Chaplainmike

The IM Saturday Monks Brunch: June 22, 2019 (Church Edition)

The IM Saturday Monks Brunch: June 22, 2019 Church Edition • • Church and the Autistic… “As a Christian, I believe that worship is primarily intended to glorify God,” he wrote, “and may have misinterpreted your Evensong as an actual worship service, at which my son’s expressions must surely be pleasing to God, the experienceContinue reading “The IM Saturday Monks Brunch: June 22, 2019 (Church Edition)”

Another Look: This is about the second turning

Hi, my name is Mike, and I am a recovering separatist. [Hi, Mike!] It all started when I trusted Christ at the end of my senior year in high school. Conversion (which I now more thoughtfully consider a “spiritual re-awakening”) to me was like rounding a bend in the highway and driving straight into aContinue reading “Another Look: This is about the second turning”

God’s Good Earth: The Case for an Unfallen Creation, by Jon Garvey, Chapter 3 – Other Red Herrings

God’s Good Earth: The Case for an Unfallen Creation, by Jon Garvey Chapter 3 – Other Red Herrings We will continue our review of God’s Good Earth: The Case for an Unfallen Creation, by Jon Garvey. Today is Chapter 3 – Other Red Herrings. In this chapter, Jon looks at the main Scriptures outside theContinue reading “God’s Good Earth: The Case for an Unfallen Creation, by Jon Garvey, Chapter 3 – Other Red Herrings”

Damaris’s New Blog and Her Invitation: Come Join Me!

Come Join Me! by Damaris Zehner When Chaplain Mike first took over Internet Monk from Michael Spencer, I wrote something every week. I enjoyed sharing ideas and being pushed to write regularly. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I began working on books. As you know, I published one a few years ago,Continue reading “Damaris’s New Blog and Her Invitation: Come Join Me!”

Another Look: Drawn to the Religionless

Another Look: Drawn to the Religionless I often ask myself why a “Christian instinct” often draws me more to the religionless people than to the religious, by which I don’t in the least mean with any evangelizing intention, but, I might almost say, “in brotherhood.” While I’m often reluctant to mention God by name toContinue reading “Another Look: Drawn to the Religionless”

Monday with Michael Spencer: How We Sound to Those Who Don’t Believe

Note from CM: This is a really old Michael Spencer reflection, but one with which I identify more and more each day. It talks about the kind of craziness that is simply taken for granted in religious subcultures (in this case, the world of Christian evangelicalism/fundamentalism). Many have lived in this bubble for so longContinue reading “Monday with Michael Spencer: How We Sound to Those Who Don’t Believe”

Things I’ve Learned about Psalm 23

Things I’ve Learned about Psalm 23 A psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me to water in places of repose; He renews my life; He guides me in right paths as befits His name. Though I walk through a valleyContinue reading “Things I’ve Learned about Psalm 23”

The IM Saturday Monks Brunch: June 15, 2019

The IM Saturday Monks Brunch: June 15, 2019 Sports can be life-giving… My eyes teared up the other evening as I was driving home and listening to All Things Considered on NPR. They told the story of 11-year-old Laila Anderson, a little girl from St. Louis with a life-threatening auto-immune disease. Little Laila also happensContinue reading “The IM Saturday Monks Brunch: June 15, 2019”

Apocalyptic = Resistance Literature

I’ve just started reading Portier-Young, so this is very introductory. Anathea E. Portier-Young has written a well-received book on apocalyptic literature in the time of Second Temple Judaism called Apocalypse against Empire: Theologies of Resistance in Early Judaism. Her main thesis is to reinforce and emphasize a long understood aspect of the genre. Apocalyptic hadContinue reading “Apocalyptic = Resistance Literature”

God’s Good Earth: The Case for an Unfallen Creation, by Jon Garvey: Chapter 2 – Scripture on the Fall

God’s Good Earth: The Case for an Unfallen Creation, by Jon Garvey Chapter 2 – Scripture on the Fall We will continue our review of God’s Good Earth: The Case for an Unfallen Creation, by Jon Garvey. Today is Chapter 2 – Scripture on the Fall. In Chapter 2 – Scripture on the Fall, JonContinue reading “God’s Good Earth: The Case for an Unfallen Creation, by Jon Garvey: Chapter 2 – Scripture on the Fall”