Postgraduate theology student in the UK. Ordained clergyman. Husband.I have a love for all things alt-rock, Pixar, sports, and good, short literature.On Twitter @toddhbrew
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C.S. Lewis on Humility
A great little quote from Lewis’ Mere Christianity on genuine humility. Here humility is not simply defined by self-knowledge – or an understanding of one’s sinfulness. Instead, it is defined by a spontaneous, subconscious self-forgetfulness that extends far beyond the typical categories of virtue or character-building.
Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call “humble” nowadays: be will not be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody.
Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap…
Live and Let Live: 30 Rock on “Managing the Crazy”
To my surprise, somehow 30 Rock has gone its entire 5 years without a full Mockingbird treatment (Tina Fey mentions excluded). This is surprising mostly because in addition to being some of the best comedy on television, the show is incredibly thoughtful about human nature and relationships.
To begin with, the first thesis of 30 Rock is that everyone is crazy. For anyone who has seen the show, this is the root of the its brilliance. The viewer is given a God’s-eye-view to see people as they actually are without any filter. Jack (the CEO) is obsessed with his own greatness…
Need Self-Improvement? Just Read the Signs!
It’s pretty common here at Mockingbird to find a sympathetic review of recent findings from the worlds of sociology and psychology. There’s often a lot to like as these fields frequently help to illuminate somewhat obtuse theological concepts like the problem of the law and the bound will. But this compatibility between theology and the social sciences is self-selected, meaning there’s a great deal out there that isn’t worth reading. A recent article on Wired by Thomas Goetz highlighting the value of immediate feedback is a prime example of this latter category. It’s a well argued article and the…
Bringing You the Gospel
A must for everyone traveling into space!
From flickr via europeanspaceagency
Look at that Pulpit! Thoughts on Gibside Chapel, Church Architecture, and the Subconscious
I recently visited Gibside Chapel, a late 18th century country chapel near my house in Durham, UK. I’ve seen a lot of churches in my life, but this one stands apart as utterly unique. From the moment of walking in you see this imposingly tall and beautiful three-tiered, central pulpit and sounding board. It stands opposite from the entrance and with its back-lit lighting it feels impressive. It can plainly be seen from every seat in the house. The surrounding walls and ceiling are themselves beautiful, but plain in comparison to the spectacle in the middle of the room. This…
How to Become an Adult
In an op-ed column directed at recent college graduates, David Brooks doles out some pearls almost on par with David Foster Wallace’s address to Kenyon College some years back. Seeking to combat the idealistic follow-your-heart/you-can-do-it truisms we’ve all grown up with, Brooks says that true adulthood is found by losing yourself rather than seeking to find it. Life isn’t about self-fulfillment – or Incurvatus in Se as Luther would say, but commitments to others and causes greater than the self.
From a Mockingbird perspective, Brooks is really on to something worthwhile. A perpetual adolescent freedom to be led by…
Announcing “Comfortable Words: Essays in Honor of Paul F.M. Zahl”
On today his 60th birthday, we are proud to announce the future publication of a collection of essays in celebration of the life and ministry of Paul F.M. Zahl. Tentatively titled Comfortable Words: Essays in Honor of Paul F. M. Zahl, this book is testimony to the message of the unmerited grace of God that Paul has passionately and consistently articulated throughout his entire career. For Paul, the essence of Christianity consists in the power of this grace to create that which the law could never do. It is the act of one-way love toward unworthy sinners without any hint of…
Inflated TV Personas and the Thirst for Glory
In yet another proof that “the thirst for glory is not ended by satisfying it but rather by extinguishing it” (Martin Luther), I present to you the tale of ESPN sports personality/commentator Jay Mariotti. With influence spanning from AOL’s fanhouse to ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption, Mariotti specialized as a superficial, loud-mouthed, shoot-from-the-hip talking head that sports fans seem to love. As told in a recent article by Deadspin (of all places), Mariotti was one of the few sports journalists to attain C-list celebrity status and a fat paycheck, only to lose it all when he began to believe his own…
Rethinking Individualism with David Brooks
It’s almost too common to read op-ed columns or hear sermons about how individualistic Americans are. Yet a brief remark in David Brooks’ recent book, “The Social Animal”, has implied to me the real absurdity of these diatribes. He said:
The United States is a collective society that thinks it is an individualistic one. If you ask American to describe their values, they will give you the most individualistic answers of any nation on the planet. Yet if you actually watch how Americans behave, you see that they trust one another instinctively and form groups with alacrity.
Brooks implies a fundamental difference…
Brand New’s “Jesus Christ” and Self-Knowledge
From: http://www.flickr.com/photos/charlie_cravero/371925358/
In the song “Jesus Christ” (video and lyrics below) Brand New front-man Jesse Lacey is compelled by loneliness and fear of the afterlife to reconcile what he knows about himself with what he knows about Christianity. He is unflinchingly honest about himself: Lacey lives an erratically lonely life and knows that it will ultimately end alone. He suggests that if his salvation depends on his ability to accept or reject Jesus, then Lacey rightly knows that he will reject him every time. Whatever good he may have in his life, he knows that his “bright is…
Book Review: "Good News for Anxious Christians" by Phillip Cary
In the ever-shifting landscape of American Evangelicalism, it seems that many people are attempting to correct what they perceive to be failures in the system. Everyone thinks something is wrong and whatever it is, it needs to be fixed now.
Within this debate, Phillip Cary’s book “Good News for Anxious Christians“, provides an unique diagnostic of both ourselves and the state of modern evangelicalism. As a professor of philosophy at a leading evangelical university, Cary hears from his students how the “new Evangelical theology” has translated into the core beliefs and practices of our youth. What…
Why Pixar?
In case you needed another reason to check out our own The Gospel According to Pixar, I submit to you the following cartoon from poe-news:
It’s funny because it’s true. The Dreamworks formula is to get big name talent (Jack Black, Jerry Seinfeld, Will Smith, Eddie Murphy, and Will Farrell to name a few) to inflate a less than stellar story, while Pixar just keeps putting out Oscar winning movies.
The Humbling of Oscar Wilde, Part 4
I thought it fitting to end this little series on Oscar Wilde with what is probably my favorite Wilde quotation. (Click for: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 3.5.)
Christ, like all fascinating personalities, had the power not merely of saying beautiful things himself, but of making other people say beautiful things to him and I love the story St. Mark tells us about the Greek woman who, when as a trial of her faith he said to her that he could not give her the bread of the children of Israel, answered him that the little dogs who…
Rebecca Todd: Well, I am sure both of you would win a debate so I'm not going there....
Jim McNeely: Rebecca, I agree, great comment! Yummy. Here are my thoughts.I thi...
Sam: Isn't the empty tomb proof? I remember a debate that involved Christo...
Zach: Wonderful jewel of honesty amidst the dregs of mealy pap spewed from l...
Rutger-Jan Heijmen: *Conan's...