Archives for June 2023

Any reasonable reading of the New Testament exhorts Jesus followers to holistically give their resources in loving service to others. In 2 Corinthians 9 Paul tells his readers to give generously and cheerfully, not reluctantly or under compulsion. Likewise, in 1 John 3 the apostle writes, "If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Denies Tithing Having Any Role Under the New Covenant

Homeschool parents are usually fueled by two motives. The first motive is to provide a better education than their kids could receive in either a public or private school setting. Maybe they want to maximize their kids' potential with a classical education by reading Plato and Josephus in the original Greek rather than The Hunger Games. Ya know, fair enough. The other motive is … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Shoots Down Escapism

There's an old joke among NBA fans about players taking "No! No!... YES!!!" shots. It's when fans collectively yell, "No! No!" about a bad shot selection... until the celebratory "YES!!!" when the ball unexpectedly goes in. I've had the reverse experience with clergy talking about an abundance mindset vs. a scarcity mindset. I think, 'Yes!' as they're critiquing the Myth of … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Rejects Secular Capitalism’s Mantra That “Greed Is Good”

Christian culture in the United States is distracted, disjointed, and dysregulated. It's especially bad in non-Catholic and non-Orthodoxy faith communities where there remains the capitalistic and Northern European values of what historians and sociologists call the Protestant work ethic. In this cultural paradigm, godliness is tied to overcoming the weakness of exhaustion. … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Flips Off the Social Expectations of the Protestant Work Ethic

The French philosopher, Jean-François Lyotard, identified "incredulity towards metanarrative" as a hallmark of postmodernity. He's right. For better or worse, Western society has become characterized by a super skepticism toward these grand, totalizing stories about history, culture, religion, and the ultimate meaning of the human race. People increasingly value subjective and … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Rejects the “Myth of Progress” Underlying Progressivism