Monthly Archives: November 2014

Ferguson, agendas, and neighbors

Posted on November 28, 2014 by theoutwardquest

Since I live in Missouri I should say something about Ferguson.  I do not know whether the Michael Brown shooting was truly self-defense.  The grand jury decided not to indict. Predictably, rioting ensued. The media seemed to want this so they … Continue reading →

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Berkouwer-the love-style of God

Posted on November 25, 2014 by theoutwardquest

I am continuing to read G. C. Berkouwer’s 1965 book, The Work of Christ.  I am reading the part about the incarnation as a seasonal aid to thinking about what Christians celebrate at Christmas. Berkouwer says that throughout the nineteenth century … Continue reading →

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The marriage pledge

Posted on November 24, 2014 by theoutwardquest

First Things magazine has published a pledge for pastors to stop officiating at civil marriages: “Therefore, in our roles as Christian ministers, we, the undersigned, commit ourselves to disengaging civil and Christian marriage in the performance of our pastoral duties. … Continue reading →

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Berkouwer-the way of humiliation

Posted on November 21, 2014 by theoutwardquest

I am doing a seasonal reflection on G. C. Berkouwer’s The Work of Christ.  Leading up to Christmas, I am reading the chapters about the Incarnation. The least important thing about Jesus was his teaching.  That was the position Walter … Continue reading →

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Berkouwer-the motive of the Incarnation

Posted on November 18, 2014 by theoutwardquest

G.C. Berkouwer was a 20th century Dutch Reformed theologian. He wrote a series of Studies in Dogmatics. This is not a full-fledged systematic theology. But it is a pretty comprehensive series of monographs about the main subjects of Christian theology. … Continue reading →

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C.S. Lewis had “shocking beliefs”

Posted on November 17, 2014 by theoutwardquest

C.S Lewis meant a lot to me.  There was a time in my teens and 20’s when I read pretty much everything he wrote.  I knew from the first that he was not in accord with American evangelicalism.  Campus Crusade … Continue reading →

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A meandering reflection on why I became a pastor

Posted on November 12, 2014 by theoutwardquest

I have been thinking about my next project.  Because I unexpectedly needed to give myself medical leave for surgery in October, I now find it is late in the year.  A polar vortex has again fallen on the Midwest.  This … Continue reading →

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The Berlin Wall and the Stassi

Posted on November 9, 2014 by theoutwardquest

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. I suggest that a good way to commemorate this would be to watch the 2006 movie The Lives of Others.  It is not directly about the wall, but … Continue reading →

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Mercedante-implications

Posted on November 7, 2014 by theoutwardquest

  Today I close out my series of posts on Linda Mercadante’s Belief Without Borders. She talks about the implications of the SBNR (spiritual but not religious) phenomenon for the SBNRs themselves, for society, for religion, and for the church. … Continue reading →

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Mercadante-religion, implicit and explicit

Posted on November 5, 2014 by theoutwardquest

I have finished Linda Mercadante’s Belief Without Borders.  In the book she listens and responds to an assortment of interviewees who think of themselves as spiritual but not religious (SBNR). In the end Mercadante draws two main conclusions about people who … Continue reading →

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