When it comes to church-state dynamics, Paul showed us the way by appealing to his citizenship in the Roman Empire while reserving his allegiance for Christ and His Kingdom. Sadly, Christian culture in the U.S. has taken another path. We suffer from a chronic condition of adjective-noun confusion. An adjective is a description. A noun is a source of identity. That distinction … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Laments the Existence of American Civil Religion
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Beatnik Christianity Believes the Meaning of Life Is Best Captured By Connection
People pursue the ultimate meaning by many pathways. A sampling of the more well-known trails are bolstering the well-being of one's ancestral tribe, maximizing pleasureful experiences, serving others self-sacrificially, submitting to God's will, rejoining the Oneness of the universe, living in harmony with the natural world, achieving autonomy from the constraints imposed by … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Believes the Meaning of Life Is Best Captured By Connection
Beatnik Christianity Expects Jesus Followers to Grow and Develop
Show me a person who's virtually unchanged over a 20-year period and I'll show you someone who's terribly boring and likely suffering from trauma-induced stagnation. It's an entirely natural psychological process of human growth and development for people to have experiences that influence their worldviews, personalities, relationships, interests, and values. Therein lies a lot … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Expects Jesus Followers to Grow and Develop
Beatnik Christianity Contends That the Greatest Heresy Is the Failure to Love
Down through the centuries has come a Latin phrase that's full of wisdom: In necessariis unitas, in dubiis libertas, in omnibus caritas. Translated into English it reads, "In necessary things, unity; in doubtful things, liberty; and all things, charity." I first came across this in an intro. course to historical theology. It immediately became a central plank of my ecumenical … [Read more...] about Beatnik Christianity Contends That the Greatest Heresy Is the Failure to Love
