Archives For culture

America, the Intolerant

October 29, 2012 — 22 Comments

If there’s one virtue that is esteemed in our culture above all else, it’s tolerance.

And if there is one sin that is disdained above all else, it’s intolerance.

Intolerance gets many labels: hatred (never just hate, hatred), bigotry, or a different word for every group you apparently are intolerant of.

I think we can all agree that there is something wrong with our modern culture. And I have finally figured out what it is.

No matter what we say, what we preach, how we boast, we are not a tolerant people.  In fact, I would say modern America is experiencing one of its most intolerant times in our history.  Intolerance is running positively rampant.

And the source of all this intolerance?  It might be a little bit surprising.

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In America, culture, politics
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The American Gospel of Self-Reliance

October 1, 2012 — 30 Comments

Last Friday, I ruined a Bible verse for everyoneamerican-pioneers

Well, that’s because it’s not really in the Bible at all.  The verse, oft quoted by well-meaning Christians is “God will never give you more than you can handle.”  Whenever life is rough, you can count on a Christian friend trying to perk you up with that little saying.

As the comments rolled in, and I thought over the weekend, I realized we were on to something bigger.  Much bigger.

Several people shared ways in which God is giving them more than they can handle.  It was amazing and humbling to read their stories.

As I read what many of you were saying, it struck me that we were only touching the tip of the iceberg.  We’ve actually uncovered an extremely pervasive false gospel that permeates the whole of American Christianity.  It goes against everything the gospel teaches.

It is the false gospel of self-reliance.

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In America, culture, faith
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We Have Enough Victims, Not Enough Heroes

September 21, 2012 — 22 Comments

enhanced-buzz-8231-1346085326-2So here’s a weird question:

If you could only keep one of your four limbs, which one would you choose?

I bookmarked this story a couple of weeks ago.  Corporal Todd Love recently ran the Spartan Race, a super-intense, 75 part obstacle course spanning 10.5 miles.  He completed it in 5.5 hours…with only one arm, and no legs.  Corporal Love lost three limbs in Afghanistan.

That should either inspire you beyond words…or make you feel like a sad sack, like me.  This guy is probably doing four times as much with one limb as I am with all four of my limbs.

I’ve been thinking about this story for a couple of weeks now, and just how unusual it is.

Because in our culture, we have a whole lot of victims.  We have very few victims like this.

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In culture
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Hometown Terrorists and Christian Caricatures

September 17, 2012 — 14 Comments

Last Friday afternoon, my city was thrown into a scare..4a6ca284f450271f82e6588ff03d665c

…Apparently, by the world’s most unwitting terrorist.

As I drove toward downtown Kansas City on my way home, I saw the news choppers hovering over the skyscrapers.  I was listening to news radio.  The report was that the bomb squad was investigating a threat at the downtown federal building.  Streets were closed.  People were evacuated.

Strangely enough, there were simultaneous scares in Austin and in North Dakota, creating a geographical straight line of bomb threats through the center of the country.

As I neared downtown, heading straight past the mess, I wondered how strange it would be if the supposed bomb went off right there in front of me.  And with two other threats happening, for a couple of hours, it looked like it might be a coordinated effort…to strike America’s flyover land.

But as the day unfolded, and the story of our hometown terrorist unraveled, it made me think of just how we deal with people who we consider threatening.

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In culture, Islam
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The Only Kind of Speech That Needs to Be Protected

August 15, 2012 — 21 Comments

We live in sensitive times.hate-speech-is-not-free-speech

Seriously, everyone is really sensitive to everything.  Every time you turn around, someone is hurt or offended, or they’re “denouncing” or “calling for an apology” from someone else.  Words like “hateful” are batted back and forth constantly.

Sure, we say we believe in free speech.  But we don’t really believe it.

Take Dan Cathy’s comments for example.  A bunch of people called them “hurtful” and “hateful.”  He was condemned and criticized.  Every so often, you can bet that a Robertson or a Piper or a Driscoll or a Phelps or someone else will test our beliefs in free speech.

The problem is, as we work to silence our opponents, we’re really taking our own rights away.

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In America, culture
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What Could Christians Accomplish Next Wednesday?

August 3, 2012 — 54 Comments

Christians,

On Wednesday, you broke records, so they say.  You ate a crap-load of processed chicken sandwiches and mayonnaise based secret sauce.  I want to know if anyone ate the carrot-raisin salad instead of fries.  I can’t imagine anyone ordering that.

supporters_flock_to_chic_file_9415641_a165d5e8a2d8f56c73755e8dcb17c3e9You had some people outside your ranks support you and eat along with you.

And some of your own were embarrassed by you.  They averted their eyes and went to Burger King instead.  They pointed fingers.  They were ashamed of you.

They say you stand for hate.

And bigotry.

And they ask if this is what it’s come to.  Is this what moves and mobilizes the church?  Chicken sandwiches?

I’m not going to judge your motivations.  Plenty of other Christians already are.  So I won’t claim to know why you were standing in line.

I’ve got something much bigger on my mind then why you were in line on Wednesday.

Right now, take everything else out of the equation, and just imagine what we could do if we could get excited about something as much as we got excited for one day about chicken.

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In church, culture, homosexuality
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