Tag Archives: theology
Top 10 Albums of 2012
Hard to believe that it is *that* time of year again, but here we are closing out 2012 and with it comes the attempt to tier the music that has overwhelmed (and at times underwhelmed) our hearts and souls these past 12 months. It has been a year with some surprises to be sure – from the horse dancing glee of Psy with “Gangnam Style” to the recent (so-called) reunion of Nirvana … There’s more to read here.
The heartbreaking work of love – Psalm 51 and why reading Scripture matters to hard hearts
A friend just sent me this wonderful rabbinical reflection:
“A rabbi told his people that if they studied the Torah, it would put Scripture on their hearts. One of them asked, “Why on our hearts, and not in them?” The rabbi answered, “Only G-D can put Scripture inside. But reading sacred text can put in on your heart and then when your heart breaks, the holy words will fall inside.”
In that first breath of a new class: a professor’s thoughts standing at the podium on day one
There is that moment at the beginning of the academic year when the professor comes into the classroom, sets down his or her stack of papers and books, moves to the podium and begins class. It is a very mundane moment in many ways. Students chatter away, texting friends, drinking expensive espresso drinks in shimmering travel mugs with café logos you don’t get the reference to and you move … There’s more to read here.
The future of the Church is the future of the seminary: looking through the correct end of the telescope
There have been a recent spate of posts in the media and blogosphere trying to get at the so-called “Future of Seminary Education”. The web portal Patheos.com has sponsored a large online symposium addressing the question that continues to grow.
As a seminary graduate, faculty member at a few seminaries mentioned in the discussions as well as the Associate Dean of a seminary that is trying to see what the … There’s more to read here.
R.E.M. R.I.P. – It’s the end of the world as we know it… and I feel fine.
Music fans across the blogosphere posted and reposted the news that longtime Athens, Georgia band R.E.M. had decided, in their words, to “call it a day” and disband for the foreseeable future. As Michael Stipe said on their website:
A wise man once said–’the skill in attending a party is knowing when it’s time to leave.’ We built something extraordinary together. We did this thing. And now we’re going to walk
iPod after 10 years: on the 10th anniversary of the decade’s most seismic technological shift and what it says about the state of theology today
The next few weeks will be focused in the news cycles and blogosphere on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Already the questions about where we have come from since this event and where we are going is filling the web and the airwaves.
Yet in the midst of this important season of reflection, another 10 year anniversary is upon us that also deserves some critical reflection.
This October … There’s more to read here.
Third Verse Generation: the turning of the tide is pulling the old personalities away
I just returned from a wonderful intergenerational gathering of creatives: film makers, poets, studio artists, dancers and choreographers, novelists, essayists, apologists, working stage actors and directors, pastors and even some theologians in the mix. People were at turns extroverted to nominally passionate, distantly to distinctly vintage and pseudo to suburbanly Christian trending from high to low to no church. During the week together new friendships were forged, people who ‘liked’ status updates … There’s more to read here.
Can you love God without a political party? Freedom of the Self and ‘Republicanity’
In the introduction to my book Freedom of the Self, I open with a story regarding Rembrandt’s famous 1642 painting “the Nightwatch” I heard while viewing it a few years ago in Amsterdam that frames—both literally and figuratively—my concern with the church today and, in particular, a misguided loss of personhood for many faithful people.
Those who have seen many of the 17th century Dutch master Rembrandt Harmenszoon … There’s more to read here.
Pastor/Professor seeking Church – applications are now being accepted
Lately I am in a slump regarding the local church. I have been a pastor in a few different congregations and attended a number of churches in the US, UK and Europe. I have had peek experiences and cringe worthy ones. True, the call of the church is bigger than my experience and needs. True, the marks of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church permeate the momentary concerns of … There’s more to read here.
Bidding ‘Adieu’ to the boy wizard: Harry Potter as ‘Shema’ and why Christians need to say thank you to JK Rowling
July 15th, 2011 we “see” and “hear” the end of the Harry Potter saga in its final installment of the Warner Brothers movie franchise that began back in 2000 and with the close of the end credits the summation of one of the most enduring ‘coming of age’ tales in modern history. By see and hear I underscore that the ending of the Harry Potter saga – Harry Potter and the Deathly … There’s more to read here.
