Image by Gary Meulemans from Unsplash Fr. Stephen Freeman writes about the modern condition in a way that resonates with me and what I’ve witnessed in my lifetime. I think we are often disappointed that God refuses to behave as the god of modernity. The extremes of the “prosperity” preachers are only the most egregious examples of modernity’s god. There are others, more subtle. For example, we expect God to cooperate with our political projects (both Left and Right).

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I’ve been thinking quite a bit about this post that I came across on Mastodon. People who belong to a 'high-demand' religion perceive themselves as righteous, i.e. being the only ones "doing it right." They walk around with a heightened sense of superiority, which is toxic and harmful to their families and others around them. Daniela Battistella https://mstdn.ca/@dbattistella/111098032525747686 I can totally see the author’s perspective in that I can imagine this as a potential outcome of following the guidelines of Orthodox Christianity.

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Andrew Wilson asks where the West would be without Christianity for Plough Magazine. He points out that many of the beliefs which we now take for granted originated with Christian thought. The fundamental equality of human beings, and their endowment with inalienable rights by their Creator, are essentially theological beliefs. They are neither innately obvious axioms nor universally accepted empirical truths nor rational deductions from things that are. There is no logical syllogism that begins with undeniable premises and concludes with “all people are equal” or “humans have God-given rights.

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Craig Mod recently sent out an edition of his newsletter about the Japanese moviegoing experience. He found himself surprised that — at the Japanese cinema — the audience members don’t simply jump out of their seats and scramble at the end of the film. Instead, they remain in their seats, as if time for contemplation is necessary after taking in a film. Mod brings into the discussion the boredom he felt as a child in church to illustrate his points.

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Plough Magazine features excerpts from a letter Justin the Martyr wrote to the Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius around the year 150 AD. We follow the only unbegotten God through His Son – we who formerly delighted in fornication, but now embrace chastity alone; we who formerly used magical arts, dedicate ourselves to the good and unbegotten God; we who valued above all things the acquisition of wealth and possessions, now bring what we have into a common stock, and communicate to every one in need; we who hated and destroyed one another, and on account of their different manners would not live with men of a different tribe, now, since the coming of Christ, live familiarly with them, and pray for our enemies, and endeavour to persuade those who hate us unjustly to live conformably to the good precepts of Christ, to the end that they may become partakers with us of the same joyful hope of a reward from God the ruler of all.

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David Bentley Hart writes unsparingly and convincingly about the Christian case for socialism. He focuses quite a bit on the inadequate healthcare situation is the U.S. and the outcomes that ultimately financially benefit insurance companies. To me, at least, it seems obvious that, where health care in particular is concerned, Americans are slaves thrice-bound: wholly at the mercy of a government that despoils them for the sake of the rich, as well as of employers from whom they will receive only such benefits as the law absolutely requires, as well as of insurance companies that can rob them of the care for which they have paid.

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Matthew Kaul writes about our anxious age in a post on The Good Teacher Substack. He brings up, as many are now, the crisis of anxiety among teenagers, but also more broadly among the general population. Kaul takes a stab at the source of this increase in anxiety by referencing Kierkegaard. It’s at least in part a crisis of meaning. The Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard talks about anxiety as the “dizziness of freedom.

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Chad Ragsdale wrote a piece about the “He Gets Us” ad featuring Jesus that aired during the Super Bowl. He takes issue with those who are complaining about the ad being too “woke.”

Affirming that the incarnate son of God identifies with the conflicts and complexities of modern life is not “woke.” Spreading a message of Jesus that seeks to heal divisions and tribalism with love is not progressive. It’s Christian. Seeing wokeness everywhere you look is not advancing or safeguarding the gospel the way you think it is.

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Simon Kennedy writes for Mere Orthodoxy about how Christians need to be circumspect about how they engage publicly. He sees very few individuals as cut out to properly express faith publicly.

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I’ve been working on my blog design lately. Occasionally, a situation will arise in which I do something that totally messes things up, and I wish for the option to roll back to a “last known good” configuration. I used to love this option on Windows. If you (or a process or driver) did something that put the operating system in a bad state, you could always roll back to the last known good state and get things up and running. It was like being able to go back in a time machine to before a failure (a power most of us would like to have IRL). It was a chance to correct something and make it right, and then avoid the negative consequences.

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In a worship service recently, our pastor explored the genealogy of Jesus as presented in the book of Matthew. It was a thought-provoking homily about family ties. Alastair Roberts writes for Plough magazine about how we fit our own lives into the continuum of people that have come before us.

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This week’s Friday Night Video is a bit of a departure from other recent entries in the series. There’s no electroclash or spunky cover reworkings. It’s a new track from Welcome Wagon. Welcome Wagon are label mates of Sufjan Stevens and purveyors of a similar religiously-tinged folky aesthetic. With lyrics taken mostly from the gospel of Matthew and featuring comforting additions like “God holds your hand,” the song centers around the passage in Matthew in which Jesus assures us that God knows how to give good gifts to His children. The text comes a chapter after Jesus tells his followers not to be anxious about anything, that God will provide for our needs. The title of the track specifically references the verse in Matthew that implores us to pray.

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I lament the decline in monastic orders that have come with rationalism and modernity. I think stories like the ones about the Jedi in Star Wars can remind us of a life of discipline and spartan reverence that has become so rare. William P. Hyland writes for Plough Magazine about the parallels between Jedi in the Star Wars universe and monks in our own.

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An opinionated tweet recently provoked a strong reaction. That happens many times a day and is hardly news. This Twitter firestorm caught my attention, though, because it shows how people today are coming from profoundly different views of life.

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We recently changed our version of the Lord’s Prayer in church. Not to something radically different, but we now have a current, ecumenical version. Included are the words “save us from the time of trial.” Frankly, I was wondering why those words were left out previously. Drew Kadel examines the Lord’s Prayer in a piece on his blog Observations.

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DHH from 37Signals, who is not a believer, writes about nihilism and God’s will. Nietzsche promoted the idea of Amor Fati (love your fate), which DHH likens to acceptance of God’s will. Heinemeier Hanson relishes the idea of intellectual surrender that comes from faith. He brings in Kierkegaard’s leap of faith concept.

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I’m not sure what to think of this piece from Mere Orthodoxy on panic over the direction of Western civilization and its implications for Christians. For one thing, it sides mostly with Rod Dreher, someone with whom I am not usually in agreement. Dreher tends toward the Chicken Little end of the Christian spectrum, and his hand wringing often seems counterproductive. Things can surely get more difficult for Christians as societal mores shift, but the sky will not fall as long as God’s creation stands, and we are part of that creation. Perhaps, despite the references used, the piece brings up important points about the protective effect of institutions for our emotional well-being.

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Alissa Ruddell wrote a post in the style of The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. The subject of the latest letter from the demonic Uncle Screwtape to his nephew Wormwood is the smartphone. Screwtape tries to get Wormwood to sabotage a mother by intensifying her relationship with her phone.

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This article by Andrew McGowan is a few years old, but it has stuck in my mind as I explore different versions of the Christian faith. When the piece was written, the Episcopalians were going through a conversation about changes to the book of prayer, primarily around gender recognition.

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A few years ago, when I was teaching confirmation at the PC(USA) Presbyterian Church of which I was a member, I was showing a video about church polity and governance from the RE:form curriculum. The video was done in an intentionally kitschy old-school style of animation with the voice over imitation a 50’s instructional video. In the video, the congregation is in the church sanctuary, voting on a resolution that was disputed. Since the process was democratic, it should have solved the dispute and brought the congregation back in alignment. In reality, the video showed, the vote takes place and then the slightly less than half who lost the vote just leave to go to another church.

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The church that I have been attending, All Saints Orthodox Church, has a new website design and a video to go along with it. The video is a meditation on what worship is like for an Orthodox Christian, focusing on the five senses. I appreciate the fact that it brings up the conditioning of the smells, sounds and sights that are involved with worship. I have come to associate the incense used at Divine Liturgy with the very act of worship.

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A new book entitled Between Heaven and Russia: Religious Conversion and Political Apostasy in Appalachia examines how more conservative and even far-right Christians are flocking to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR). The phenomenon is detailed by Odette Yousef in the NPR piece Orthodox Christian churches are drawing in far-right American converts.

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Lois M. Collins has a profile of Elizabeth Bruenig, whom I’ve long admired, for Deseret News. The basis for the piece is Bruenig’s unusual (for these days, anyway) blend of faith and politics. She doesn’t fit neatly into the proscribed categories that we have packaged up for easy consumption and advocacy. She’s strongly left on economics, somewhat to the right socially and, as a staunch Catholic, pro-life (womb to tomb) and has done quite a bit of investigative journalism on the death penalty.

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I look at Easter not just as a day, but as a kickoff, if you will, for Eastertide. I see it as somewhat analogous to New Year’s Day. Resolutions start then, and don’t end when the day is over. Eastertide is a time to look at renewal in your life. If that renewal is simply a present fact, as is my continuing recovery from ME/CFS — thanks be to God — then it is a time for celebration. Sometimes, though, you may have to gently invite that renewal.

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Derek Thompson wrote a newsletter edition for the Altantic about population growth collapsing in the US. The statistics he cites are alarming.

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I had never come across the phrase "imprecatory prayer" until recently, even if I knew well what it meant. In fact, I have struggled with the concept. The Got Questions site begins to answer the question of what imprecatory prayer is by defining imprecatory.

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The day before President’s Day, I went to church for the first time since last summer. I’ve been watching online, well, religiously, since then, but it was a rare treat to go in and see friends and hear music being played live. Vivaldi on violin with our new sound system (which was desperately needed) alone was worth the trip. We had a congregational meeting afterward, so my stomach was starting to get into growling mode by the time I got home. I was making myself lunch while my youngest was playing a game online with his friends. He kept yelling something like, “get him with the crucifix!” From what I could understand, he was using a crucifix to protect his in-game character from hordes of evil spirits.

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Image source: Steven Hiller/Twitter The clip of Stephen Colbert expressing some basics about his faith is making the rounds (especially on Twitter). Tim Keller is an evangelical pastor who saw a potent witness on a popular talk show. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised about the negative comments the clip has received, in addition to the praise of popular religious figures, but it’s still disappointing to see them. What Colbert did was obviously not meant to be a full-fledged statement of faith, but rather a snapshot into how faith is integrated into his life.

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Sometimes, I feel like I need to stop ruminating on the “deep cleavages in American society,” as this piece from the Bush Institute refers to them. I wonder if it would be helpful to remember the turbulence of the sixties, just to have some frame of reference for comparison, but it doesn’t seem to be doing much good for my mom’s outlook. She’s just as exasperated with our current climate as the rest of us.

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Professor at a Christian college, Chad Ragsdale, has a blog post in which he embeds an episode of Joe Rogan’s podcast that featured Dr. Robert Malone. He writes about the episode in the first paragraph of his post.

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Austin Kleon quotes Bill O’Hanlon when he talks about the four energies for writing. The first two (the upper quadrants) being positive, the second two (the lower quadrants) are the negative energies.

• Blissed
• Blessed
• Pissed
• Dissed

I’d rather be writing from the upper two quadrants, but I have to admit to be expressing myself from the “pissed” category today.

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When my oldest was younger, we used to read a Berenstain Bears book about prayer. While the books about these anthropomorphic bears are designed to be simple lessons for kids, the particular angles in this book struck me deeply. The take on prayer was nuanced and mature.

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A couple of years ago, I compared contemporary Christians who expressed their desire for an authoritarian ruler to the ancient Islrealites who wished for a king. In both instances, the groups had lost faith in God to protect them and wanted to rely on a strong man. In the biblical book of Samuel, a king was requested of the prophet, a request which he initially rebuked. Eventually, after Samuel spoke with God, on the Lord's command, he relented and found the people a king in the form of a man named Saul. His change of heart came with a strict warning to the people of how a king would treat them.

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**Some Christians are looking for religious liberty exemptions from employer-based vaccine mandates. **

David French writes about the surge in Christians (mostly those who consider themselves Evangelical Christians) who are seeking religious exemptions from having to get COVID-19 vaccines.

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Mars Hill Church reveled in being Christian the manly way.

I recently started listening to the much-acclaimed podcast on the Rise and Fall of Mars Hill, produced by Mike Cosper. Mars Hill is the Seattle-based church that was founded by hyper-masculine pastor Mark Driscoll. I always found Mark Driscoll to be deeply suspect and wondered where he fit into Christian theology. In many clips I see or hear of him, he’s yelling “who do you think you are???!!!” or “how dare you!!!"¹ He sounds like me when I think my wife has eaten the dark chocolate marshmallows from Trader Joe’s.

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I was recently in search of something to to read after finishing the sprawling epic that was The Count of Monte Cristo. I pored through lists on Amazon, and recommendations I had read elsewhere. I typically read a fiction and a non-fiction book and and I needed something to fit into the former category. Nothing was grabbing me and Dumas’ masterpiece is a hard book to follow.

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The Guardian has a piece on near-death experiences (as they have been known since the 70’s), which profiles a psychiatrist named Bruce Greyson and his research into the phenomenon. Like surgeon Dr. Sam Parnia, who has also studied this area thoroughly, Greyson has come up with no verifiable or satisfying scientific ways of explaining the extraordinary things people go through when they are on the precipice of death.

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There is a theory that black metal flourished in Norway because there was never a counter-reformation in Scandinavia. Philosophy Professor Justin E. H. Smith touches on this in his piece on Weird Catholic Twitter.

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By most accounts, evangelical Christians are concerned about the path this country is taking and encroaching restrictions on religious liberty. This is usually cited as their main reason for supporting the former president, despite the fact that he possessed almost every character trait they had vocally opposed in past leaders. Beyond supporting the president, they have appeared, at times, to almost want to make him their king.

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James Parker, writes in the Atlantic on the Jefferson Bible, in which Thomas Jefferson carefully excised through razor blade, any references to Jesus’ supernatural deeds.

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For a long time now, I’ve had a hard time fitting in politically. I’m adrift in the sea of American politics and even religion I know I’m not alone. I consider myself neither conservative nor progressive. When you study the Bible and Christianity, it’s hard to fit the beliefs you derive into the neat little packages that are offered by our political parties and cultural warriors.

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Image by Charles Deluvio from Unsplash Andrew Carter writes for the News and Observer on how wearing a mask became a political issue. In the piece, he describes how a group called ReopenNC recently organized a protest against current restrictions put in place by the governor. When a reporter asked a man at the protest to discuss his thoughts on wearing face coverings, he responded with a sarcastic dismissal.

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“Mandatum” by Lawrence OP via Flickr Matt Taibbi has a thought-provoking edition of his newsletter where he ponders whether journalism is destroying itself with its changing mission of asking hard questions to one of trying not to offend. He makes some good points, although some of his examples of cancel culture might not be entirely accurate. What struck me, though, was a particular paragraph listing situations where people were trying hard to show their respect for the African American community.

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In this week’s Moore To The Point newsletter, Russell Moore dives into conspiracy theories, with an emphasis on their context in Christian circles. The reason that crazy conspiracy theories get a hearing in Christian circles is not because most Christians believe them. In talking with a pastor with flat-earth, moon-landing denialists in his church, I asked, “How many of your people are convinced by that stuff?” He said, “No one but the one family, but the people who think the earth is not flat don’t wake up in the morning caring about that; these people do.

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People who want church to be more traditional make a good point. But they don’t typically aim far enough back in time. They want to go back fifty years. We should go crack 1900 years, before Constantine, before priests, before church buildings, before the Lord’s supper became a sacrifice, before women we locked out of ministry. That’s our tradition. Randall McRoberts Amen.

[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=1694396191 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=e99708 tracklist=false artwork=small track=868700961] This week in worship, in place of a traditional sermon, our worship leaders engaged in the practice of havruta (learning in pairs). The text that was discussed was Ezekiel 37:1-14. The LORD’s power overcame me, and while I was in the LORD’s spirit, he led me out and set me down in the middle of a certain valley. It was full of bones.

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Philip Christman implores us, in Volume 99 of The Tourist, when we are tempted to write another “What is art in the face of ___________,” piece, to remember that C.S. Lewis already did it. Though a Christman uses slightly stronger language than I am willing to employ here, he makes his point. During the Second World War, Lewis wrote “Learning in War-time” as a sermon that he preached in 1939.

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I am happy that my church decided to hold virtual worship service this morning, complete with singing, responsive liturgy, sermon and passing of peace. I wasn’t thrilled that it was done through Facebook, a platform with which I have many reservations (to be charitable). Our church isn’t used to this kind of thing, though, so choosing a platform for broadcasting is just one more hurdle to be surmounted as quickly as possible.

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John Pavlovitz found himself buying bananas the day after his father died. He was going through such a normal part of life, but inside he felt anything but normal. Everyone around you; the people you share the grocery store line with, pass in traffic, sit next to at work, encounter on social media, and see across the kitchen table—they’re all experiencing the collateral damage of living. They are all grieving someone, missing someone, worried about someone.

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This year, around the holiday season, I’ve had a shift in my thinking about Christmas and the period of waiting that comes before. In the past, I’ve thought of the season of Advent as a joyous preparatory time for the a celebration that is Christmas. The onslaught of cheerful Christmas songs, that starts just as the tryptophan induced coma from Thanksgiving wears off, contributes to that way of framing things. Bing lets you know when it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, and he doesn’t seem at all concerned that the holiday is almost a month away.

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According to a new Pew Research poll, the number of Republicans who say presidents could operate more effectively if they did not have to worry so much about Congress and the courts has increased 16 percentage points since last year, from 27% to 43%. Among only those classified as conservative Republicans, the number of those in favor of more presidential power has doubled in the past year. The fears that this president has promoted the idea of a totalitarian state to his followers seems to have been well founded.

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With the start of the football season, there are many who are questioning whether they should continue to support the sport and the NFL. @mgs had this post on the subject of the upcoming season. I have very mixed feelings about watching football these days. On one hand, it’s without question the best of the major US sports to watch on television. On the other, it’s an absolutely barbaric sport.

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This post by @rmcrob bemoans the current state of churches focused more on therapeutic purposes than biblical teaching. A year ago we focused, ostensibly, on the Bible and what God wanted to tell us. Now we are concerned with the financial health and wealth of young families, how to raise children, how to keep a marriage vital, how to be good friends, and stuff like that. Sort of like classes you might take at a community center.

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In a piece entitled Our Moloch, written just after the Sandy Hook shootings, Garry Wills compares the American love for guns to the ancient worship of the god Moloch. The gun is not a mere tool, a bit of technology, a political issue, a point of debate. It is an object of reverence. Devotion to it precludes interruption with the sacrifices it entails. Like most gods, it does what it will, and cannot be questioned.

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In the piece, Study Asks If War Makes A Person More … Or Less … Religious, Diane Cole writes for NPR about the affect being in intense conflict situations has on personal and communal religiosity. The more profound the impact of war on an individual — such as the death, injury or abduction of a household member — the greater the likelihood grew of that person turning to religion. By contrast, those who had been less affected by the impact of war were also less likely to join a a religious group.

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In Why On Earth Are So Many Millennials Becoming Nuns?, Eve Fairbanks examines why millennial women are flocking to religious orders in record numbers. The piece is a fascinating look at how ancient Catholic institutions are faring in contemporary times. Several women are profiled in the article. One, named Rachael, in part seems to be reacting against the ambiguity of moral relativism. It was partly a bitter joke, but partly a sincere thought.

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This is a piece I wrote almost exactly a year ago. It never made it to this blog but it seems relevant as Christians head into Easter and celebrate the Lord’s Supper. I’ve written favorably of The Faith Angle podcast before, and I continue to be impressed by the content on the show. In the fifth episode, guests Ross Douthat and Father James Martin argue the importance of adhering to traditional Catholic doctrine and when it’s imperative to set aside that doctrine in light of individual conscience and grace.

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Last year, for the first time, I fasted during Lent. I made Friday my fast day and fasted from sunup to sundown. It was an interesting experiment. Some days it wasn’t too hard, other days the hunger was intense, or I would get a bad headache by the end of the day. The point of fasting (especially as part of Lenten devotion) isn’t for it to be easy, though. This past month, I spent 3 weeks sick with the flu and then bronchitis.

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