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From Hermeneutics: Debbie Downer of Christianity

Quotes:

As John Ortberg wrote, “All day long we are bombarded with messages that seek to persuade us of two things: that we are (or ought to be) discontented and that contentment is only one step away: ‘Use me, buy me, eat me, wear me, try me, drive me, put me in your hair.'”

In a recent Christianity Today article, Mark Galli exposes this post-modern “implicit promise … that we can experience God 24/7/365, if only we open our eyes to God’s presence all around us.” He quotes Rob Bell from his new book, What We Talk About When We Talk About God: “I believe God wants us each to flourish and thrive in this world here and now as we become more and more everything we can possibly be.”

Her story reminds me of Oswald Chambers’s gut-check to all believers: “Have I any confidence in the flesh? Or have I got beyond all confidence in myself and in men and women of God; in books and prayers and ecstasies; and is my confidence placed now in God Himself, not in His blessings?”

From John Updike and an Anglican ordination service.

Cardus

To quote:

What I found most intriguing was the early press coverage of the study, most notably in the New York Times. As if simply struck by the stark infographic, the Times headline announced that “Location Matters.” But, of course, it’s not geography that is an indicator here. Nor was mobility predictable on the basis of local economies or tax policies in different regions. What the Times‘ lazy headline failed to ask was: What are the features of these locations that correlate with upward mobility? Since liberals find it so hard to talk about family values, it shouldn’t surprise us that they buried the lede: namely, that one of the most powerful correlates with upward mobility is stability of family structure, including the presence of two-parent families, coupled with a strong presence of religious communities (which no doubt explains why Salt Lake City, UT tops the list).

A healthy, flourishing society depends on structures and institutions beyond the state. Even the economic life of a nation cannot be adequately (or justly) fostered by just a couple of “spheres” (as Abraham Kuyper called them) like the market and/or government. Societal health requires a robust, thriving civil society, with all kinds of “little platoons” working creatively and in common, without being managed by the apparatus of government or constantly seeking the permission of the state.

Not an unusual posting but some points are very well said. 

You will get back, again to the foundational question of “who does the church measure success?” This is not a simple question.

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