Daily Archives: August 14, 2010

The Perils of ‘Wannabe Cool’ Christianity

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From here. (HT: T19)

‘How can we stop the oil gusher?” may have been the question of the summer for most Americans. Yet for many evangelical pastors and leaders, the leaking well is nothing compared to the threat posed by an ongoing gusher of a different sort: Young people pouring out of their churches, never to return. As a 27-year-old evangelical myself, I understand the concern. My peers, many of whom grew up in the church, are losing interest in the Christian establishment.

I have always been disturbed by those who believe that Christianity has lost its “cool” (was the cross of Christ ever “cool” in the first place?) or who fear it is no longer “relevant” (whatever that means). At its heart, those who harbor these kinds of fears do not believe in the power of the Gospel to attract and win hearts and minds.

Amazing.

If God does not have the power to attract and win hearts and minds, I don’t know who does, and I wholeheartedly agree with the writer’s conclusion. Read it all.

What do you think?

What a Shame That Guilt Got a Bad Name

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From here:

Yet in rejecting the cruelty of public humiliation, it’s important that we not make the mistake of tossing aside guilt as well. Despite the bad reputation it has acquired since perhaps Freud, few emotions are more socially productive or personally beneficial. Let’s not hold it against guilt that many people can’t distinguish it from its evil twin, shame.

A thought-provoking article. What do you think?

Never Mind Tolstoy

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From here:

In the late 1990s something called a “sex column” began to appear in the nation’s college newspapers. A blend of light-hearted advice and salacious tattling, these writings, according to Daniel Reimold, a professor of journalism at the University of Tampa, became the “most publicized and pervasive phenomenon in student journalism.” The columns were “catalysts” of a “sexual rebellion” on campus, he says in “Sex and the University,” an examination of a craze that is still very much with us. He interviews dozens of sex columnists and generally watches them at play. Jane Goodall performed a similar service with chimpanzees, except that her subjects seem to have had a more evolved sense of discretion.

I am delighted to see all the advancements our colleges and universities are making. 🙁

Read the whole sad thing.