Chaplainmike

Saturday Ramblings 1.19.13

It’s that time of week once again. Time to do a little sprucing up here at the iMonastery. Many hands make … uh, it easier to play the piano? it necessary for many gloves? There’s a saying in there somewhere, but I just can’t find it. Light work. That’s it. Many hands make light work.Continue reading “Saturday Ramblings 1.19.13”

iMonk: “What Is the Bible?”

From Michael Spencer’s classic post, A Conversation in God’s Kitchen * * * What is the Bible? When I was a senior in high school, I made it into an Advanced English Class taught by Mrs. Vista Morris. Mrs. Morris taught us to research, to write and to speak. Oddly, we never left her room,Continue reading “iMonk: “What Is the Bible?””

Two Books of the Bible Nobody (really) Likes to Read (Part 2)

“When the Gospels or the Apostle or the Psalms are read, another person joyfully receives them, gladly embraces them….But if the book of Numbers is read to him, and especially those passages we have now in hand, he will judge that there is nothing helpful, nothing as a remedy for his weakness or a benefitContinue reading “Two Books of the Bible Nobody (really) Likes to Read (Part 2)”

Saving Evangelicalism, Part Two

Hi. I’m Jeff, and I’m an evangelical. Hi Jeff. I realize that it is not a fashionable thing to admit these days. It’s about as acceptable as ordering a hamburger at a PETA convention. But I am an evangelical at the time of the collapse of evangelicalism. We can toss more gasoline on the fireContinue reading “Saving Evangelicalism, Part Two”

iMonk: “Getting Better?”

From Michael Spencer’s classic post, When I Am Weak * * * Evangelicals love a testimony of how screwed up I USED to be. They aren’t interested in how screwed up I am NOW. But the fact is, that we are screwed up. Then. Now. All the time in between and, it’s a safe betContinue reading “iMonk: “Getting Better?””

Two Books of the Bible Nobody (really) Likes to Read (Part 1)

Meet Leviticus and Numbers, infamous killers of countless New Year’s resolutions to read the Bible through in a year. These two books, the third and fourth portions of the Torah, are sections of the Bible that most people, if they were honest, could do without. Oh sure, there are parts of them that we allContinue reading “Two Books of the Bible Nobody (really) Likes to Read (Part 1)”

iMonk: “Choose death to anything but grace”

From Michael Spencer’s classic post, Our Problem with Grace * * * I’ve thought a lot about grace as I’ve gotten older and lived the Christian life longer. I see and hear young, fired up, Pentecostal preacher boys, full of sermons about what will happen if we will pray more, live holy lives, get extreme,Continue reading “iMonk: “Choose death to anything but grace””

Creation, Tabernacle, and New Creation

“At this small, lonely place in the midst of the chaos of the wilderness, a new creation comes into being. In the midst of disorder, there is order. The tabernacle is the world order as God intended writ small in Israel.” – Terence Fretheim, Exodus (Interpretation Commentary) * * * As Walter Brueggemann observes inContinue reading “Creation, Tabernacle, and New Creation”

Guest Book Review: Miguel Discusses “Broken”

Broken: 7 ”Christian” Rules That Every Christian Ought to Break as Often as Possible by Jonathan Fisk Concordia Publishing House (2012) Reviewed by Miguel Ruiz * * * Broken: 7 “Christian” Rules That Every Christian Ought to Break as Often as Possible by Jonathan Fisk is a spirited romp through the circus of American ChristianityContinue reading “Guest Book Review: Miguel Discusses “Broken””

A Note to Newcomers

I have noticed that we’ve been getting quite a few new readers and commenters over the past couple of months, so it’s probably the right time to do an iMonk 101 post restating who we are and what we are all about here at the strange and wonderful world that is the Internet Monk blog.Continue reading “A Note to Newcomers”