Monthly Archives: December 2010

Why Praying Evangelistically for My Children is Painful

Posted on December 18, 2010 by

I believe my former notions of evangelism were shallow and simplistic. I imagined evangelism to be an exercise by which someone simply switched religious allegiances. It’s easy to see where I got this idea from. Evangelism as portrayed and taught … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture commentary, Devotional Reflection | Leave a comment

My Shitty Intercessory Prayers

Posted on December 17, 2010 by

I don’t think many of my intercessory prayers are very noble. They are often selfish. I often pray for things I cannot do. That’s fine, but I also find myself praying for God to do things I am unwilling to … Continue reading →

Posted in Devotional Reflection | 2 Comments

Politics and Culture blog post by Tim Keller

Posted on December 12, 2010 by

Wonderful Piece: http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2010/12/03/politics-and-culture/ Here’s a paragraph from it. Hunter argues that ressentiment–”a narrative of injury”–has now come to define American political discourse. Both conservatives and liberals make their sense of injury central to their identity, and therefore in each election cycle … Continue reading →

Posted in Quotations | Tagged | 1 Comment

A Christmas Comment

Posted on December 9, 2010 by

There is no doubt that this holiday becomes an opportunity to express a variety of agendas. 1. The economic agenda: consumer spending help return us to prosperity 2. The Christendom agenda: recapture cultural dominance of a religious tradition from its … Continue reading →

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It is a marriage or a culture divide?

Posted on December 7, 2010 by

A good piece by Ross Douthat in the NT Times on the changing culture wars. Some initial impressions. Marriage has always been an economic and social class instrument. Read Stephanie Coontz http://www.amazon.com/Marriage-History-How-Love-Conquered/dp/014303667X. She might have to write a second book … Continue reading →

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The new post-nihilism polytheism

Posted on December 6, 2010 by

Bill Harris on CRC-Voices passed along a fascinating piece from the NYTimes blog: “Navigating Past Nihilism” by the chair of Philosophy at Harvard. A few initial thoughts: 1. There is always a frame of reference problem we have with noting … Continue reading →

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The Invisible (via Vinoth Ramachandra)

Posted on December 4, 2010 by

This line caught me: “If only we had some true friends, some who saw us as more than convenient tools for shaping their own desires!” from “The Invisible Man” When I think about the age of decay what grabs me … Continue reading →

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Authentic Partnerships (via Vinoth Ramachandra)

Posted on December 4, 2010 by

Another wonderful post by Vinoth Ramachandra. (Yes, I’m reading through bunch of his posts in one sitting.) To me all of this highlights the enormous challenge of partnerships and the walls that our cultures and contexts create between us as … Continue reading →

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Who Says “No” to “Mission Trips”? (via Vinoth Ramachandra)

Posted on December 4, 2010 by

Wow. I’m so pleased to find Vinoth Ramachandra’s blog. For me it is such a breath of fresh air! I hosted and helped out a number of such “mission trips” in the Dominican Republic and really resonate with his ideas … Continue reading →

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Two Churchy Rivals

Posted on December 3, 2010 by

There are two frauds that haunt the church: pietism and moralism. (Disclaimer: A note on my use of the word “pietism”. We use that word to describe a very important and I think godly reform movement. That’s NOT what I’m … Continue reading →

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