“The church lives in Advent. That is to say, the church lives between two advents, Jesus Christ has come; Jesus Christ will come. We do not know the day or the hour. If you find this tension almost unbearable at times, then you understand the Christian life. We live at what the New Testament depicts as the turning of the ages. In Jesus Christ, the kingdom of God is in head-on collision with the powers of darkness. The point of impact is the place where Christians take their stand. (more…)
Category: Quotes
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A Poor Church-Growth Strategy? (Series on “Minding the Web”)
“That we are taught to confess our sin, particularly during Lent, is not something to which we look forward. We are not at all sure an emphasis on sin is a good idea. We are in a time of a dramatic loss in membership in mainline Protestantism. We need to attract new people. Telling people they are possessed by sin does not sound like a good church-growth strategy. (more…)
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The Apocalyptic Advent which Stories the World
In the midst of this Advent season of waiting, I received an early taste of Christmas yesterday with the arrival of my author copies of Minding the Web. -
The Good News of the Impassible Love of God
In the wake of Moltmann’s The Crucified God (1973), it has become fashionable in some theological circles to celebrate the “suffering” or passibility of God. In recent years, I have become increasingly convinced that such construals may not actually understand how the language of “impassibility” has historically functioned in the Christian theological tradition and particularly in the work of the Fathers. (more…)
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Christianity Is Not for Sissies
“The church can’t survive on sentiment and nostalgia. If we try to do that, we will wake up at midnight and discover that our lamps are going out. Sentiment, nostalgia, optimism: these are weak, thin fuels. We need premium oil for our lamps if we are to keep the light of the church burning in the time of trial. Christianity is not for sissies. (more…)
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Fleming Rutledge and Clint Eastwood on Contemporary Christian Music
When Fleming Rutledge and Clint Eastwood are in agreement about something then you have to stop and listen! Of course, it’s not the real Clint Eastwood, but it was hard to resist quoting Fleming Rutledge in juxtaposition to the latest Lutheran Satire video which features Clint Eastwood reading the lyrics of contemporary praise songs. (more…)
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A People Who Wait (Series on “Minding the Web”)
“Advent is a time that rightly begins the church year. But as Christians we wait not only at Advent. Rather, waiting is a time that is constitutive of every time of the church year. (more…)
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Creatures of Time (Series on “Minding the Web”)
“Advent is a time the church has given us in the hope we can learn to wait. To learn to wait is to learn how to recognize we are creatures of time. Time is a gift and a threat. Time is a gift and a threat because we are bodily creatures. (more…)
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A Timely Word for Christ the King Sunday (Series on “Minding the Web”)
“I have called attention to the kind of authority Jesus and Paul enact as a way to suggest that there may be some tension between the political order that is the church and that form of social and political organization called democracy. I need not tell you this is the day Americans elect their president and a host of other offices. We will be told this is the day the people rule. That sounds like a good idea, but you need to remember that there was a democratic moment in the Gospels, and the people asked for Barabbas. (more…)
