Countdown Day 89
89. I believe that in every new generation, the Christian faith, like every faith, must in a sense be born again. That means the Christian faith has the possibility of being forever young. (Imagine strains of the Bob Dylan classic playing here.) (ix)
From A New Kind of Christianity: Ten Questions That Are Transforming the Faith (available February 9, 2010)
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Countdown Day 90
90. Some see the Christian faith … [as] an old woman past her prime, closer to a nursing home than to nursing new life. But I see it differently. (ix)
From A New Kind of Christianity: Ten Questions That Are Transforming the Faith (available February 9, 2010)
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The wisest reflection I’ve seen on Ft. Hood so far …
Paul Rauschenbusch gets it right in this important article on the white privilege of disassociation. All of us who looked in the mirror this morning and saw pale-colored skin should seek to understand what Paul is trying to tell us.
Key idea:
We who are White, Christian and Male (WCMs) should ask ourselves this basic question: When we heard about the Oklahoma bomber, Columbine, or the shooter at the Holocaust museum - all horrible crimes committed by WCMs did we think to ourselves - 'oh, this will reflect badly on me?'
The answer is no. Why? Because still in this country, White, Male, Christians are considered normative and therefore the range of WCM behavior, from very good to very bad, simply represents the wide range of human behavior. I know I have nothing in common with Timothy McVeigh and so does the rest of American society. Unfortunately, people of other races and religions in America do not have the benefit of recognition that there are very good people and very bad people among them. Instead, the actions of one person of a minority group reflects upon the reputation and sense of security and worth of the entire group.
This has to stop.
The range of behavior among people of every race and every religion "simply represents the wide range of human behavior."
Well said, Paul.
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Countdown Day 91
91. I see a new generation of Christian disciples being formed, coming alive and coming of age, disciples who hold amazing promise, even as they face huge challenges (not the least of which are misunderstanding and criticism from some of their elders). (ix-x)
From A New Kind of Christianity: Ten Questions That Are Transforming the Faith (available February 9, 2010)
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Do you speak German or Chinese?
I just received the new German edition of Finding Our Way Again (Brunnen Verlag Gieben - www.brunnen-verlag.de) and the Chinese version of Everything Must Change (Tien Dao Publishing House, www.tiendao.org.hk). I hope these new translations will be helpful for German and Chinese readers ...
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