Alan Race first articulated the exclusivist-inclusivist-pluralist trichotomy model in 1982. This framework proposes three broad outlooks for how Jesus followers perceive other world religions. Each model contains nuanced permutations, but in the streamlined sense Exclusivism maintains there's no salvation possible in other religions, Inclusivism holds open the possibility that … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Ain’t Afraid of Influence from Other World Religions
Christianity
Beatnik Christianity Reimagines and Recycles the Word Heretic
Right belief (orthodoxy) is to heresy as right conduct (orthopraxy) is to... what? The very fact that Christianity doesn't have an obvious correlative term tells you all you need to know. Instead of coining a new term, however, a more subversive path forward may be to sync belief and conduct by broadening out heretic to include any professing Jesus follower who severely … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Reimagines and Recycles the Word Heretic
Beatnik Christianity Deplores “Fundamentalisms Swapping”
When most people think of fundamentalism their minds often go straight to the vitriolic outbursts, behavioral control, restrictive thinking, literalistic interpretations, and all the rest. What's helpful to realize is that these things are merely the symptoms, not the underlying disease. At the core of any expression of fundamentalism is a mindset that fears being wrong and … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Deplores “Fundamentalisms Swapping”
Beatnik Christianity Laments the Existence of American Civil Religion
When it comes to church-state dynamics, Paul showed us the way by appealing to his citizenship in the Roman Empire while reserving his allegiance for Christ and His Kingdom. Sadly, Christian culture in the U.S. has taken another path. We suffer from a chronic condition of adjective-noun confusion. An adjective is a description. A noun is a source of identity. That distinction … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Laments the Existence of American Civil Religion
Beatnik Christianity Believes the Meaning of Life Is Best Captured By Connection
People pursue the ultimate meaning by many pathways. A sampling of the more well-known trails are bolstering the well-being of one's ancestral tribe, maximizing pleasureful experiences, serving others self-sacrificially, submitting to God's will, rejoining the Oneness of the universe, living in harmony with the natural world, achieving autonomy from the constraints imposed by … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Believes the Meaning of Life Is Best Captured By Connection
