Category Archives: Theology
Lent for the Rest of Us
Having just eaten my second paczki before 10:00am, I realized it is time for me to start thinking about Lent. Today is Shrove Tuesday, or Fat Tuesday — the day before the season of Lent. (Also known as Mardi Gras). This day is generally a day of indulgence before turning to repentance. This historically has been a time when you would clear out the flour and sugar and all the things that would be forbidden to eat during Lent by making paczkis, pancakes and other yummies. It is a day to indulge in food and drink because one wouldn’t during the next 40 or so days during the Lenten season. Continue reading
Filed under Practices, Relationships, Theology
Is God a Person?
Guest post by Richard Rohr:
To get a proper divine conversation started and going, we all have to think of God as a “person” somehow. Otherwise there is no reciprocity, mutuality, give and take, no ONE to love, no “I and Thou”. Humans only know how to relate to other persons initially. But if you stay there too long, you pay a big price… Continue reading
Filed under Philosophy, Relationships, Theology
Pub Theology Recap January 5
Great night at the pub last night. Nine of us grabbed a pint and settled in for a good discussion, huddled around the table as if seeking respite from the snow drifts just outside.
A. showed up, who promptly styled himself ‘kinda the local guru.’ Then quickly thought better of it and shifted to ‘kinda the local guy.’ He’d been reading up on the history of Islam and… Continue reading
Filed under Philosophy, Pub Theology, Relationships, Theology
Emmanuel | Christmas Day
If you do not hear in the message of Christmas something that must strike some as blasphemy and others as sheer fantasy, the chances are you have not heard the message for what it is. Emmanuel is the message in a nutshell. Emmanuel, which is Hebrew for “God with us.” That’s where the problem lies. Continue reading
Three Cheers | A Christmas Eve Reflection
From Robert Farrar Capon:
Advent is the church’s annual celebration of the silliness (from selig, which is German for “blessed”) of salvation. The whole thing really is a divine lark. God has fudged everything in our favour: without shame or fear we rejoice to behold his appearing. Yes, there is dirt under the divine Deliverer’s fingernails. Continue reading
Afterwards | An Advent Poem
Mystery. Paraclete. God’s particular dance with the ordinary.
Usually, in the great 15th century paintings, shown as the dove.
You have to look up to see it, above the angel. Mary, sees only
the angel, holds fast the gaze of the extraordinary. Continue reading
Confessions of a Postconservative
In a 1974 book, Jack Rogers, then a Fuller Theological Seminary professor, notes:
“Conservative” is a good word. It marks continuity with the past, preservation of enduring values, holding on to what has been proven with time. In this sense I am still a conservative. I want to “hold fast to what is good” (1 Thess 5:21). There is another sense in which the word “conservative” is used. The dictionary defines “conservative” as “tending to favor the preservation of the existing order and to regard proposals for change with distrust.” Being conservative in that sense leads to conservatism. That is the sense of being conservative which has marked much of my past. That is the sense of being conservative which I want to put behind me. Continue reading
What are those rich 99%ers complaining about?
The above picture, and many variations of it, have been floating around the internet. It is both helpful and unhelpful.
Yes, many (or even most) of the protestors are in good position relative to many others in our world. But it must be asked – why are people in developing nations in the position they are in? Continue reading
Common Sense Jesus?
Some fun in light of a recent politician’s statement about Jesus as the “perfect” conservative:
“For over 2,000 years the world has tried hard to erase the memory of the perfect conservative, and His principles of compassion, caring and common sense.”
So here we’ve collected some brilliant portraits of Jesus employing such ‘common sense’. Continue reading
Filed under Culture, Economy, Entertainment, Politics, Pub Theology, The Text, Theology
Why I’m Joining the Occupation
I’m in, and would encourage others to join the occupation. Not as a representative of your church or denomination, but as a human being, who is there to contribute and to learn.
By Brian McLaren
I never would have chosen the name “Occupy” to brand a movement. “The 99 Percent Movement” works a lot better for me. But I’m glad I didn’t get to choose, because I notice the term “occupy” is kind of growing on me.
What I don’t like about it: it sounds aggressive, like the (to me) ugly and unacceptable language of “taking back the country.” For a movement to avoid violent actions, it needs to avoid violent rhetoric as well, as Jesus made clear in the Sermon on the Moun Continue reading
Filed under Culture, Economy, Politics, Relationships, Theology
