Remonstrans
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I prefer to think that the infamous steering committee sincerely desired my opinion of their Evangelical Manifesto but they just didn't know how to contact me.So out of a temporary overstock of conviction I will offer a piece of advice for evangelicals' next scheduled Statement of Our Importance to Ourselves with Accompanying Signatures.Make all statements about your identity clear and unambiguous. If you allude to "useful idiots", leave no doubt as to what you mean.Make all statements of belief undisputed; nothing blunts the impact of a manifesto like an ensuing controversy and a... [read more]
add to discussionFor those following this evangelical ronde de lutins, you will want to read over some of the fallout, especially thither and yon.It reminds me of the fun we had as kids playing Chinese Fire Drill at stop lights. It was great exercise and it amused the other motorists.What does the Manifesto mean? when will you figure out what it means? and when you find out, will you tell us?Do you regard it as helpful that the Manifesto means so many things to so many people? Was this document offered as a demonstration of the "unity and harmony of the body of Christ"? [page 12]Does it disturb yo... [read more]
add to discussionFirst follow Nature, and your judgment frame By her just standard, which is still the same: Unerring Nature, still divinely bright, One clear, unchang'd, and universal light, Life, force, and beauty, must to all impart, At once the source, and end, and test of art. Art from that fund each just supply provides, Works without show, and without pomp presides: In some fair body thus th' informing soul With spirits feeds, with vigour fills the whole, Each motion guides, and ev'ry nerve sustains; Itself unseen, but in th' effects, remains. Some, to whom Heav'n in wit has been profuse, Want as muc... [read more]
add to discussionChristianity Today reviews an R-rated movie. Camerin Courtney, a single Christian woman—there's a shocker, eh?—shares with us her insights:Most of the few Christian voices speaking to the growing single segment of the population offer ten easy steps to find our soulmate. As if it's that wondrously simple. Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda, however, show how challenging it really can be for intelligent, accomplished, and admittedly neurotic women to find lasting love. They, unlike many Christians, don't insult my intelligence. Instead they speak to the complexities of rela... [read more]
add to discussionLast week my wife and I toured the sometimes idyllic sometimes dilapidated parts of Texas. You drive through towns that started before the Civil War and began their decline immediately. You will find empty old buildings patiently waiting to collapse into the weeds. You see communities with no visible justification for their existence making desperate attempts to revitalize themselves by advertising their proximity to more desirable communities. What used to be dignified banks are now shabby junk shops pretending to be antique stores. You drive through groomed, rural residential areas where ... [read more]
add to discussionWe continue our tour of aberrant contemporary religion.Those of you who are beginning to get a feel for emergent now need to sample missional. Missional is like emergent, but slightly different. Think of them as those two gaudy earrings your aunt frightened you with.There is a certain similarity, which is nice. It's something for them to fight over. It gives everyone a sense of identity and personal loyalty. People who are disgusted by fighting over pre-trib/mid-trib/pre-wrath can really tuck into the nuances of emergent/emerging/missional.Like emergent, missional represents a shift in thin... [read more]
add to discussionWe now dedicate ourselves to collaborative friendships, partnering and constructive caring. How could it hurt for friends to collaborate? Who would argue against partnering, and between constructive and destructive caring, who would choose the latter? These are empty phrases that could produce unanimity among a whole shelf full of bobble-head dolls. And if we are careful not to say what we are collaborating on, if we don't explain what we are partnering in, and if we don't define how our care is in fact constructive, we can promise everything and deliver nothing.This is today's church: huge... [read more]
add to discussionOn a day of our own choosing 33 years ago, a woman and I vowed to live together in defiance of every unpleasant contingency and to prove all the pleasures of love. Nearly every year we run off to some hills, valleys, dales, fields or craggy mountains to mark that day. This year that occasion falls between today and Sunday.Because many hills, valleys, dales, fields and craggy mountains are still not WiFi-endowed, you might not hear from me this Friday. I will bring the laptop but I cannot promise the laptop will bring me the web.I suspect she will kick off her fair linèd slippers with... [read more]
add to discussionThe first time I read Christ & Culture I was certain I knew what Niebuhr meant by the ampersand. I was skeptical about what he meant by Christ, and I knew he was wrong about culture. So I put it back in the closet believing the thing was way too baggy to be worn in public.Later I perused it thinking the material might have shrunk and was perhaps wearable. After all, the book was only a year older than I was, and I was willing to concede that my knowledge of culture at the time of my mother's pregnancy was spotty. Maybe since then I learned something about his culture.Nope. Back on the r... [read more]
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