Posts Tagged ‘gospel’
Two Roads to Live On
Thoughtful observers are in agreement that our culture is sick. We are morally confused. We are cracked, violated, and vicious. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think we’re much worse than any previous culture. The difference between earlier cultures and ours is not in terms of our lack of virtue, but the lack of knowledge of virtue. As Peter Kreeft so boldly puts it, we are the most freakish culture in the history of the west—because we have loosed our lives from the pursuit of God—and we are the weakest culture in the history of the west—because we no longer act based on objective moral principles, and thus have no objective standard with which to judge and no objective source of power for change.
Man’s Four Hungers
In his famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6). Blessed—happy—satisfied—whole—are those who hunger and thirst for his righteousness, for they will be filled. This sounds like good news to me! Don’t we all want to be blessed, happy, satisfied, and whole? Surely we all long for such a blessed state of affairs. But then why are so many today broken, fragmented, cracked, and potted?
What is the Origin of Religion?
How, or why, did religion originate? More to the point, did religion begin with God or man? It has become commonplace since the Enlightenment to understand the origin and development of religion in naturalistic terms: Religion is man-made. It is a crutch for the weak-minded. It is a feeling of absolute dependence. It is a projection of our father figure. It is the Mysterium Tremendum. It is rooted in universal archetypes of the human subconscious.
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind and the God Who Made It
I just finished reading William Kamkwamba’s inspiring book The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. In the autobiography (co-written with Bryan Mealer), Kamkwamba shares his childhood story of growing up in the impoverished country of Malawi, a country where magic rules and modern science is often viewed with suspicion and mystery.
Playing God, Power, and the Gospel
In a good book, there will there be one real gem—a new idea, insight, or way of looking at the world—that is both illuminating and profound. In Andy Crouch’s latest, Playing God: Redeeming the Gift of Power, there is a treasure of new insights related to the notions of power, idolatry, and the gospel story that make this a great book.
Death By Living
Life is a story. You are mortal. There was a time when you were not. There will be a time when you exit the stage of this life. The past is the fruit of providence and thousands of personal narratives that led to you. You did not choose where to set your feet. You did not choose when to enter the stage. You choose where to set them next. You choose what to do now that you are on stage. You walk across the wet concrete of time and shape the world with your life. And then you die. Spent. Spend it well.
To Kill A Mockingbird and the Gospel Story
Harper Lee’s 1960 classic To Kill a Mockingbird is set in the American south during the turbulent and transitional 1930s. Partly, I am drawn to the story because of the aura surrounding Mrs. Lee. The book has been hailed as an American classic, the winner of many prizes including the coveted Pulitzer, yet Mrs. Lee continues to live a quiet and private life, largely shunning the celebrity spotlight her book undoubtedly provides. She’s said her piece, and doesn’t feel the need to say it again. I remember reading the book in High School. I had a remote memory of some tragedy or injustice that took place therein, but it was too long ago to remember the details. And so I recently picked the book up again. After reading the book afresh, I was struck by the rich connections between To Kill a Mockingbird and the Gospel story. Here I share but a few.
The Bad Story that is Atheism
We all love a good story. They awaken our longings for drama and connect us to a deeper reality that is true. Right? Wrong, according to the atheist philosopher Alex Rosenberg. We’ve been duped by stories. They make us feel better. They help us get along. But they do not guide us to the truth of what is. Nor do not awaken us to aspire to what ought to be.
Feed, Fatten, Fornicate
We are a culture that likes to keep our heads down. Focus on “the stream of experience”—the feast of video, food, sex, gaming, money, mindless entertainment . . .whatever . . . that is continuously carted before our noses, lest we take a breath and look up.
The Gospel as Tragedy-Comedy-Fairy Story
In my last post I talked about how Christianity is the greatest possible story. In this post I want to unpack the essence of the Christian story, or the gospel, understood as a three-act play: TRAGEDY—COMEDY—FAIRY STORY.
Fueled by the conviction that stories sustain us because we were made to be nourished on the good, the true, and the beautiful, I determined to read one fiction book a month for this past year. And I read some very good stories! In addition to fiction, I have benefitted greatly this year from some solid works in philosophy, theology, biography, and spiritual formation. Without further ado, here are my favorite books read in 2023. As is custom, in my book log, I record the book title, author, and date completed, along with a one sentence description. This has been my practice since 2009. My book log now includes 635 entries. This year I read 43 books.
I love to read. Of course, being a professor helps. I get to read as part of my job. That’s good. But I also love to read for the sheer pleasure of it. When it comes to fiction, I love entering into secondary worlds and journeying along with the characters of the story. Often non-fiction reads like a good story too: life is life, story is story, and often the two kiss (a loose paraphrase of one of my favorite nonfiction stories of the year, All that is Sad is Untrue). (more…)