All in Culture

Interstellar, Relativity and the Age of the Earth

The Bible gives us God's account of the creation of the world. It took him seven days to do it. Are these days like the days we currently experience? Probably not. Are we even capable of putting the days of creation under our proverbial microscopes? Again, probably not. At this point I think humility is key.

Compartmentalization

We like to pretend that Jesus was some sort of spiritual guru who cared not for the cultural or political aspects of his day. But the reality was quite different. Everything Jesus said, even the things we deem to be merely devotion, was overlaid with intense cultural and political integration. This is why the religious, cultural and political leaders of His day were so threatened.

Worldview as Public Statement

Wright notes how all worldviews, including the Christian worldview, attempt to define the world and commit their hears to certain actions to and for the world. This means that the Christian faith can only be private when it has already accepted a secular worldview. Because many Christians have accepted a secular worldview they believe their faith is private and has nothing to say about the world.

Symbols as Cultural Boundary Markers

Questioning or challenging the validity of America’s military activity will quickly raise the temperatures in almost any conversation. Further, the symbolism surrounding America’s military is not only pervasive but also deep and culturally entrenched. There is a specific cultural narrative that surrounds our nations military. From religious overtones to liturgical holidays the symbols surrounding America’s military are some of the most powerful in our society.

Are Christian Social Justice Campaigns Misguided?

James says that pure and undefiled religion is to serve the widow and the orphan. In many ways the modern church and our social justice campaigns have changed James’ words to say: “Pure and undefiled politics is this, to serve the widow and the orphan.” In so doing we’ve assuaged our guilt of not truly serving the widow and orphan because we live under a government that claims to do so.

Fourfold Worldview

The worldview that a culture holds is one that is expressed through narrative and/or story. These stories, in one way or another, are answering the theology questions about “who are we, where are we, what is wrong, and what is the solution?”. The way grid through which these stories are expressed is through certain symbols (a flag, an institution, a holiday, a rite of passage). Finally, all of these things imply (and are formed by) a certain way of living in the world, a praxis.

A 5-IPA Review

I was given carte blanche! So beer and food pairings it is. Wine drinkers have had their time to talk about this, and they've gotten snobby. Guess what... beer and food can elevate each other too.

Racism in European Soccer

Centralized organizations, whether governments or sports leagues love to "play" god. They like to try to "give" people rights (as though they have that power), they like to try to disperse blessings and curses and they like to try to reconcile groups of people. Yet in every attempt to do this without the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ only further animosity prevails.

Politics is the Opiate of the Masses

The truth is that every kingdom of man will fall before the Kingdom of God. Yet the way the Kingdom of God prevails is through suffering servitude. When the kingdoms of men pick up the sword against the Lord's anointed we are not to draw our swords like Peter did in the garden (John 18:10). Instead we are to turn the other cheek.

Hospitality, Gifts and Pagan Literature

The fact is hospitality is a central theme to the scriptures, particularly in the ways that it points to the incarnation and God's desire to once again dwell with man as he did with Adam in the garden. In The Odyssey modern Christians are shamed by the fact that even pagan cultures understood this important facet of culture that most of us are so slow to apprehend.

Listening to Other Stories

The world is no longer majestic and mysterious. Rather, everything can be known scientifically. All things can be boiled down to left or right. Perhaps what we really need is a return to story; a return to Narnia/Middle Earth/Hogwarts. We need to have our stories subverted by the Gospel so that we can see that their is more to God's world than what we see through the microscope of our man-made philosophies.

Why Philosophy Is A Worthwhile Study For Christians

Though every non-Christian philosopher may have stolen the good stuff that they have found, at bare minimum they’ve provided more opportunities to learn about God, his nature, and his creation. Athens has a great deal to do with Jerusalem, and followers of Christ would do well to become familiar with it, though they ought not become citizens of it.