One of my favorite movie scenes comes from 2012's Argo. Ben Affleck's protagonist is a CIA officer who specializes in clandestine operations. He's in the CIA Director's office trying to get the agency's approval to use the fake Hollywood production of a Star Wars-esque science fiction film for an Iranian hostage extraction. His character contends, "There are only bad options. … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Experiments with Finding the Best Bad Idea
human flourishing
Beatnik Christianity Sees Christendom As Nauseating to the Kingdom of God
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
Beatnik Christianity Defines the Gospel As Jesus Putting the Whole Creation to Rights
In some circles, it has almost become cliché to say that the Gospel isn't intended as a "get out of hell" card. Yet even in those spaces there isn't a widespread renewal of what the Gospel actually is. There's seldom a compelling vision capturing its true depth and breadth. Instead what we often find is this rather clumsy refitting of a deeply flawed paradigm. It's like … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Defines the Gospel As Jesus Putting the Whole Creation to Rights
Beatnik Christianity Suggests Anti-Intellectual Bullies Go Forward for the Children’s Sermon
Yes, intellectual pride is a real and serious spiritual problem for Jesus followers. It's detrimental to human flourishing and, like all sins, impairs our connection with God. Having spent a lot of time on the campus of Christian college and universities, I can assure you that I'm well-aware of the problem and have little patience for this particular vice. I tend to confront … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Suggests Anti-Intellectual Bullies Go Forward for the Children’s Sermon
Beatnik Christianity Demythologizes Marriage & Sex
For years I invested an obscene amount of time studying the biblical texts on marriage and sex. I sincerely hoped to emerge with a novel insight, crisp perspective, or strong conviction. No such luck, I'm afraid. To be clear, I didn't deconstruct these biblical texts into progressive oblivion. It's not that there's nothing there, it's just not there in the way we might wish. … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Demythologizes Marriage & Sex