Category Archives: iMonk 101

From March ’08. Because I’ve been wrestling with Protestant/Catholic issues throughout this past year, I receive a lot of email from those who have moved outside of their lifelong evangelicalism and somewhere within sight of the catholic tradition, if not the Roman Catholic church. Some of that mail takes me to blogs and the writingContinue reading “iMonk 101: “The Happy Enough Protestant””

(From November of ’08. Part of what this web site is all about. And why some new readers may not exactly get it at first.) We talk about the evangelical wilderness around here a lot. It’s sometimes academic, and sometimes it’s very personal to all of us. These are some of my thoughts from thereContinue reading “iMonk 101: November ’08: Alone and Not Alone”

Posted this a little more than a year ago. Relevant to the recent discussions of the future of evangelicalism. ***Music by The Doors: “The End.”*** There was an elf that met the children at the door. Also in this room was a store that had Barbies, action figures, Brats Dolls, and all of the mostContinue reading “iMonk 101: From January, ’08: “This is the End….””

One of the first big splashes this blog made was when this post (2002!) made it into the atheist blogosphere. I got about a hundred notes from atheists saying “Thanks.” I’ve always agreed with what I wrote here, and I’ve always felt it was important. I also know that many culture-warring Christians will say thisContinue reading “iMonk 101: Why Do They Hate Us?”

UPDATE: Associated Baptist Press took out the numbers that apply to Baptists and confirmed by warnings about the impending generational horizon. So let’s move on….back to some of the predecessors of this little furor. From October of ’08, this was a shorter piece on evangelicalism called “One Stock That Needs To Drop.” If you enjoyedContinue reading “iMonk 101: One Stock That Needs To Drop”

iMonk 101 features posts from the iMonk’s vast archive of provocative material. A blast from the past; August 2005 to be exact. “Plan 9 From Lower Space” was an excursion into one of my favorite literary forms: The Screwtape Letter. In this episode, “Scrawlwart” orients “Bebblerot” to the greatest discovery the demonic realm every made:Continue reading “iMonk 101: Plan 9 From Lower Space”

It is the tradition of this web site to hear my confessions, my struggles and my emotions. This is what is what was on my table in November of ’07. I can’t explain it to you; all I can do is write and pray. Trusting God is hard. His ways are not my ways, andContinue reading “iMonk 101: From 11/07: The Ecclesiastes Attitude”

Considering the discussion on treating servers like Jesus would, this seemed like a good post to resurrect. From April of 07. Studying Acts with my students, it’s freshly clear to me that the immediate struggle of the early Christians was not only, or even particularly, theological, but practical. How do we live out, in theContinue reading “iMonk 101: Gospel Relevance = Gospel Application”

I’ve written quite a bit on the subject of mental illness/depression. In 2005 I did an entire series on The Christian and Mental Illness. In January of 07, I wrote about the issue of anti-depressant medication. One of my favorite essays from the past recounts how my dad’s depression affected my life: The Boat inContinue reading “iMonk 101: The Christian and Mental Illness + Anti-Depressant Meds + The Boat in the Backyard”