THE IDOL OF THE INTERNET: “Virtually Pleasuring Ourselves Out of Existence.” If all of our life choices are determined by the medial forebrain pleasure circuit, why would anyone choose to do anything other than push the self-stimulating buttons? The answer is that our lives depend on resisting that urge. Indeed, if easy stimulation of the pleasure circuit has the capacity to surpass one’s instinct for food, sexual reproduction, or caring for young, the survival of our species may depend on the sublimation of that pleasure. Unless we have a spiritual, moral, or ethical framework to suggest that suffering, the absence … Continue reading The World Wide (Religious) Web for Friday, November 11, 2011

AL MOHLER TALKS SENSE: “Mohler says Penn State scandal holds lesson for Southern Baptists.” “Sometimes Christians and indeed those in churches or Christian institutions seem to have the protective instinct that we need to find out more before going to any legal authority with that kind of suspicion,” Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., said Nov. 8. “We need to get over that reluctance,” Mohler said. “We have to leave it to the legal authorities to sort out whether or not abuse is taking place or whether there is any actual threat. When anyone reports … Continue reading The World Wide (Religious) Web for Thursday, November 10, 2011

WEALTH & RELIGION: “Research: Rich God, Poor God.” _____ NONE OF WHICH INVOLVES ACTUAL OCCUPATION: “10 Right Ways to ‘Occupy.’” 4. Put the government out of business wherever you can. If it is not the government’s job to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, minister life to the wounded, then perhaps it is time for us to prove it. I find this deeply challenging but I try to find ways to gather around the ones in need in our church and community in real, tangible ways. I want to be the hands and feet of God, making space for his … Continue reading The World Wide (Religious) Web for Wednesday, November 9, 2011

GOOD QUESTION: “Megachurches: When Will the Bubble Burst?” Am I predicting the demise of the megachurch movement? By no means. I think these large churches will continue, and we cannot lump all megachurches into the same category. Not all megas were started in 1980 by a baby-boomer in a growing white suburb. And many will navigate into the future with wisdom and skill. But the cultural and demographic conditions that have fueled much of the megachurch movement, multiplication and growth are changing. And whenever a new movement tries to leap from one generation to the next there are some who … Continue reading The World Wide (Religious) Web for Tuesday, November 8, 2011

HAPPY (BELATED) BIRTHDAY, BILLY! “Graham, America’s Most Famous Preacher, Turns 93.” _____ RELIGION & POLITICS: “Election 2012’s great religion divide.” Religious people cannot have it both ways: to assert that their faith really matters to their public engagement, and then to insist, when it’s convenient, that religion is a matter about which no one has a right to ask questions. Voters especially have a right to know how a candidate’s philosophical leanings shape his or her attitudes toward the religious freedom of unbelievers as well as believers. And here’s the hardest part: We all have to ask ourselves whether what … Continue reading The World Wide (Religious) Web for Monday, November 7, 2011