Thursday, April 19, 2012

Weekly Communion

I am currently attending a church where I partake of the Lord's Supper weekly. I can definitely say that this has been a deeply enriching experience in my worship. I find it sad that many churches are somewhat opposed to weekly communion due to being a bit romaphobic. Bellow is an argument for weekly communion from Ryan Van Neste:

Of course the longest discussion of the practice of the Lord’s Supper is in 1 Corinthians. Many issues can be raised here, but the fact that abuse of the Lord’s Supper was such a problem in Corinth strongly suggests the Supper was held frequently. Could it have been such a problem if it only occurred quarterly? Is this the sense that arises from the passage? Notice the wording of 1 Corinthians 11:20: “When you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper that you eat.” It is widely agreed that the terminology “come together” here is used as a technical term for gathering as the church. This wording suggests that when they gathered they ate a meal which they intended to be the Lord’s Supper.[1] Though they are abusing the Supper, their practice (which is not considered odd by Paul) is to celebrate each time they gather. Even the wording in 1 Corinthians 11:25, “As often as you drink,” which is often used to suggest frequency is unimportant, in context actually suggests frequent celebration of the Lord’s Supper. Commenting on this verse, Gordon Fee notes, “This addition in particular implies a frequently repeated action, suggesting that from the beginning the Last Supper was for Christians not an annual Christian Passover, but a regularly repeated meal in ‘honor of the Lord,’ hence the Lord’s Supper.”
See another argument from Neste here.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Is Facebook Making us Lonely?

An Article from The Atlantic:

Social media—from Facebook to Twitter—have made us more densely networked than ever. Yet for all this connectivity, new research suggests that we have never been lonelier (or more narcissistic)—and that this loneliness is making us mentally and physically ill. A report on what the epidemic of loneliness is doing to our souls and our society.

Click Here to read the article.

British Library acquires St Cuthbert Gospel




The oldest European book to survive intact.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-17738163

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Co-opted

Do we give much thought to art? Do we appreciate art for its intrinsic value? Do we appreciate its value to point us to an ideal? Do we give much thought to the importance of art as it relates to culture making or character shaping?

Most of us "use" or engage art daily. We engage art primarily or exclusively as consumers. Art has for most of us become another commodity to consume for recreational purposes. Historically art had use, use to point its viewers, hearers, readers, to the transcendent, to God. What does art point us to today?

As I came home today I heard a song I like from Johnny Cash, and thought, "I really like this song." Only to find out it was being used to promote a new video game. Today the telos of good art is to get me to purchase a video game. Somethings is wrong.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Pipe Smoking


Back before fundamentalism caused much of American Christianity to go off the moral deep end and get caught in up in a fevered attempt to demonize a whole series of behaviors that are morally neutral, pipe smoking was seen as a very decent and proper thing for a theologian (& anyone else) to do. In many Christian communities which successfully fought off the tendency to condemn everything, pipe smoking has always and continues to be appreciated for the benefits it brings to moments of relaxation, conversation, and mental clarity. –James Stambaugh


Sunday, March 25, 2012

Cultural Challenge

First Things article concerning the centrality of the Eucharist for the ecclesia.