underneath was the verse: Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD (Psalm 33:12). I don’t know who provides such a shirt, but that slogan troubles me deeply. I think it reflects the problem that…