“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) Food and Drink #6 “When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s supper. For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken” (1 Cor. 11:20-21) We …
Mortifying Pride of Place
In a previous post, I chided James K.A Smith for not including the cineplex as the religious mall’s Sunday School class. I am almost done with the book now, and wanted to make a point of noting that he does in fact tackle that problem. “Over time, the theater is a kind of classroom; it …
The Christian Hipster
Here is a capable diagnosis of a spreading rash in the contemporary church — the Christian hipster. HT: Justin Taylor.
Tag Along Charlie
An ancient error, that of pendulum swinging, finds that when the cognitive functions of man have been emphasized too much, the time has come to careen toward the passions. And when life under the tyranny of the passions becomes unbearable, which it always does, the error is to swing back to the life of pure …
A Little Something to Keep You Awake at Two in the Morning
The Father is not the Son, and the Son is not the Spirit, and the Spirit is not the Father. The borders between the three Persons are not blurred or confused borders. The distinctions between the Persons are absolute. And to make this truth even more glorious, one that only the triune God can reveal …
Chastised Constantinianism
At the beginning of James K.A. Smith’s book, Desiring the Kingdom, he has an extended conceit — that of comparing a trip to the mall as a worship experience — that works pretty well. I’d like to extend that conceit a step farther, and take it in a direction that Smith would perhaps not be …
Make Sure Its Liturgy, Not Liturgay
In a recent discussion with some men I made mention of the problem that I call “clogged filters.” Like a car going down the highway, the air available is the air the car is driving in, and so the air filter needs to be replaced from time to time. The environment we live in is …
Fall Into Fruitfulness
In his second chapter, Michael Pollan reveals two important things. The first is that he believes that ethical norms are created by a mythic state of nature. And since that mythic state of nature was long ago, far away, and mute on top of that, the standards that come from this state of nature need …
Truth in Labeling
We should all know what it is to fall victim to a metaphor. This is like that, and it is in some ways, but then when you press it, you discover that it is not like that in lots of other ways.Consider the summary evaluation of left wing/right wing. This is saying that the hurly …
Druid Lesbian Softball Coaches
What could be the basis of making fun of other people’s liturgical or ritual religious practices? Isn’t the Lord’s vineyard a big place, and so where do we get off making fun of the color of the bag that some other laborers are using to put the grapes in? Isn’t that a bit churlish? Well, …