Category Archives: Culture commentary

Initial ponderings on "Instant Cool"

Posted on September 11, 2009 by PaulVK

Interesting blog post on a blog pointed out to me via Twitter: http://praxishabitus.blogspot.com/2009/09/instant-cool-explaining-diffusion-of.html His point about what this says about network and presentation is correct, but I think about it in terms of shaping our view of the gospel itself … Continue reading →

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Miroslav Volf on God's violence or ours

Posted on August 12, 2009 by PaulVK

One could object that it is not worthy of God to wield the sword. Is God not love, long-suffering and all-powerful love? A counter-question could go something like this: Is it not a bit too arrogant to presume that our … Continue reading →

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Exploring the elephant and the blind reporters

Posted on August 12, 2009 by PaulVK

On CRC-Voices someone trotted out the narrative of the elephant and the blind reporters in order to explain the existence of religious plurality so I wrote this. The elephant metaphor is commonly trotted out and worthy of deeper exploration. As … Continue reading →

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Who wants to be a billionaire?

Posted on August 2, 2009 by PaulVK

Some very telling quotes about not only the idolatry of riches but the cruel master that the god of riches is from a Salon piece reviewing a reality TV show. This is a wonderful piece of writing. It has a … Continue reading →

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What is hell like?

Posted on July 23, 2009 by PaulVK

WNYC Radio Labs is a terrific show. Every single episode I find to be challenging and thought provoking. In two episodes Robert Krulwich (a practicing Jew) goes it alone and wanders into the area of science and religion. (In Silence, … Continue reading →

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Fixing a @johnpiper CS Lewis twitter quote

Posted on July 23, 2009 by PaulVK

John Piper went from zero to 60 in nothing flat on Twitter. He tweets a lot of really good stuff, much of which I retweet. Part of why I retweet as much as I do is because I use my … Continue reading →

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The Question of Progress

Posted on July 22, 2009 by PaulVK

This gets into lots of interesting and fun discussions. Does “progress” actually exist? Can we recognize it when it does? How does that relate to the Christian narrative? How do we know when something is progress and when something is … Continue reading →

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Let's not be naive about what learning from diversity requires

Posted on July 20, 2009 by PaulVK

Every since Dr. King declared 11:00am as the most segregated hour in America diversity has steadily become a desired value of many congregations and denominations, including my own, the CRC. I was raised in a “racial reconciliation” church of sorts. … Continue reading →

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Can anyone "set the record straight" and still be a post-modern?

Posted on July 20, 2009 by PaulVK

Can you “set the record straight” in a post-modern world? Can an post-modern atheist or agnostic really appeal “to history”? Just about every verbal conflict I have ever been in or watched was conducted before a presumed audience. In a … Continue reading →

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Why we say yes to drugs

Posted on July 20, 2009 by PaulVK

This is from a Salon piece that is a book review of “This is Your Country on Drugs: The Secret History of Getting High in America” This is the money quote: For Grim, most of these mistakes have roots in … Continue reading →

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