Not my words, nor my thoughts. Not even things I necessarily agree with. Just some food for thought… Tim
Capitalism: An Economic System that Requires Us to Think and Act As If God Does Not Exist
A favorite movie that runs on television annually during the Christmas season (which is already beginning in “big box stores!”) is “It’s A Wonderful Life.” People don’t pay attention to the details. The movie is a critique of laissez-faire capitalism. The “bank” the Jimmy Stewart character began that is (in the movie) being crushed by the fat-cat banker is a cooperative bank, a credit union. Many people who regard any criticism of capitalism as heresy applaud the movie’s portrayal of the wicked banker, but he is just doing what any capitalist must do if he is to play the game rightly—drive the weaker competition out of business. What was he supposed to do? Be nicer about it? The same people applaud the Jimmy Stewart character even though he is trying to start a non-capitalist-based “bank” and calling the fat-cat banker greedy just for doing what any good capitalist would and should do (if playing the game rightly by its implicit rules).
The proclamation of the gospel is an apocalyptic event. The gospel isn’t a sales pitch. The gospel is news. In Jesus something happened. The gospel is a revelation. A revelation–an apocalypse–that a new reality has broken upon us in a way that breaks us, a new reality–that the Kingdom of God has been inaugurated in the person of Jesus–that interrupts and disrupts everything that we thought we knew about ourselves, our world and the cosmos.
And in the face of that apocalypse we adjust ourselves to this new reality, renouncing former allegiances to declare Jesus as King. Everything has changed. Baptism is the ritual of this adjustment.
Baptism is the ritual that signifies the apocalyptic rupture in our lives.
The Myth that Religion is the #1 Cause of War
An interesting source of truth on the matter is Philip and Axelrod’s three-volume Encyclopedia of Wars, which chronicles some 1,763 wars that have been waged over the course of human history. Of those wars, the authors categorize 123 as being religious in nature,2 which is an astonishingly low 6.98% of all wars. However, when one subtracts out those waged in the name of Islam (66), the percentage is cut by more than half to 3.23%.
The 5 Most Powerful Words in the English Language
Ian Cron says it well,“The five most powerful words in the English language are: …but I might be wrong.”
And why are those words so important?
Because the only way you can possibly learn more is to doubt that you know everything. The only way to be open to new insights is to be open to the fact that the people you encounter might just know more than you do.
Why Missionaries Can Never Go Home Again
Missionaries are forever caught between two worlds. They can no longer completely identify with the people whom they left behind in the home country. But they can never truly identify with the people in their host country.
But that’s okay. There have been other travelers on this road.“These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.” (Hebrews 11:13-16)
While here on earth, we will always feel a bit unsettled and out of place. Missionaries and those of us living away from the place we grew up may experience that more than others. But someday, all those who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ will finally be home again.
That’s what missionaries do. They become immersed in the lives and heartbreaks of the people they serve. That’s what preachers do. They are not “guest speakers” every Sunday; they become part of a community. That’s what Christians do. They become immersed in the lives of their neighbors, the hurting, the broken, the sinful.
The 46 Most Brilliant Life Hacks Every Human Being Needs To Make Life Easier
I love finding clever solutions to the little snags I come across in cooking, building, cleaning, or just about anything. These are some that I find myself using all the time!