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
Paul
Beatnik Christianity Believes Everything Is Spiritual
In the church tradition in which I was raised, everything was overtly spiritual. We believed in the everyday occurrence of spiritually hearing God's voice. We practiced spiritual Bible study and spiritual preaching. There was spiritual prayer languages, spiritual healing, spiritual deliverance, spiritual prophecy, spiritual anointing, spiritual offering, spiritual dancing, … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Believes Everything Is Spiritual
Beatnik Christianity Ain’t Afraid of Influence from Other World Religions
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
Beatnik Christianity Has Permanent Burnout with Christian Culture
Remember that scene in Office Space where Peter Gibbons first arrives at work? He sits down at his cubicle on Monday morning to that incessant, high-pitched repetition of, "Corporate accounts payable, Nina speaking. Just a moment." That look of utter despair tells you everything. This is a broken man who hates his work life. Long-term stress has resulted in acute apathy, … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Has Permanent Burnout with Christian Culture
Beatnik Christianity Insists Upon Actually Making Sacrifices to Serve Others
Sacrifice is an essential component of The Way of Jesus. In Luke 9 our Lord said, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it." Likewise, in Philippians 2 Paul writes, "Do nothing from selfish ambition or … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Insists Upon Actually Making Sacrifices to Serve Others
