Archives for August 2023

After revealing my researched perspective on a particularly controversial theological topic, a pastor friend asked, "Was there anyone else intimately involved in the discernment or did it come from your own autonomous research and individual reflection?" Ya know, that's a valid question. As someone who maintains the Bible was primarily intended to be read, interpreted, and … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Wishes We Had a Better Communal Deliberative Process

First century Christians genuinely believed the Lord would return in their lifetime, including the New Testament authors. Can we go ahead and agree they got that one wrong without it seeming irreverent? For that matter, can we please acknowledge it's unlikely Jesus is coming back this year or this century? Now that we're a couple millennia out, who's to say the Second Coming … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Begrudgingly Tolerates Just a Dash of Apocalyptic Rumination

Andrew Kerbs posted a meme on his @deconstruct_everything Instagram page that's been widely distributed on social media. It reads, "A major problem in evangelicalism is that the question is never asked, 'Does this theology cause harm?' but rather they ask, 'Is it true?' Once an evangelical has determined a belief to be 'true,' harm caused is irrelevant and can be blamed on … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Sees Harm As a Check Engine Light for Theological Formulation

Hermeneutics means principles of interpretation. That much is at least fairly well known among Christians. The equally important term that almost nobody recognizes is prolegomena. It literally means "those things which are said first." In Ancient Greek, it referred to the prefatory section of a book stating the goals and purposes for writing. In academic spaces, it has taken up … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Pivots the Theological Focus to Hermeneutics and Prolegomena

There's a whole academic sub-discipline of theological study called practical theology. It's exactly what it sounds like. The goal is to shift attention away from abstract and qualitative ideation to instead focus on concrete and quantitative application. Practical theologians seek to address what they perceive as a disconnect between lofty academic theory and the real, … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Has A Strong Affinity for Impractical Theology