Is Christianity a Western Religion? (Full series)

Oh East is East, and West is West, and never the two shall meet,
Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God’s great Judgment Seat;
But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth,
When two strong men stand face to face, tho’ they come from the ends of the earth.”
-Rudyard Kipling, “The Ballad of East and West”

Is Christianity a Western religion? That may not strike us as a significant question, may not register as something necessary to establish as true or false.  But there are two reasons why it is important to dispel the illusion that Christianity is a “Western” religion.

Continue reading

Is Christianity a Western Religion? 3:Isn’t the West the “Cradle”?

Is Christianity a Western religion? After all, isn’t the West the “cradle” of Christianity? Isn’t America, the premiere child of Western culture, the “cradle” of Christianity?

The notion that America is the “cradle” of Christianity is still very recent in history, and it may soon no longer be true—not to mention that subjectivity reigns in the answer to whether or not America is the current “capital” of Christianity.
Continue reading

Jesus Loves You & Pure Religion Too: A Response to Jeff Bethke

Around this time year ago I was one of many people who grew interested in a thoughtful and poignant video poem posted by Jeff Bethke, and responded to the discussion in like fashion with a video poem.

Here is Bethke’s poem, “Why I Hate Religion, but Love Jesus”

Here is the video poem I posted in response, “Jesus Loves You (and Pure Religion Too)”

Continue reading