Western Christianity has had a troublesome guilt-shame complex ever since Augustine of Hippo. In his dualistic schema, human anthropology and God's grace are framed as being in conflict, which creates the need for a theological seesaw effect. The former must go down for the latter to go up. Humanity's sinful nature is cold, filthy, and wretched so that God's righteous grace is … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Harmonizes Eastern Ancestral Sin with Sacred Humanism
Archives for November 2022
Beatnik Christianity Eschews Toxic Positivity for the Liminal Space of Holy Saturday
Brené Brown and others have recently normalized the term "toxic positivity." My preference remains "oppressive optimism," but it's the same basic idea. According to the psychology website Right as Rain, "Toxic positivity involves dismissing negative emotions and responding to distress with false reassurances rather than empathy. It comes from feeling uncomfortable with negative … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Eschews Toxic Positivity for the Liminal Space of Holy Saturday
Beatnik Christianity Dispenses with the Pleasantries
Shortly before his death in 1997, William S. Burroughs quipped, "If you're doing business with a religious son of a bitch, get it in writing; his word isn't worth shit--not with the good Lord telling him how to fuck you on the deal." Speaking of quotes I wish I'd heard before my ordination process from hell. Seriously though, I'm sure many Jesus followers would find that quote … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Dispenses with the Pleasantries
Beatnik Christianity Habitually Questions the Unquestionable
Living in Christian culture is like walking through an unmarked minefield. You might blissfully stroll through just fine, but if you do encounter a problem you'll never know about it until after the explosion. You see, Christians are supposed to anticipate the idiosyncratic and tribalist expectations of what's off-limits, especially regarding what questions are and aren't … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Habitually Questions the Unquestionable
Beatnik Christianity Comforts the Afflicted and Afflicts the Comfortable
The two careers I seriously considered in high school were journalist and pastor. Perhaps it's unsurprising, then, that I'd eventually bring them together with a journalistic philosophy within pastoral ministry. It was in a course on The Life and Work of the Pastor at Baylor's Truett Seminary that I first encountered the idea that a pastor's responsibility is to … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Comforts the Afflicted and Afflicts the Comfortable
