Archives for July 2023

There's a growing effort within mainstream Christian culture here in the U.S. to redefine and embrace Christian nationalism as a triumphalist badge of honor. Alluding to Kellyanne Conway's post-truth "alternative facts," Phil Vischer satirized this perspective with an alternative definition: "Christian nationalism simply means you want your nation to promote good, healthy … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Sees No Resemblance to The Way of Jesus in Christian Nationalism

Have you noticed this phenomenon of literate people who can't read anything more than 256 characters? A growing number of readers are constitutionally incapable of getting immersed within a book. That focused attention is gone. Instead written text is shallowly skimmed with minimal comprehension. Even the highly educated with advanced degrees have often been conditioned to … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Exudes A Countercultural Love for Written Language

Within the Beatitudes our Lord declared, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." There's no question that a Jesus-centered spirituality points to shalom rather than détente. Thankfully, this is an area where the Christian tradition contains robust resources. 20th century authors such as Martin Luther King, Jr., John Howard Yoder, and Desmund Tutu … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Distinguishes Between Cultural Expectations and Sin

Jesus had a complex social life. Our Lord spent a lot of time hanging out with the twelve disciples. He went fishing, attended weddings, and visited the temple. Plus He spent quality time with his mother, his friends, his hosts, large crowds, reviled tax collectors, shamed prostitutes, and ritually unclean women and lepers. Oh, and He spent just enough time with the … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Pops the Cloistered Bubble of Christian Culture

When a person is experiencing a tremendous sense of disorientation about their whole life--who they are, what they're about, where they're headed, and how they relate to others--we say they're having an identity crisis. That's our modern psychological construct for that uncomfortable, unstable experience. To go meta with this idea, it's almost like our cultural understanding of … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Believes The Way of Jesus Provides A Core Identity Transplant