Category Archives: iMonk 101

The Return of "No Voices In My Head"

I’m tired of small potatos. We might as well get to the big dog of these “hearing voices” post. Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome Mr. Bill Mckinnon to the stage for tonight’s main course, “No Voices In My Head.” Mr. Mackinnon may, or may not, respond to your comments. If he does, just remember that heContinue reading “The Return of "No Voices In My Head"”

The Preeminent Question

Update: Those of you who like this post would probably enjoy reading four previous IM essays, all hopefully helpful on this topic. A Conversation In God’s Kitchen: Thoughts About The Bible On Christless Preaching A Simple Statement on the Inspiration of the Bible Magic Books, Grocery Lists and Silent Messiahs While discussing the doctrine ofContinue reading “The Preeminent Question”

Christian Humanism: Beginnings

When it comes to ultimate reality and our humanity, there are really very few options. If there is no God, there is no such thing as the “human” in the classically Judeo-Christian sense. There is an existential human, thrown into existence and forced to determine his own identity by choices that are, ultimately, absurd. ThereContinue reading “Christian Humanism: Beginnings”

The River is Deep; The River is Wide: How I Made My Peace With The Roman Catholic Church

NOTE: This piece is similar to an essay on Catholicism I wrote two years ago, but the differences are significant. Read them both. There has been some evolution in the meantime. My apologies to the Catholic bashers who will get upset at this piece. Maybe you shouldn’t read it. I was born in 1956, soContinue reading “The River is Deep; The River is Wide: How I Made My Peace With The Roman Catholic Church”

Looney Tunes: The Whacked Out, Whipped Up, Wholly Scary Theology of the Praise and Worship Movement

In our journey back through the IM archives, we must deal with the Monk’s contradictory attitude towards contemporary Praise and Worship music. Does he hate it? If so, why does he have a warehouse of the stuff at the house? Why is he listening to it, even as he types? The answer, my faithful readers,Continue reading “Looney Tunes: The Whacked Out, Whipped Up, Wholly Scary Theology of the Praise and Worship Movement”

I Just Couldn't Look Away: The Crazed, Cranky, Captivating Christianity of Dr. Gene Scott

I doubt that many Internet Monk readers watched or listened to Dr. Gene Scott. His passing this week made me sad, but it also made me reflect on how bland evangelicalism has become, and what a shot of hard whiskey Gene Scott was for the thirty years he broadcast his strange and wonderful program aroundContinue reading “I Just Couldn't Look Away: The Crazed, Cranky, Captivating Christianity of Dr. Gene Scott”

Fighting Words: What happens when we abandon the vocabulary of faith.

I was viewing the web site of a church a friend was visiting, when I saw the current sermon series was entitled “Finding the Sweet Spot in Your Spiritual Life.” Compulsory video clip of the pastor with a golf pro, borrowing the language of golf to try and communicate the message of the Christian life.Continue reading “Fighting Words: What happens when we abandon the vocabulary of faith.”

Magic Books, Grocery Lists and Silent Messiahs: How rightly approaching the Bible shapes the entire Christian Life.

A Pentecostal evangelist visited our chapel this week, and as I listened to his uh….sermon, I reviewed in my mind some of the things that I have come to believe about the Bible and how those things now influence my faith. So I don’t know if this will impress you, but I am going toContinue reading “Magic Books, Grocery Lists and Silent Messiahs: How rightly approaching the Bible shapes the entire Christian Life.”