Gnaw On This 1.4 – Apocalyptic Fascination
Is anyone else as curious as I am about the increased level of fascination with apocalypse & global catastrophe taking place in our culture. I’m not talking about doomsday prophets and cable access kooks either. Today’s obsession extends well beyond the religious extreme. Cable television has shows like, “Life After People,” and the, “Nostradamus Effect,” which deal with the apocalyptic realities of global catastrophe, ancient prophesies, and human extinction. This Friday, “2012R

Bono and Rebranding America
If you haven’t read Bono’s op-ed piece in the New York Times this past Saturday, you can check it out here. In that article the lead singer of U2 discusses Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize, and the importance of the Presidents’ comments about the Millennium Development Goals in his UN speech last month. This phrase in particular stood out to Bono: “

Baptimergent Book Update
Things are moving along swimmingly at Smyth & Helwys. The official titles of our book is: “Baptimergent: Baptist Stories from the Emergent Frontier.” The similarities to Tony Jones’ book “The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier,” are intentional. These are tradition-specific dispatches if you will. Stories that are a smattering of a larger multitude

Gnaw on this 1.3 – Fundamentalism
Frank Shaeffer laid a pretty harsh smack-down on the fundamentalist sub-culture within evangelical Christianity. For this installment of “Gnaw on this,” I want to know what you think. Is the ideology and spirit of fundamentalist Christianity as dangerous as Shaeffer proposes? He seems to assume a progression that could lead to their actualizing the very “armageddon” they believe in. Do you think that’s possible? Has fundamentalist Christianity moved from “crazy

Baptists & Priesthood
I was asked recently to write an article for the Alliance of Baptists, “Connections,” newsletter on the Baptist value of priesthood. They have given me permission to re-run here as well. As we celebrate 400 years as a tradition, conversations about our Baptist identity are both important, and crucial. Give this a read and share your comments. “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” -