Issues Archives
Religion is a human attempt to worship and serve God in the context of community. By default, this involves some level of organization and a mutual center (in this case, creeds, rituals, traditions, liturgy, and so on). But the fact that it is a human construct does not detract from its being empowered by God’s Spirit as a channel of God’s grace.
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Why the modern fascination with aliens?
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Like the faithful that he despises, Sam Harris is certain of that which he cannot “prove” – the complete and utter absence of God - but with unrelenting zeal and absolute commitment (the kind that can only be described as “religious”), Harris defends the undefendable and damns all those who disagree.
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It is not Eckhart Tolle's desire for an authentic spirituality that I find troubling. Rather, it is the way his system inhibits true human flourishing. The human person cannot flourish when humanity, personality, and all that this encompasses - thinking, acting, feeling, etc. - are brushed aside as irrelevant, and even worse, a deceptive pathological delusion!
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The new wired world we live in is not all sunshine and roses. The vast majority of the internet is little more than “ignorance meets egoism meets bad taste meets mob rule.” The radical democratization of all voices does not lend itself to greater truth. Though all people are entitled to their own opinion, not every opinion is of equal weight or value.
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The media, politicians, marketers, and (sadly) preachers often play on our fears that have no firm basis in reality...
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In order to escape disillusionment, we must completely reject the illusions we maintain about the church. Our love for the church – just like our love for people – must arise from a commitment that transcends consequences. If we only love the church when it is at its best, we do not love the church that really exists – we love an illusion.
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According to psychiatrist Gerald May, all of us are addicts. Created to freely and fully love God and others, our addictions are a powerful force that work against our freedom, by enslaving our will through idolatrous attachments. Enslaved by chains of our own making, we are our own worst enemies.
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We live in a nation obsessed with celebrities. When the activities of Brad and Angelina, Britney Spears, and Paris Hilton receive more attention than serious news items, we can rest assured that we have swallowed the pill of our new addiction. We are, in the words of Jake Halpern, "fame junkies." What's behind our fascination with fame?
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The opposite of truth is not fiction,
but falsehood. Great truths can be proclaimed through fiction.
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Professor Richard Dawkins teaches that religion is “the root of all evil.” Christopher Hitchens believes religion is deadly, poisoning everything it touches. Sam Harris argues that commitment to religion at any level – from fundamentalist to liberal expressions – is
dangerous to society. Are these men right? Or is there more to the story?
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God's law is meant to guide expressions of love and compassion. Since love and mercy know no boundaries, often rules fail to completely define what must be done. Even more, sometimes rules get in the way of divine expressions of love and compassion. Religion is not meant to limit love and compassion.
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In his follow-up to
On Bullsh*t, philosopher Harry G. Frankfurt argues that our belief in an objective, external reality connects us to the reality of other personalities. If we lose this, we are left with only our own subjectivity. We are left alone. So, ultimately, our belief in truths and in the truth connects us to a much larger world.
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Life is filled with stories of hard-working people caught in the downward spiral of jobs that offer little emotional or financial reward
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"Real life" consists primarily of normal, common, mundane, routine events and activities. If we cannot find love, life, God, and relationships in this context, a video-screen, flashing lights, pounding music, and high-speed internet access will not provide these things either.
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We should probably be
more concerned for the rampant consumerism of Christmas
than we are for Santa.
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A little tongue-in-cheek fun set to the tune of Sesame Street.
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Harvard graduate and son of a Methodist minister, James Ault, spent three years with Reverend Frank Valenti and his congregation at Shawmut River church, in order to understand fundamentalism from the inside. Find out what he discovered.
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Be skeptical of the ordinary, embrace the improbable, and realize that there is likely no overall meaning or significance to anything. This may be all the human intellect can provide, but it does not satisfy the human heart. We are left feeling a little bit like the turkey fattened for slaughter, wondering if anything we experience matters beyond the moment.
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Though few people say they are completely or perfectly happy, most people say they are more happy than unhappy, and most people think they will be even happier in the future than they presently are. Since this is the case, happiness is not simply the product of wealth or good fortune.
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In the past few years there has been a rising tide of books advocating the demise of religion and the triumph of secularism. Apparently, this evaluation strikes a chord with a large portion of the American public. However, religion cannot be explained away as a primitive illusion, a social construct, or psychological wish-fulfillment.
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The heart yearns for more than the mind is willing to accept. Thus, to limit belief to only that which is intellectually apprehensible is to reduce God to the limits of one's own psyche. It is to create an idol the size of one's ego. A God that can be completely understood is no God at all, but merely the projection of one's own wishes.
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Religion can be liberating; it can also be oppressive. Religion can bring health and wholeness; it can also be toxic and destructive. True religion creates compassionate, loving, life-filled people. Toxic religion creates petty, demanding, legalistic people. Is your religion true, or toxic?
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In
The Messiah of Morris Avenue, Tony Hendra retells the Christ story in a modern setting. This time around, the "religious professionals" that oppose Jesus are Christians rather than Jews. Clearly, Jesus - whether the first-century or twenty-first century version - is not safe in the religious dystopia created by contemporary Evangelicals.
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"The Church is full of hypocrites!" For many, this accusation is one of the greatest obstacles to belief. This concern is valid - Jesus shared it! Jesus warned, "Beware of the leaven of hypocrisy." This warning was not given to the Pharisees but to his disciples. It is a danger for the most religious and respectable.
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According to Baggini, the meaning of life is not "discovered" but "created." Since "God is dead," we are responsible to create meaning for ourselves. However, after an entire book committed to the methodologies of rationalism to speak of life’s meaning, he must abandon his rationalism in order to provide a satisfying answer to the meaning of life.
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Why is any Christian - especially a pastor - reading a book titled
On Bullsh*t? That is a fair question. The short answer is this: As a Christian I am concerned about truth, honesty, and authenticity. Unlike lying, which admits the existence of these virtues and seeks to undermine them through deception, bullsh*t has absolutely no interest in truth, honesty, or authenticity. [Warning: If you are overly sensitive to the use of foul language, this article is not for you.]
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Men, whether it is reliving your adolescent years, strengthening bonds with your father or friends, venting aggression, or simply escaping your weighty responsibilities for a few hours, let’s all drink a toast to the sport we all love – football! After all, it's good for us! Don't believe me... read this!
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Believe it or not, the Golden Age is not in the past but in the present. We are living in it! If this is the case (and all the statistics point in this direction), why then do most Americans feel that things are steadily getting worse rather than better?
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