Scott Lenger A Discussion of Christianity and the Church

Ever try to explain an idea only to end up flabbergasted at your own inability to communicate what you consider a basic concept? Or worse, are you one of those people who, after failing to communicate said concept, suggest to the poor listener that they simply need to read 300+ pages of “so-and-so’s” book and it will all make sense? (hint: your inability to communicate is probably not a good selling point for the book!) Enter Ed Cyzewski’s Coffeehouse Theology. While it does not attempt to be the end-all resource for theological inquisitors, it nevertheless excels at making particularly difficult theological concepts easy to understand.

Coffee & Theology

Like theology, coffee comes in a lot of varieties. On one end there is the ever popular french vanilla skim latte, sprinkled with cinnamon and topped with a dollop of whip cream. Though we are assured it is a coffee-based drink, the presence of any cocoa based substance is virtually indiscernible thanks to the array of sugary substances added to make the drink attractive to the masses. On the other extreme is pure bona-fide espresso. Initially offensive, but with studious attention one begins to perceive a broad diversity of flavors and nuances as well as an appreciation for the care and effort by which it was crafted. Within this spectrum I believe Coffeehouse Theology Read the rest of this entry »

The main purpose of this post is to serve as a medium for me to reflect on my experience with Jeffrey, a homeless man I met on a cold January evening in Times Square. I’m not sure if my interaction is anything I would necessarily consider positive, though perhaps a reader or two might have a similar experience that would help provide some clarity to these issues…

Meeting

We passed on the sidewalk near the center of Times Square. I was heading to Penn Station to catch a train. He was shuffling in a somewhat contorted manner and carrying a soft drink cup with some change in it which he was using to solicit strangers. He also happened to be wearing a t-shirt in 25 degree weather. Looking down I also discovered that he was barefoot despite the fact that it had been snowing all day. Nevertheless, because I was nervous about catching my train, or so I reasoned to myself, I kept walking.

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This plugin cycles a stylesheet for each day and season of the Liturgical year.

Churches that follow the liturgy change their sanctuary aesthetics according to the liturgical date or season. This plugin uses CSS to allow these same changes to be made to a website’s theme. The Liturgical Year Themes Wordpress plugin uses the date() and easter_days() php functions to calculate the current liturgical day or season. A correlating CSS file is loaded which allows the designer to override their default theme with one fitting for the current time on the Christian calendar. The plugin also provides the option of printing the day or season’s title in the document markup. The Liturgical Year Themes plugin is targeted at church websites, but can also be useful for journals and blogs that value the liturgy.

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Graffiti across from The Menagerie pub where Ikon holds their gatherings.

For whatever reasons, I should admit that I never really took seriously, nor thought it worthwhile to explore, the statement by Nietzsche that “God is Dead.” Philosopher Peter Rollins has made me wish that I had taken the opportunity to pursue Nietzsche a little deeper. Contrary to popular understandings, Rollins suggests that Nietzshe’s argument isn’t so much a criticism of the existence of God, as much as it is a criticism of the Christian’s claim to belief in God. During his talk at the Emergent Mid-Atlantic Conference (and also in his book The Fidelity of Betrayal), Rollins argues that Nietzsche’s “God is Dead” beautifully exposes how insignificant God has become in the life of the contemporary church. Read the rest of this entry »

The voter chooses not a position of principle but the less objectionable of two competing oligarchies. Understanding the franchise as a means of communicating to the bearers of political authority underlines how seriously the Christian witness is compromised by the fact that for most Christians the decision about how to vote is not the expression of any careful evaluation of what needs to be said to the authorities; the decision to abstain from voting is likewise seldom evaluated with a view to its communicating something.

The Christian Witness to the State, John Howard Yoder

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