John Wesley once preached, "Christianity is essentially a social religion; and that to turn it into a solitary religion, is indeed to destroy it." We can't go it alone. We need community. Got it. The trouble is, people have stripped Wesley's perspective of its nuance. In the following paragraphs he explicitly acknowledges that no time alone is bad for the soul and says faithful … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Leaves Room for Introversion and Solitude
Nuance
Beatnik Christianity Replaces the Ethical Framework of Right vs. Wrong
The single worst piece of advice I ever received came from a groomsman's dad shortly before my first wedding. He said, "You need to look at marriage like that scene from Apollo 13. 'Failure is not an option!' You must honor your vows no matter what." For him, and for much of Christian culture, there's no room for complexity or nuance. It doesn't matter how much you're … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Replaces the Ethical Framework of Right vs. Wrong
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 Treasures the Life of the Mind As a Sacred Means of Worship
Faced with the impossible choice between being intellectually honest or following Jesus, I chose intellectual honesty and became an agnostic. That was until a professor recommended Mark Noll’s book, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind. It saved and transformed my faith. In it Noll notes four key historical movements that were responsible for evangelicalism’s anti-intellectual … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Treasures the Life of the Mind As a Sacred Means of Worship
