Memorial Day…

Every gun that it made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.  This world in arms is not spending money alone.  It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its [...]

The future is mestizo…

In this post I want to engage the integrative motif of Elizondo–mestizaje.  The Future is Mestizo:  Life Where Cultures Meet, Revised Edition, Virgilio Elizondo
Mestizaje:  the process through which two totally different peoples mix biologically and culturally so that a new people begins to emerge, e.g., Europeans and Asians give birth to Euroasians; Iberians and Indians [...]

On market-driven Christianity and biblical tea parties…

The frequent association of the church with status, wealth and force is inappropriate for followers of Jesus and damages our witness.  We are committed to exploring ways of being good news to the poor, powerless and persecuted, aware that such discipleship may attract opposition, resulting in suffering and sometimes ultimately martyrdom.
Spirituality and economics are inter-connected.  [...]

The Good News, Culture and Anabaptism…

Third Eye Blind – Non Dairy Creamer (new studio version!)

Steve opened our class last evening with this video.   Here are some of the questions we considered as we reflected on the song, the lyrics–our culture and how the Good News (of Jesus Christ) intersects:
Who is the person singing this song?   Is [...]

Time moves on…

…social reality (whatever in a worldview is construed as ‘the real world’) is not only the cause of the outlook or standpoint of those who inhabit it (thus culture creates outlooks); paradoxically, their social perception of reality is the cause of a people’s world or culture itself (thus outlooks create cultures).
–James McClendon citing the work [...]

The politics of friendship…

As I came back, I saw on the bank of the river a great many trees on the one side and on the other.  He said to me, ‘This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah; and when it enters the sea, the sea of stagnant waters, the water will [...]

Professor Mohammad Yunus

I heard an inspiring talk last night given by Nobel Laureate, Mohammad Yunus.  He had never been to Lancaster before, but in his opening remarks he mentioned Mennonite Central Committee.  He expressed appreciation for the tremendous work MCC has done in Bangladesh. 
I was struck by the amazing work Dr. Yunus is doing.  The hopeful way [...]

Circuit training…

I have not felt like blogging recently.  Here are some highlights in this week’s curriculum vitae:
Friday, April 25:  I went to hear Willard Swartley at the Parish Resource Center.  The topic was “Teaching and Preaching on War and Peace.”  He was very good.  Dr. Bob Webber provided a response.  Some good exchange.  I need to [...]

Learning to see the world the way God does…

I have been reading a book that Jon passed along to me–Get Up Off Your Knees:  Preaching the U2 Catalog.  Today I read “To See What You See:  On Liturgy & Learning & Life,” Steven Garber, Calvin College.  The Biblical reference is Psalm 123.  The U2 song reference is “When I Look At The World.” 
As [...]

How the World sees America…

I sat down to eat my lunch today and turned the TV on to C-SPAN2.  Amar Bakshi was in the middle of a press conference speaking about his project- How the World sees America.  This fascinating project took him on a 5-month trip to 11 countries around the world.  Bakshi is a reporter for the [...]