Category: Culture
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Looking Back to 2005 and a Brief Moment of Sincerity in Pop Music (before the dark times)
Read more: Looking Back to 2005 and a Brief Moment of Sincerity in Pop Music (before the dark times)Irony in music is cyclical (even if we can swear that those cycles take us lower and lower as a society the way we swear the lights are dimming in a theater minutes before the house goes dark). I’m thinking about irony because the magic YouTube algorithm thought I might want to see David Bowie…
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Cultural Aspects of Shame in the Asian American Community
Read more: Cultural Aspects of Shame in the Asian American CommunityLast week, I had the opportunity to teach on the cultural aspects of shame in the Asian American community. While shame can be a heavy topic, I am passionate sharing my research on this topic, since it affects so many people. I am grateful for the students’ feedback as they expressed how this lesson helped…
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Preserving Ladino: The Conservation of a Sephardic Jewish Language
Read more: Preserving Ladino: The Conservation of a Sephardic Jewish LanguageYou’ve heard of Yiddish, but what about Ladino? Many people are familiar with Yiddish, a German-Hebrew language (a blend, if you will) developed and spoken by Ashkenazi Jews from Europe. Ladino or Judeo-Spanish, a Sephardic Jewish language, is a parallel to Yiddish, though much less known.1 The language goes by other names, such as Judesmo/Djudezmo…
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Should Christians join the Military? A Forgotten Perspective
Read more: Should Christians join the Military? A Forgotten PerspectiveI have hesitated to write this post for some time now. Military service holds a special place of honor in American society. Veterans are our heroes, and everyone who joins the military gives up their life. Some sacrifice their lives unto death, while the rest forsake their homes, their families, their friends, and a “normal”…
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Contemplating Joy
Read more: Contemplating JoyI’ve decided that joy is a strange thing. We can experience joy apart from happiness. Sometimes joy leaks into our lives in the midst of sufferings and sometimes in erupts in the most mundane moments of our day. For such a short word, the meaning of joy seems vast enough to contain the simultaneous contraries…
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3 Simple Ways to Respond to this past Easter Weekend
Read more: 3 Simple Ways to Respond to this past Easter WeekendFor most followers of Jesus, our observance of Easter this past weekend marked a significant point in our yearly calendar that has been specifically set aside to celebrate the pinnacle of our faith, Jesus’ resurrection and life giving ministry. It’s meant to be a significant pause built into our busy schedules cementing a spiritual rhythm…
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Do Complementarians Rejoice When A Woman Preaches?
Read more: Do Complementarians Rejoice When A Woman Preaches?I have a simple question for my Complimentarian friends. The debate about women in ministry is well-worn and most of us know the key texts to discuss, the key theological paradigms that are debated, etc. The two camps are not entirely monolithic however, and there is plenty of room for nuanced positions and even some differing…
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Theological Ethics and Self-Help Books
Read more: Theological Ethics and Self-Help BooksIf I have learned anything from my four years at university, it would be that most things which are written and published are merely variations on pure BS. I use a scale of BS in cultural criticism that ranges from Pure BS (10) to Moderate BS (5) to Tactful BS (1). The higher something falls on…
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My Dear Wormwood
Read more: My Dear WormwoodDear Wormwood, Seeing as your Uncle Screwtape is busy after being promoted to a particular world leader, he has handed you over to me. Now, my dear Wormwood, I see that the possibility of a human war, and all that leads up to it, has enticed you. It is of vital importance to your mission…
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Evangelicals, Ex-vangelicals, Christians: A Lenten Reflection on the Politics of the Cross
Read more: Evangelicals, Ex-vangelicals, Christians: A Lenten Reflection on the Politics of the CrossI follow Paul, I follow Peter, I follow Apollos, I follow Christ. So Paul famously describes the leader-based factions developing in the Corinthian church. Like many of you, I like to think that if I were there, I would be in that Group 4 that says, “I follow Christ.” Maybe Group 4 was earnest, maybe…