The phrase "wrong side of history" gets a lot of usage these days. It means wrong, disapproved, unenlightened, out-of-date, or irrelevant from the presumed perspective of the future. I couldn't disagree more with everything about that sentiment. At best it's a thought-terminating cliché that kills important conversation; at worst it's moralistic virtue signaling used to … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Never Appeals to the “Wrong Side of History”
Ideology
Beatnik Christianity Appreciates Pluralism
Pluralism does not mean all opinions are created equally. Pluralism does not mean all religious belief systems are different paths to the same ultimate destination. Pluralism does not mean a postmodern morass of factual irrelevancy and feeling supremacy. Pluralism does not mean it's inappropriate to say, "I disagree." Jesus followers have been enculturated to immediately think … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Appreciates Pluralism
Beatnik Christianity Refuses to Participate in Conservatism vs. Progressivism
N.T. Wright once observed, "From where many of us in the UK sit, American politics is hopelessly polarized. All kinds of issues get bundled up into two great heaps. The rest of the world, today and across the centuries, simply doesn’t see things in this horribly oversimplified way." Totally agree, but it's worse than that. It's this all-encompassing hodgepodge of politics, … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Refuses to Participate in Conservatism vs. Progressivism
Beatnik Christianity Minimizes the Use of “Ism”s As Pre-Packaged Ideologies
It's perturbing when people demand unconditional loyalty to their ideological "ism"s. I affirm traditional creedal orthodoxy, but distance myself from conservatism. I'm fond of the Anglican tradition, but want no part of the bureaucracy that is Anglicanism. I support nonviolence, but am leery of pacifism. I believe in gender equality, but am tentative about latching onto … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Minimizes the Use of “Ism”s As Pre-Packaged Ideologies
Beatnik Christianity Resists the Temptation Toward Ideological Purity
Ideology is one of those expansive words like "culture" that encompasses a lot. Merriam-Webster defines ideology as "a manner or the content of thinking characteristic of an individual, group, or culture; the integrated assertions, theories and aims that constitute a sociopolitical program; a systematic body of concepts especially about human life or culture." Ideological … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Resists the Temptation Toward Ideological Purity
