Ground Zero Sum

An Old Old Story: Ground Zero Sum by An Old Old Story

[soundcloud link; via An Old Old Story; HT: Experimental Theology]

Postponing by Predicting?

“It has been taught that three things come when the mind is diverted: The Messiah, finding a lost article and a scorpion.

So don’t postpone his coming by thinking about it![ii]”

I was taught as a young man that we can speed up the coming of Christ by reaching the whole world with His message. Now here, the writing of Jesus’ colleagues suggest that there are also ways we can slow it down.{emphasis in original}

Can this be true?

And if so, why?

....If we expect things, we tend to handle them. Our humanity wants to handle God. We secretly hope to force Him into some kind of deal. Deadlines and deals seem to go hand in hand.

But God is not only unimaginable. He is also unmanageable.

[via BROOKE GALE LUBY WRITES, HT: comment at this post at Jesus Needs New PR]

Of Things Unseen, Not Of Fears Unknown



[via Jesus Needs New PR]

Rebuilding

[via FutureShorts]



[YouTube link; Vimeo link]

For more about it: The Madman and the Cathedral

Waiting For More and Nothing Else

During the Advent season, a lot of people try to relive or rediscover a sense of expectation and hope. They remember what it might be like to wait for the coming of God… the coming of healing, liberation, and salvation. For me, this whole year has been defined by waiting for God (it’s been a tough year, marked by many personal sorrows and losses which I have not written about here). Only, in my waiting for God, I’ve gradually learned to wait without much expectation or hope… I simply wait because there is nothing else that can be done by any of us. We’ve all tried our best and failed. Only God can save us, and even though God is nowhere to be found, we wait… because, at the end of the day, we are still in need of salvation.

[via On Journeying with those in Exile]

[via Levellers]

The Rebel Jesus and Lyrics: The Christians and the Pagans

Discovering Alex Jones: The Failure of the New World Order and the Problems with Americacentric Biblical Interpretation

[via Exploring Our Matrix]

the tale of the least of these

[via Borrowed Breath]

Pentecost Sunday: Different Christian Groups Emphasize Different Aspects

[via Levellers]

A tent among us

[via this article, HT: slacktivist]

Thank-you God, for sneaking ever so quietly into this world. Keep being patient with us. {full post}

[via Tim Sean Youmans]

"...but I believe in the Israelite"



[found via holy heteroclite in this post, HT: one hand clapping]

OVERSOLD: Pastor David Cowan, Hosea and Gomer, and the Story of Crissy Moran

[via Grace and Truth to You]

I Was Never ‘Called’ to Journey Alongside of Poor People

[via On Journeying with those in Exile

"Is The Meaning Lost?"

Halloween? Reformation? Which is it?

[vika Kevin Powell]

Thankful Acts

So what are you Thankful for?

That's the Question of the Day, isn't it? The question on everyone's lips.

I don't know about you but I always have trouble answering that question. It's not that I'm some sort of ungrateful lout, or that I think I deserve everything I have, or that in a quid pro quo world I think thankfulness is unnecessary.

It's just that there seems to be a “right” answer and a “wrong” answer to that question, a moral expectation every Thanksgiving. There are certain big ticket items that I'm obliged to be thankful for, and I'm supposed to walk right past the bargain bin, pretending its not there. {continue...}

[via The Word Proclaimed]

Turning Things Upside Down

Sarah Palin has cast herself in the role of the populist, the maverick who will go to Washington and turn things upside down. She's the outsider, the breath of fresh air, uncorrupted by years in Washington. She combines this message with a religious air that reaches into a conservative Christian base for support. She opposes Roe v. Wade and gay marriage. She backed a bill that celebrated Christian Heritage week in Alaska and endorsed the teaching of creationism (or ID -- that's not been clear), and carries herself with a sense of righteousness that is rooted in Christian populism. Robert McElvaine compares her Christian populism with that of another outsider, William Jennings Bryan. In some ways they share belief systems, but the recipient of their ardent attacks are very different. Palin attacks the elite (media, Hollywood, educational establishment) while Bryan attacked the "Interests," Wall Street financiers and corporate leaders. a group that has not received (at least until now) attention from the Right. It's an interesting piece published today in Sightings.{read on...}

[HT: Ponderings on a Faith Journey]

Without Change or Movement

This is a scary thought; it takes courage to step out into the unknown.

But here's the thing: contrary to what some might imply, if not say outright, waiting is also courageous. Waiting can be just as terrifying as stepping out, if not more. When stepping out at least you're going somewhere. Waiting is just waiting. It's uncertainty without change or movement.

[via The Eagle & Child]

Like A Flood

It's funny, life can't happen without water, it's one of the most basic things that we need. But when our lives our falling apart, the water can often be a sign of intense pain.

[via Of a Pastoral Wannabe]

Is there too much faith put in faith?

[via Ponderings on a Faith Journey]