Midweek Thoughts (and Links) on a Frigid Day

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It’s Wednesday. The thermometer reads -6ºF.

If that’s not enough to make you philosophical, I don’t know what is.

So here are various unrelated thoughts, opinions, helps, and factoids to warm up your brain, even if the rest of you is longing for a space heater.

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I recently wrote about Christianity Today‘s Book of the Year, God’s Forever Family: The Jesus People Movement in America.

A few things in that book that struck me:

1. The Jesus People movement, at first, was comprised mostly of unchurched hippies. When they became believers, they read the Bible and believed that anything was possible for God, because He could do anything or make anything seemingly impossible become reality. It was only later, after more traditional church people started discipling the Jesus People methodically, that the idea that God can do anything and that Christians were not limited or restrained started to vanish. I don’t know about you, but I see that as a sobering indictment of faithlessness—not among the hippies, but among the church people who discipled them.

2. The book notes that one of the primary social realities that doomed the Jesus People Movement was marriage and family. Once the Jesus People paired up and had kids, the movement died. Curiously, the Apostle Paul predicted this in 1 Corinthians 7:33-35. It makes me wonder if the only way we’ll see revival come again will be if it’s driven by and for single people. Singles may be the Church’s best hope for renewal. How strange that they continue to be treated as pariahs in many churches.

3. This is a bit controversial, but hey: It was startling to read how many of the hippies had experiences of God while using drugs. I wonder if we have become a society that is so über-rational that we have to have our overdriven rationality restrained before we can be open to the Lord. I’m not advocating recreational drug use as a means to lower our reliance on rational thought, only that extreme rationalism may be its own disease, one that short circuits the natural centers of the brain that connect with religious experience. Again, I don’t want to reduce conversion to a set of physical correlations, but I’ve got to believe we are out of balance with God’s created order if we flee to the intellect to explain every aspect of the human experience.

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Speaking of amped rationality interfering with spirituality, here’s an intriguing article on why young people become atheists: Listening to Young Atheists: Lessons for a Stronger Christianity.

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Oh, that Jesus People Movement thing? Here’s a mapping project that seeks to note all the hotspots of the movement. Feel free to add locations you know of. (Ohio, which was actually a hotbed of movement activity, seems to be lacking input at the moment.)

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So much for learning: 23% of Americans did not read a book (or even listen to an audiobook) last year. What does that mean for Christianity, which relies so much on the written word to communicate truth and wisdom?

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If you read this blog regularly, then you’ve heard me unpack some of my own ideas on why megachurches may be doomed. “7 Reasons Why Church Worship Centers Will Get Smaller” at Outreach Magazine online adds further insights.

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Brendt Waters douses some Strange Fire Conference “logic”: “A ‘Critic’ Answers Back.”

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Over at The J Letters, some whack-job talks about truth, magic, and changing the world.

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If you’ve been to the movie theater lately, you may be feeling this sense of déjà vu when it comes to the movie’s plotline and themes. It’s not you. There may be a real reason why all movies seem the same anymore.

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Is a Christian apologetic dead in the U.K.? Not if you listen to the podcast Unbelievable, a hard-hitting, intellectual look at difficult issues from both Christian and non-Christian perspectives that is very unlike “family friendly, positive, Christian radio” here in the States. (Website here.)

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Discouraged? Find freedom in Christ—for free! K.P. Yohannan of Gospel for Asia brings the truth in his no-cost e-booklet on how to triumph over discouragement.

A Blessed Christmas to Cerulean Sanctum Readers!

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Just wanted to say thank you to readers of Cerulean Sanctum for your readership and support.

Apologies for the light offerings this December 2013, as the Edelens have been battling colds and sinus infections most of the month, and we’re all just exhausted. Such is the nature of this time of year.

But God, as always, is good.

May your Christmas be virus-free and lively enough. Be with family. Play games. Socialize. Love life. Worship isn’t just on Sundays; it’s the thankfulness we show God in the way we live each moment of our existence here on earth.

That little child came to set us free, and what the Son frees is free indeed.

Have a blessed Christmas and New Year.

Dan Edelen
Cerulean Sanctum

 

Fall Friday Frippery

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A few thoughts on a variety of topics:

Been updating Cerulean Sanctum over the last couple weeks, though most of it is behind the scenes. Do have a request, though: If you have a smartphone, how does this site look? I supposedly have a mobile version of the site running, but while it appeared to load correctly on my wife’s phone, it doesn’t load right on all those “Check to see if your site loads correctly in mobile” site checkers.

The site should look different and will load some “bubbles with text” that can be expanded to read the content. If the site looks like the normal PC blog, something’s biffing.

Thanks for letting me know.

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Talk about meta! Is it me or have retailers lost their minds? This appears to be the year of the run-up to Black Friday, with some retailers running advance sales to celebrate the sales they plan to have on Black Friday. Never mind that some (wicked) retailers plan to stay open Thanksgiving Day or open their stores at 3 a.m. the following day, they’re running Black Friday specials a week to two weeks ahead of time. I don’t remember it being this egregious last year, so is this some desperation move?

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Trying to avoid Facebook, and it is not easy. I’m amazed how many people don’t use email now. It’s all social media site connections. Everything plays out publicly rather than in private emails. I’ve also noticed that you really do fall off the grid when you stay away from social media. It feels like you no longer exist.

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Don’t know about you, but sometimes it feels to me as if Christianity in the United States is on a hipness bender. At the same time, for all that talk of authenticity, everything seems forced, as if someone with a bullhorn is yelling, “Now, everyone be authentic.” Why is it that everything seems more fake the less fake one tries to become?

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Stumbled onto the Phil Vischer (of Veggie Tales fame) podcast, and I’m wondering if it’s the best pop culture analysis by Christians. Skye Jethani is a great foil for Phil. The conversation as to whether Christianity has enabled Miley Cyrus to swing naked on a wrecking ball was thought provoking (really).

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I turned 51 recently. Boy, does that sound old. I’m finding that the 50s are sort of a no man’s land that parks itself between life direction and retirement. Given that retirement seems more and more unlikely for me and my peers, the future is hazier than it was for those who came into their 50s in the previous century.

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Is it me or does it seem harder to get real facts about whether young people are leaving our churches or not? Just when you hear that this is an unassailable reality, someone comes along and disputes it totally. Lies, damned lies, and statistics. I’ll be reading Sticky Faith as soon as my library gets it.

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Recently finished The Triumph of Christianity by Rodney Stark. No matter what you ultimately think of the book, I think every Western Christian should read it.

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Most of the adult heroes in books, television, and movies today aren’t likable. Maybe this is why adults are fleeing to Young Adult fiction and kids shows.

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You want to buy a small appliance or electronic gadget? Reading Amazon reviews will convince you that every microwave oven bursts into spontaneous flames, your purchase will arrive DOA or broken, and China has ruined every consumer product once worth owning.

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I used to sleep like a baby. Not so in the last month or two. Even my son is not sleeping well. Anyone else sleep deprived of late?

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Maybe it’s because I’m on a fast from Facebook, but I’m not hearing as many political conversations of late. Have we given up on politics? Is this a good or bad trend?

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My son won dual silver medals at the National Championships of Shotokan Karate held in Cincinnati Nov. 16, 2013. Proud of him.

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In the wake of the Strange Fire Conference, I’m seeing a snowball effect within the Young, Restless, and Reformed of questioning traditional positions (and their proponents) within that sector of Christianity. Thoughts?

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Slippery Slope may be a logical fallacy, but is anyone surprised now that same-sex marriage and homosexuality are mainstream the conversation is quickly shifting to acceptance of polyamory and plural marriage? (After a while, I get bored with saying, “I told you so.”)

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I also write board game reviews at GamingTrend.com and have been contributing articles on writing and creativity at The J Letters. Check them out, if you like.

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If you have a blog or website and have been reading this blog for some time, I’d be grateful if you could blogroll Cerulean Sanctum or link back to it some way. Thank you.

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And in conclusion, if you have a topic or thought to share or that you want to discuss, please add it in the comments.

Thanks for reading!