Years ago, Lutheran historical theologian Martin Marty participated in a decade long project exploring fundamentalisms worldwide . One of the most interesting (albeit paradoxical) of his findings was their extreme openness to technological advancements as tools. Cutting edge technology is openly … Read more about The Only “Progress” Allowed: Techno-Utilitarians for Jesus
Hold God Loosely – Like A Lover
Fun title ... but I’m serious. Yesterday, when I suggested dropping the ‘the’ as a litmus test, I mentioned that we need to revisit the way that we hold our faith. Convictions about God and our religious experiences can be very powerful. As both a minister and an academic theologian I have given … Read more about Hold God Loosely – Like A Lover
Body and Embodied Practices (final imagining ourselves)
Body and Embodied Practices In the context of a hyper-real social atmosphere (from part 7), it is imaginable that individuals would become dislocated from their rootedness connected to any place, have difficulty indentifying themselves within a framework of physicality and feel distant … Read more about Body and Embodied Practices (final imagining ourselves)
Simulation and Stimulation: How We Imagine Ourselves part 7
Yesterday we looked at Madan Sarup’s notions around identity. Some of that work overlaps with the work of French social critic and lapsed sociologist Jean Baudrillard. In order to properly receive Baudrillard’s perspective – and address how it relates to contemporary conceptions of identity and … Read more about Simulation and Stimulation: How We Imagine Ourselves part 7
How We Imagine Ourselves part 5: technology
Yesterday we looked at conceptions of a 'people' and a 'nation' through historic transitions in the past 2 centuries. More recent authors extend that concern beyond just text to the escalated pervasiveness of electronic media. Appiah frames it this way: The worldwide web of information – radio, … Read more about How We Imagine Ourselves part 5: technology
Jihad v. McWorld: How We Imagine A Nation part 4
A Second Shift In the previous 3 parts we established that a significant shift took place in the late 19th and early 20th century. This initial shift in modernity has subsequently created the possibility of a second, more contemporary, move that I want to explore. Taylor provides the context of … Read more about Jihad v. McWorld: How We Imagine A Nation part 4
How We Imagine A Nation part 3
In the shadow of the Sochi Olympics and the unfolding tension in the Ukraine, we are exploring the theme/thesis that: 'Nation' is both sovereign and transcendent. 'Nation' is both a social imaginary and an emergent reality. Benedict Anderson explains that the notion of imagined communities … Read more about How We Imagine A Nation part 3
How We Imagine A Nation part 2
In part 1 I introduced a theme/thesis for this series of posts: ‘Nation’ is both sovereign and transcendent. ‘Nation’ is both a social imaginary and an emergent reality. Charles Taylor utilizes the term ‘social imaginary’ to refer to god-like capacity described by Anderson. The term … Read more about How We Imagine A Nation part 2
How We Imagine A Nation part 1
Watching the Olympics was different for me this time. During the past four years I have been in a PhD program and have burrowed down into topics that have deeply impacted me. Within one of my cognate fields (non-core studies) I addressed the issue of nationalism and the modern imaginary. The … Read more about How We Imagine A Nation part 1
No Need for Sunday: A Theory on the Making of Donald Millers
Far be it from me to theorize about a person, or make that person a type...but I'm going to for the sake of trying to process a couple things that appear to be endemic to evangelicalism as a church culture. I should say that while I haven't read much of his work, I like Donald Miller and this post … Read more about No Need for Sunday: A Theory on the Making of Donald Millers
V-Day Bourbon Corner (CultureCast Mini-Sode)
What goes better with Valentine's Day than a nice glass of bourbon? Forget the chocolates and frilly cards; join us for a glass of your favorite whiskey and catch up bourbon value buys, bourbon tasting and a bit of bourbon culture and history. Christian Piatt and Patrick DonVito break it down … Read more about V-Day Bourbon Corner (CultureCast Mini-Sode)
TNT: The Pope and Marx
With 20 calls queued up ... we made it through exactly 3. When you hear the 3rd call you will understand. We did listen to a bunch of them and plan to keep working through as many as possible so click that speak pipe button. For more thoughts on the Pope (for Protestants) check out Bo's post … Read more about TNT: The Pope and Marx