For many years, the discussion of “relevance” has overwhelmed the church. Certainly, the church’s ability to connect truth with the lives of people is critical, but has the pursuit of relevance distorted an understanding of our truest calling in society? It begs the question of whether Christians are called to be relevant or a counterculture?(…)
Ever heard those words before? It’s Not About the Nail from Jason Headley on Vimeo.
This is a prayer by Henri Nouwen from his book A Cry for Mercy. I first read it over a year ago at Matt Tebbe’s blog. Listen, O Lord, to my prayers. Listen to my desire to be with you, to dwell in your house, and to let my whole being be filled with your(…)
Thousand years as a day. Peter Leithart has been sharing a lot of interesting thoughts from Oecumenius’s (c. 6th or 7th century A.D.) commentary on Revelation. He shared an interesting interpretation of the millennium that I’ve never heard before: Oecumenius interprets the millennium as the period between Christ’s incarnation and His ascension. During “the time(…)
J.W. Wartick does this neat thing almost weekly called “Really Recommended Posts” where he shares links to interesting stuff he’s read/watched and offers a brief description of each. I like that idea and figured I’d do it myself, only I also wanted to be able to share excerpts from books I’ve been reading, snippets from(…)
Tradition. Religion. These have somehow become bad words, even though scripture uses them both in positive ways (James 1:27; 1 Corinthians 11:2; 1 Timothy 3:16; 2 Thessalonians 2:15; 3:6). I continually hear Christians use these terms pejoratively. Some bible translations even mistranslate it when it is used in a positive sense. I generally will comment(…)
The Greek word παράδοσις (paradosis) means “tradition,” literally “the content of instruction that has been handed down” (BDAG). I’ve been told that certain translations of the bible only translate this word as “tradition” when it is used in a negative sense but as “teaching” or another word when it is used in a positive sense.(…)
Slavoj Zizek is a famous philosopher, often well-known for his Starbucks example which explains the logic of (late) capitalism (assuaging the guilt of capitalism). This video which has been animated by RSA Animate and in it Zizek further explains this example and the ethical implications of charitable giving in a capitalist economy. Am I espousing(…)
As far as I can tell, the singers are chanting dominus vobiscum (the Lord be with you), et cum spiritu tuo (and with your spirit). It’s beautiful.
Mark M: Dan, Great praise music, we should hear more music like that. Thanks p s got a telecaster, and a fender…
Dan: Hey Mark! Great to hear from ya! We miss you too. It sounds like you're keeping busy doing what you…
Listen to this great talk from Jerry Walls: I’ve got a lot to think about here. I’ve been more or less in the camp that says God’s sovereignty and man’s freedom is an antinomy. At the same time, I think there is something to be said for the fact that all of the soteriological debates(…)
If you’re looking for a strong stance on one side of the fence, look elsewhere. American Christians have a lot of prerequisite issues they need to take into consideration before trying to take any stance on immigration. Notably, they need to think through the implications of a belief in Manifest Destiny, the marriage of Western(…)
An American Christian’s Thoughts on Immigration | ChristianBookBarn.com: [...] Recommended Article FROM http://rockadoodee.com/an-american-christians-thoughts-on-immigration/ [...]
Denise Barreto: Thanks for this amazing post. I love your perspective and appreciate all the research and thought put into this post.…
Dan: Thanks Denise! I'm glad you've found it helpful.
As a Christian, I oppose injustice. And yet the purchase of almost every product I own and use supports global injustice. Child laborers produced my clothing,1 people were senselessly killed and exploited in order to provide the minerals being used in my electronics,2 and by using a gasoline-powered vehicle I am supporting tyrannical regimes who(…)
From the Out of Ur blog:
J.W. Wartick: I love this more than I can say. Fantastic!
Paul Pastor: Hi, Dan. Glad the beard post is getting some laughs! However, this particular version is a hacked image from our…
Dan: Hey Paul, thanks for letting me know. I updated the blog post with your original image and also linked to…
Paul Pastor: You got it. Thanks!
I’ve seen too many Christians become atheists (especially young adults), often shortly after experiencing a tragic event. Many of them grew up with a version of the prosperity gospel or with moralistic therapeutic deism – both of which are false gospels. It is the former which I will be focusing on in this post. I’ve(…)
Steve Dalton: Very well said Dan. I am becoming increasingly sick hearing supposed Christians talk in pep talk theology. We are actually…
Dan: Hey, I appreciate your rants. Feel free anytime! I wrote about this exact thing (his plan as our motivation) and…
J.W. Wartick: Thanks for your focus on this false gospel and bringing the problems to the light. I'll be linking back to…
Noel: Thanks for your post - good stuff to avoid and, it seems, becoming harder to avoid (if not from the…
Dan: Hey Noel, thanks for stopping by. I'm glad you found the post on the prosperity gospel helpful. Concerning the Trinity,…
Noel: Dan - thanks for your response. While I do enjoy dabbling in theology in the academic sense I really dig…
The new meme seems to be the Harlem Shake. The videos feature a 30-second clip of the Harlem Shake song by Baauer, featuring a solo dancer, which then turns into dance insanity. Watch for yourself: here are four videos that I find hilarious, in the order I found them. The Shaytards one is my favorite(…)
And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but(…)
Brandon: This is going to be fun. In P40X, we are simply finding people who would like proper encouragement and accountability…
Dan: Brandon, this wasn't aimed at you or P40X. I didn't join that group because I'm observing Lent on a different…
I’ve been reading a great book by Jaroslav Pelikan entitled The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine, Vol. 1: The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition (100-600). He discusses the varying themes of salvation in the early Church and how the theology behind the means by which salvation is achieved differed depending on(…)
Mike Masse is a talented musician who became famous via YouTube. These are two of my favorite covers by him.
Matthew: Found you on BH.SE and I ouldn't agree with you more Brother! I'm a low-church charismatic evangelical and when it…
Dan: Great quote! Thanks for sharing. And nice to meet you. I'm sure I'll see you around on BH.SE.