January 2008

Severing the Rhetorical Roots of the Empire

by Brandon Rhodes 31 January 2008

(This essay was originally prepared for presentation at the NW Inklings convening, November 2007, where participants answered the questions, “What is the prophetic ministry and how does it function? And in what way is the church prophetic?”. It has since been posted in a special collection at Andrew Perriman’s OpenSourceTheology.net)
The church’s prophetic function [...]

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Caucus Voter's Guide (2008)

by Mark Van Steenwyk 30 January 2008

Everywhere you look, people are issuing voters guides. James Dobson has one. So does the Christian Coalition. There are guides put by environmentalists. Almost every major lobby group has a guide. But I’m not complaining. I think these guides are great.
Some people get the false impression that I am against politics. By no means! [...]

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New Monasticism is Really Really Bad

by Casey Ochs 30 January 2008

It is imperative that we Bible believing Christians remain ever vigilant to protect ourselves from the noxious whiff of sulfur arising from the cauldron of impure doctrine, seductive teachings and Romish error. The latest billowing smoke to come up from the furnace is called “New Monasticism” and originates from the so-called “Emergent Church” and its [...]

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Enemies of Empire?

by Geoff Holsclaw 28 January 2008

Mark’s wonderful recent post “is America an Empire” has stirred the waters quite well. So I thought I would wade into the swirling poorl and talk a bit more about Empire and Enemies. For the idea that the Empire is our Enemy didn’t seem to sit well with some readers. “Aren’t we [...]

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Is America an Empire?

by Mark Van Steenwyk 22 January 2008

Recently, in the comments of Mike Cline’s excellent article Christians: Haters of Humanity, a reader (jazzact13) responded negatively to the insinuation that the USA is an empire. He listed a bunch of criteria from dictionary.com. While I hardly think of dictionary.com as an authority for the definition of “empire,” it could be EASILY argued [...]

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Liquid Modernity, Scapegoating, and The Cross

by Matt Shedden 18 January 2008

In Shirley Jackson’s short story The Lottery, a commonplace American town gathers together to draw scraps of paper from an old black box. Jackson curiously keeps the reader from determining the meaning of the lottery, the only hint being a pile of rocks that had been organized. The story goes through the narration of each [...]

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Al Mohler Takes Stand on Emergent Profanity

by Mark Van Steenwyk 17 January 2008

DISCLAIMER: Due to a thoughtful (offline) response to this article (which is 100% satirical), I have edited it to make it less offensive.
Times are changing. And not for the better, says Al Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. Dr. Mohler is concerned by the growing “Emergent” church movement (ECM)–a [...]

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7 Flicks that Subvert

by Mark Van Steenwyk 16 January 2008

The other day, someone asked me if I knew of any movies that demonstrate the radical nature of the Gospel. In other words, they wanted to know of any flicks that they could show their parents that would help their parents understand the radical stuff that they’ve gotten into.
When Jesus started preaching, he didn’t jump [...]

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“It’s as crazy as it seems.”

by Maria Kirby 15 January 2008

These words form the center of a song I wrote that has been rumbling around in my head for the past year. They recurred to me in force during a recent visit with my parents over the New Years holiday.
This was my first visit to my parents’ home since I got married, my first visit [...]

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10 Reasons to Vote: A Sympathetic Challenge to Mark's 10 Reasons NOT to Vote

by Casey Ochs 10 January 2008

Editor’s Note: My good friend Casey (who is, by the way, a part of Missio Dei) posted 10 good counter-reasons to vote as a response to my recent article in which I explain why I don’t vote. I think his counter-argument is one-part compelling, and one-part humorous. And so I’m posting them as an [...]

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