Alright, so I know that my breakout session was supposed to be “What Would Don Draper Do (to Eric Taylor)? Downward Mobility and Grace in Mad Men and Friday Night Lights”, and I’ll touch on those themes and would be happy to discuss them over drinks (Shiner or Rye:), but as someone once said, “the wind blows wherever it pleases,” and I have found my thinking gusting in other directions. Not to mention that, judging by Season 5 of Mad Men (at least so far), Don Draper and Eric Taylor aren’t such polar opposites anymore, and might actually be friends!…
Addiction / Forgiveness / Grace in Practice / Identity / Psychology / Reformation / Relationships / Social Science / TV
Conference Preview – People are Strange: Modern Family, the Un-Free Will and the Roots of Compassion
Horton and Tigers and Bears: NYC Conference 2012
via Flikr Jen and Tony Bot
When people are first introduced to the distinction between Law and Gospel, there is often some hesitancy towards it because of what it seems to imply, i.e., that the speaker is against the law. This concern, that somehow the law will be dismissed, evokes more fear and trembling in people than just about any other. Interestingly, this fear is exposed on both the “right” and the “left” of the theological spectrum. For example, some people are all too ready to reject the “law” insofar as it applies to areas of traditional morality, but mention to…
Forde Friday: The Law Making Matters Worse
Kicking off a new weekly feature highlighting the inspiring work of late Lutheran theologian and Mockinghero Gerhard Forde, here’s a memorable portion from one of our absolute favorite volumes, On Being a Theologian of the Cross. The following excerpt is part of his unpacking of the first thesis of Martin Luther’s Heidelberg Disputation (“The law of God, the most salutary doctrine of life, cannot advance humans on their way to righteousness, but rather hinders them.”). Don’t let the historical context put you off, Forde has an incredible knack for breathing life, excitement and pastoral sensitivity into Reformation texts:
The law ‘Thou…
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Another Week Ends: Moonrise Kingdom, Foolish Folly, Conflicted Lewis Worship, Tiger Moms and Snake Handlers, Hitchens on Dickens, and New Shins
1. A couple of hot-off-the-presses reasons for living. First, pre-registration for the 2012 NYC Mockingbird Conference (4/19-21) opens on Monday! Again, the theme this year is “Clear Eyes, Full Hearts: Honesty, Humility and the Grace of God” and our keynote speaker will be none other than Michael Horton, Reformation Impresario Numero Uno and all around Gospel guru. He’ll be joined by Aaron Zimmerman, myself and a host of other birds of various stripes. Keep an eye on our events page. Second, and equally important, the trailer for Wes Anderson’s new film, Moonrise Kingdom, hit the web yesterday and it’s world-class.…
Addiction / Books / Humor / Music / Philosophy / Psychology / Reformation / Religion / Sports / TV / Week In Review / Year In Review
Another Year Ends: Xmas Wars, Twitter Blues, Reznor’s Recovery, Hume’s Legacy, Bad Seeds, Scrooge Syndrome, and Mbird Subscriptions
1. You can’t blame Matt Zencey for trying to put the “war on Christmas” in perspective over at The Huffington Post, recalling the 18th century Puritan campaign against the holiday. While contextually more than a little glib – apples and oranges and all that (our cultural conflict has two equally doctrinaire opponents, theirs had one, and arguments could be made for casting the pilgrims as the corollary to either). Still, the historical details are undeniably interesting:
The Puritans who landed at Plymouth Rock knew how to wage war on Christmas: They banned it. As historian Stephen Nissenbaum documents in his 1997…
Jack Kerouac and the Diamondcutter of Mercy
In The Dharma Bums, Ray Smith (Jack Kerouac’s autobiographical character) describes his parting with his dear friend Japhy Ryder:
The next day I figured to give Japhy some kind of strange little going-away gift and didn’t have much money or any ideas particularly so I took a little piece of paper about as big as a thumbnail and carefully printed on it: MAY YOU USE THE DIAMONDCUTTER OF MERCY and when I said goodbye to him at the pier I handed it to him, and he read it, put it in his pocket, and said nothing.
Martin Luther said the Gospel was…
Rest for Weary Bones: Martin Luther on Grace, Peace and Justification
From the Reformer’s Commentary on (the third verse of the first chapter of) Galatians:
Verse 3. Grace be to you, and peace, from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.
The terms of grace and peace are common terms with Paul and are now pretty well understood. But since we are explaining this epistle, you will not mind if we repeat what we have so often explained elsewhere. The article of justification must be sounded in our ears incessantly because the frailty of our flesh will not permit us to take hold of it perfectly and to believe it with…
Bondage in Autonomy: Gerhard Forde on the Will
An excellent passage on the bound will by Gerhard Forde from his classic Where God Meets Man. If we take Forde at face value, he seems to be suggesting more of a “binding” will and a “bound” sinner:
“It is because we do not really know God that we must, in the second place, construct a theology that enables us basically to place our trust in ourselves. The point of Luther’s writing On the Bondage of the Will is that as sinners we are bound by our own will to do this. The bondage of the will does not stem from…
Grace in Addiction and Aliens, Too
It is always a difficult task getting Christians, or anyone for that matter, to integrate a realistic (and Biblical, by the way) understanding of the human condition in a personal way. Getting to this point is a part of the Apologetic process along with the Resurrection and everything else. It, in particular, is a hard sell because it hits so close to home and can pop the bubble of coping and delusion. This great resistance has certainly been my experience even in the short time that I have been in the ministry.
Illustrating the human condition can often skirt the sensibilities…
A Momentary Lapse of Reason(ing): Arguments, Justification and Good News
Have you heard of The Argumentative Theory of Reasoning? It is a recent breakthrough in the study of cognition, and a theory we can really get behind. Essentially an attempt to answer the question, why are human beings so good at reasoning in some areas and so bad at it in others? The researchers, who somehow appear to have transcended the very theory they’re propounding, have decided to challenge the most basic assumptions about the role and function of reason. What they’ve come up with is that reason, rather than being some objective, truth-oriented pursuit, is instead a social phenomenon.…
Conference Preview: Encountering the Gospel in Worship
The following preview comes to us from Alex Mejias of High Street Hymns who will be leading a breakout session Friday morning entitled “High Street Hymnody: Encountering the Gospel in Worship”. For more info about the fantastic work that High Street Hymns is doing, go here. To register for the conference, here.
“They [the righteous] praise only God’s grace, works, words and power as they are revealed to them in Christ. This is their sermon and song, their hymn of praise.”
- Martin Luther
In Colossians 3:16, Paul encourages the church to, “let the word of Christ richly dwell within you……
On the Usefulness of Fables
Excerpts from Philipp Melanchthon’s short treatise (1526 or so) ‘On the Usefulness of Fables’:
‘There is altogether nothing more beautiful and pleasant than the truth, but it is too far removed from the sight and eyes of men for it to be beheld and known fortuitously. The minds of children need to be guided and attracted to it step by step by various enticements, so that they may then contemplate more closely the thing which is the most beautiful of all, but, alas, all too unclear and unknown to mortals… Therefore, extremely sagacious men have devised some tales which first rouse…
For the Love of Gerhard Forde (and The Cardigans)
From page 107 of his classic On Being a Theologian of the Cross, in reference to Thesis 26 of Martin Luther’s Heidelberg Disputation:
“We see that the law simply cannot bring into being what it commands…The law says, ‘Thou shalt love!’ It is right; it is ‘holy, true, good’. Yet it can’t bring about what it demands. It might impel toward the works of the law, the motions of love, but in the end they will become irksome and will all too often lead to hate. If we go up to someone on the street, grab them…
Thanksgiving Song No. 4: Derek Webb’s "Thankful"
And you thought (Reformational) theological anthems were a thing of the past?! Try this one on for size… Happy Thanksgiving:
I ran across an old box of letters
While I was bagging up some clothes for Goodwill
You know I had to laugh that the same old struggles
That plagued me then are plaguing me still
I know the road is long from the ground to glory
But a boy can hope he’s getting some place
But you see, I’m running from the very clothes I’m wearing
And dressed like this I’m fit for the chase
No, there is none righteous
Not one who understands
There is none who seek God
No…
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