The Free Information Age -part 2

In a previous post, I discussed the beginning of what I have dubbed the Free Information Age.  This post was not meant as simply a parenthetical comment to the current zeitgeist, but as an introduction to a discussion of both the cultural waters that the Church must swim in, and a means of strategy for [...]

2009 Predictions

As events unfold throughout the year, I do my best to reflect how they have fulfilled my beginning of the year predictions.  That said, there are a few recent events that I found noteworthy.

First, there was the recent terror plans in New York City and Denver that seemed to have been foiled, at least for now.  I had predicted that this year there would probably be an attempt (not that wild a guess, really).  I also Twittered about the likelihood of one upcoming soon merely weeks ago.    There is a good article about the recent situation here.

Second, although I did not put this as one of my points in this year’s predictions, one of the things I have been discussing at great length is that the big social policy debate of the coming years will be on the issue of assisted suicide.  This will be less aimed at terminal disease pain relief, and more about the elderly.  Unfortunately, I haven’t written much about it on here.  Last week, Newsweek’s cover story, “The Case for Killing Granny,” advocates this position in a way that I could not have imagined (and still can’t believe).  As if on cue, the Brits are following right along, according to this Reuters report.  -Ryan

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The Fall and Rise of Barbarism Part 7

Exactly what to expect for America itself in this future, is very difficult to say. Possibilities include a weakened America existing in its same form but having less world influence, to America’s basic destruction by both outside, and internal fighting, or America existing more as a pre-Civil War loose collection of states. There is no way to predict what the American future will look like at this time.

The Fall and Rise of Barbarism Part 6

We have gone past a point in America where we can turn this clock back. Many experts believe that the American century is over, and the next century most certainly won’t be a repeat. I believe that the evidence backs this up, both historically and in terms of current events. This doesn’t mean we will fall into the sea. It does mean that things will be different. A look at history should shed light on what may be to come.

The Fall and Rise of Barbarism Part 5

There is another cycle at work within America that we need to be aware of. Just as revivals in the early 1900′s brought about the Pharisee-ism of the early 20′s, which led to crime in the 30′s, we are in a part of our own cycle now. The Bush years seemed to be a revival without revival, and a triumph of moral legalism (at least as far as the mainstream media and far left would have us believe). The public responded with a “Yes we can believe in change.” But now crime is seriously on the rise and healthy society markers are on the decline.

The Fall and Rise of Barbarism Part 4

So what is next? Are we on the cusp of a new cycle, or are we coming to the poem’s bridge? Maybe we are finally poised to break out of this iambic pentameter, and start a new ee cummings Dadaist phase.

The Fall and Rise of Barbarism Part 3

It does seem clear that there is a direction in history, with certain undeniable rules: Power always corrupts, always. When Europe unites, there will be a war. When major empires crumble, they leave vacuums of power that create a period of chaos. Scientific advances both tend to extend our lives, but also often ultimately get appropriated into more exciting ways of ending lives. And, as I can’t bring myself to be any form of existentialist, I must assume that these rules somehow relate to a macro being played out that with some eventual finish line. There is an end to the game, somewhere, at some time. Just as the rhyming stanzas of a poem progress the story, and lead to its conclusion, and ultimate point, so does human history.

The Fall and Rise of Barbarism Part 2

It is our own American meme to believe that ignorant and dangerous ideas will die out as science and enlightenment evangelizes our globe. The problem is that as knowledge moves increasingly faster in this Information Age, it seems that the growth of these intellectual/spiritual/societal landmines is also accelerating. Before I get comments about the state of world education, let me explain myself a bit further.

The Fall and Rise of Barbarism Part 1

I recently read a Reuters news report of North Koreans who had fleed the North and were living in South Korea. Imagine believing the above things for your whole life, and then suddenly you learn that many fundamental things you had believed your whole life turn out to be nothing but lies. It would take a lifetime just to learn to be “normal.”

Contextualizing the Gospel -Part 2

Neither of these church responses is appropriate, of course. When a missionary takes the message of Jesus into a completely unreached people group, he must find a way to connect that message to their cultural and world viewpoint. This is no easy task for the missionary. Much of the way the life of Christian faith is lived out in a particular culture is not actually essential or biblically derived…