Christendom is to the Kingdom of God as cancer is to the human body. It's a corruption that insidiously warps and seeks to kill our Lord's spiritual vision. That's why it's beyond tragic that so many Jesus followers today hear the words "Kingdom of God" and conceive of something vaguely akin to Medieval Christianity where the institutional church exercised hegemonic power over … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Sees Christendom As Nauseating to the Kingdom of God
Hippies
Beatnik Christianity Embraces Nonviolence
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
Beatnik Christianity Holds Together Contemplative Practices and Social Justice
To use a biblical metaphor, the Church needs Mary and Martha. Whereas so much of our frenetic American society is focused on "Doing," the Church should deliberately create spaces where "Being" and "Doing" are held in sacred tension. Jesus followers need opportunities to pause, center ourselves psychologically and spiritually, focus on being mindfully present in the moment, and … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Holds Together Contemplative Practices and Social Justice
Introducing Beatnik Christianity: A Countercultural Vision for Following Jesus
This piece is intended as a direct follow-up to "Wrong from the Start: How Christian Culture Keeps Pulling Us Away from Jesus" and is the first in a series introducing Beatnik Christianity. The more I try to follow Jesus, the more I trigger the wrath of Christian culture. Last year a back-up priest freaked out at me over the phone. The issue was that my wife kept … [Read more...] about Introducing Beatnik Christianity: A Countercultural Vision for Following Jesus
