Archives for August 2023

Have you ever noticed that quite often those who most fervently defend the capitalist economic system are one in the same as those who most intensely advocate for the detached nuclear family model as the societal ideal? That's no coincidence. It's not because capitalism and the nuclear family are both part of a "biblical worldview," either. It's because our capitalist economy … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Critiques the Alliance Between Capitalism and the Nuclear Family

Allow me to ask some difficult questions. Where do you go for the holidays when you're happily married to someone of the same sex but you've been disowned by both sets of parents over it? Where do you turn for help during a medical crisis when your only sibling threatened your life over political differences? Where do you find childcare during a burst pipe emergency when your … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Prioritizes Healthy Kinship Over Just About Everything Else

The TV show Full House is based on the implosion of a nuclear family and its replacement with a forged family. Danny is a widower who temporarily brings in two bachelors, his long time best friend and his brother-in-law, to help raise his three young girls, including a baby. Eventually their unusual family configuration expands further as Uncle Jesse gets married to Aunt Becky … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Gets Creative About Alternative Kinship Structures

Ah, the nuclear family. The basic social unit of a father and mother who together parent one or more dependents while living in a detached home with a high degree of independence from an extended family support network. This familial model is premised upon the uniquely American prioritization of such cultural values as personal freedom, unprecedented affluence, and … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Sees the Nuclear Family Not As the Solution But As the Problem Itself

Shortly before dying of ALS my dad had a vision/dream of his father. Grandpa comforted him by saying it won't be long now and everyone was awaiting their reunion. It brought needed peace. Shortly thereafter their pastor came by. He heard the story, dismissed the possibility of it being a genuine supernatural experience, and chalked it up to oxygen deprivation. While I'm not … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Has Room for Strange, Supernatural Phenomena