Category: Christian Culture
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Can Music Be Christian?
[This post is part of the Revamping Christian Worship series] Technically… No, only people are capable of being Christians. But in another sense, what is sacred music if not self-consciously Christian? I think the issue might be one of semantics. When we talk about “Christian music” we are generally talking about music that has lyrics that are…
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Like Dancing About Architecture
[This post is part of the Revamping Christian Worship series] I’ve heard the quote attributed to both Thelonius Monk, and Elvis Costello, and it is possible they have both said it, but certainly in a way, talking about music is like dancing about architecture. As a musician, I can completely understand this, but at the…
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Like Playing the Piano with an Oven Mitt
My interest in preaching over the course of my first three years could be described in one word: Non-existent. Ok, so it’s a hyphenated word, but you get the idea. However, I can’t graduate without 2 semesters of preaching, so with only 2 semesters left to go, I had to dive into the world of homiletics…
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The Reason for Sports
If you are like me, then this weekend was an exciting time for you. The NFL season finally kicked off, and for the next several months, we will have weekends full of football. Over this weekend, along with watching a lot of football, I read through The Reason For Sports: A Christian Fanifesto and found…
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Billboards and Exegetical Back Flips
I don’t usually check Google Reader in the afternoons, but since it’s Friday, and I’m procrastinating on finishing a thesis syllabus, I thought I would check it out. Much to my surprise, Denny Burk has an article on a billboard campaign that is happening right here in Dallas. As you can see, this one is…
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Perspectives on Glenn Beck
It’s not really my goal to be overtly political on this blog, but after reading Calvin and Commerce earlier this summer, and eventually planning on reading Calvin in the Public Square as well as Calvin on Culture I started feeling that part of aspiring to be a theologian involves applying God’s word to politics. Don’t…
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A Concise Review of The Greatest Show on Earth
Hopefully this post can live up to its title and actually be concise and to the point and not sprawling and wordy. Much of today relies on yesterday’s ideas about logic, so if you haven’t read that, go back and read A Few Thoughts on Logic. Now that you’ve done that, we can more forward…
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Some Things Needed to be Said: Rethinking Velvet Elvis (B)
I had said in the last post that Rob Bell is rather adept at dropping half truths. This much is true, so accordingly, he does have many insightful things to say in the book. I think in some measure, evangelicals are quick to jump on the bad springs (doctrine) Bell has in his trampoline (both…
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Some False Teaching Never Gets Old: Repainting Velvet Elvis (A)
Honestly, at this point, another review of Rob Bell’s Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith might not be needed. I’ve seen several myself, and heard Mark Driscoll address some issues both in a sermon and in his book Vintage Jesus. That being said, the reason for what you are about to read is more or…
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Halloween Much?
Is is just me or are more people decorating for Halloween? In Dallas at least it seems to be almost epidemic. Much to all our surprise the seminary has not succumb to this sort of revelry, but they do have a “fall fest” planned just to do something at least. Maybe I’ve just been oblivious,…