Category Archives: Christianity

“Profoundly Disturbed on the Fourth of July.”

Posted on July 4, 2009 by Stephen

At this point, it’s become a tradition. Almost every year since I first read this essay by Bob Hyatt back in 2003, I’ve posted it on my blog. As much as I’ve changed my views on different things in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Politics | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Derek Webb, Muppets, a Kick Drum and the Holy Spirit

Posted on May 21, 2009 by Stephen

Quick, name the last time an artist sampled a clip from Sesame Street in their song? The answer: Derek Webb, in a newly released song from his upcoming album, “Stockholm Syndrome.” Here’s the Sesame Street clip: Derek’s song is titled … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Music | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Forget Your Presuppositions (Presenting the Gospel)

Posted on May 9, 2009 by Stephen

Start from zero. Try to forget your presuppositions. What do you say to someone who doesn’t seem to have any of the same questions you do about life and religion when they ask you what and why you believe? In … Continue reading →

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Theology on Tap

Posted on May 5, 2009 by Stephen

Last Wednesday, I joined my friend Matthew Paul Turner for a quick one-day trip down to Atlanta for a speaking gig he had. After reading a couple excerpts from his book Churched, along with some new essays, for the Wednesday … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity | 4 Comments

Bono on Easter

Posted on April 19, 2009 by Stephen

The second of Bono’s New York Times op-ed pieces appeared in today’s edition (his first one is here), and this time around, Bono chose to write about Easter. Then comes the dying and the living that is Easter. It’s a … Continue reading →

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Imagined Infallibility

Posted on April 18, 2009 by Stephen

After writing the post earlier this week about fundamentalism and intellectual humility, I picked up David Dark’s The Sacredness of Questioning Everything to read another chapter before bed. And, as frequently happens when reading or talking to David, I found … Continue reading →

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The Rice Sisters sing “So Little Time”

Posted on April 15, 2009 by Stephen

Here’s a video of my grandmother (third from the left), with her five sisters singing So Little Time, one of the better known of the many songs my great-grandfather wrote. The video is from 1975, the same year the aforementioned … Continue reading →

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Crazy for God, part 4 – Theological Purity

Posted on April 14, 2009 by Stephen

I started writing a series of posts reviewing Frank Schaeffer’s Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back a little … Continue reading →

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Fundamentalism and Intellectual Humility

Posted on April 13, 2009 by Stephen

I just published an essay over at the Rabbit Room that I started to write a couple years ago but didn’t finish for some reason. Not long ago, I came across a quote by N.T. Wright that provided a concise … Continue reading →

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“Perversion is a failure of the imagination,” part two

Posted on April 1, 2009 by Stephen

Link to part one. Continuing the thought from yesterday’s post, in his book American Fascists: the Christian Right and the War on America, the ever-provocative Chris Hedges writes about attending a political rally disguised as a Christian crusade, designed to … Continue reading →

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