The process of discipleship is supposed to be about being remade in the likeness of our rabbi, but that's a tall order. Instead Christians tend to recast Jesus in their own image and declare Him good. That's exactly what happened with the Christianization of the Roman Empire in the 4th century, and even more so as the empire's western half disintegrated in Augustine's lifetime. … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Embraces Nonviolence
Augustine of Hippo
Beatnik Christianity Is Sex-Positive
Christian culture has long taught an unhealthy, unnatural, androcentic, and repressive view of human sexuality that appears blissfully unaware of Song of Songs. I'm not denying that Christians ever say positive things about sex, but even when they do the ratio is usually all wrong. The enculturated formula tends to prescribe two-thirds negativity to one-third positivity. If … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Is Sex-Positive
Beatnik Christianity Leans More Toward Byzantine & Celtic Theology
The theological legacy of Augustine is just awful. Dude established precedents that permanently butchered Western Christianity with his teachings on things like original sin, grace, sexuality, Mary, (androcentric) natural law, just war theory, and predestination. He's like an ancient Wayne Grudem, painstakingly trying to remove mystery and tension in order to create a tidy … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Leans More Toward Byzantine & Celtic Theology
Beatnik Christianity Restores A Christocentric Biblical Hermeneutic
Biblical interpretation has drastically evolved over the centuries, but one principle that has remained relatively stable has been the affirmation of a pivoting Christocentric hermeneutic. Jesus followers at least profess that the whole sweep of the Bible's redemptive narrative from Genesis to Revelation should be perceived through the lens of Jesus. The Old Testament looks … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Restores A Christocentric Biblical Hermeneutic
Beatnik Christianity Harmonizes Eastern Ancestral Sin with Sacred Humanism
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
