“Coming Back to America: My One Fear”
by Thabiti Anyabwile
Category Archives: Uncategorized
“O There You Are Peter!” What Robin Williams Taught Me About Funny Serious People
I got a little teary-eyed today when I remembered that part in Hook where the little lost boy plays with Peter Pan’s face, takes that grownup frown and tries to force it back into a smile. He sees the happy smiling boy he once knew.
It’s one of the most touching children’s movie moments I’ve ever witnessed. It still gets me.
Muscle and a Shovel: A Book Review by Garrett Best
Muscle and a Shovel: A Book Review by Garrett Best
A book has been circulating in some church circles called “Muscle and a Shovel”, claimed by some to have “converted 10,000 people”. Garrett Best gives an honest and salt-seasoned review of the book.
Nerdy Bereans: Bullying Against Nerds (or anybody) Should Never Happen in Churches
“You’re such a nerd.”
I was one of those kids who was bullied from time to time in school, often because I fit the description of a nerd. And although I wish I could say otherwise, sometimes this bullying took place not just “in the world”, but in and among my own Christian friends.
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“How to do a Bad Word Study in the Bible” by Luke Dockery
“How to do a Bad Word Study in the Bible” by Luke Dockery
“How to do a Bad Word Study in the Bible” by Luke Dockery
[not to be confused b a study on bad words, but a bad study of words]
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On Calling God “Dad”
(No, this is not one of those posts by illiterate scribes who guilt you out of addressing God in intimate terms.)
In scripture, the Father is sometimes addressed with the word “Abba” accompanying “Father“.
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Coming up: Blacksburgia, the show.
Stay tuned.
The Eskimo Word for Forgiveness
It has been said that when Moravian missionaries came across an Eskimo Indian tribe years ago, the people seemed to have no single word for “forgiveness“.
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“The arts are not a way to make a living” -Kurt Vonnegut
“The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven’s sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something.” -Kurt Vonnegut
Why English Majors Make Lousy Fundamentalists
Why English Majors Make Lousy Fundamentalists
Why English Majors Make Lousy Fundamentalists
This is just an interesting read. The more I learn about literature and language, the more skeptical I am of a strictly “fundamentalist” approach to all scripture, and yet the more understanding I am of why fundies see things the way they do. Of course, the word “fundamentalist” conjures a range of labels, but most of them indicate to me a view of the Bible that attempts to honor it, but falls short of embracing its totality. Like a fundy, I totally believe 2 Tim. 3:16 to be true. But I’m going to understand it in a different way. And even fundies disagree over interpreting the passages, so “taking everything literally” doesn’t solve all problems of interpretation and doctrine. After all, Jesus didn’t literally produce wool from his body, swing on a hinge, or grow vines. So when he says he is the lamb, the door, or the vine, he is no doubt being symbolic. And although a fundy knows this is metaphor, this understanding is an important basis for how all else can be metaphor.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this readers—especially the converse. How can/how have “English majors” and other types misapprehended the scriptures?
CALEB COY 