I write for the spiritual family who knows evangelicalism to be a “pretty good” (to borrow from Garrison Keillor) kind of Christianity. My concern is that being evangelical has been coopted by Evangelicalism™. Specifically, I am a deep lover of evangelicalism, and at the same time, a fierce critic of what A.W. Tozer termed “the working of bacteria in a decaying church”.[i] The impetus behind this blog is to examine the questions, “How could we have allowed strange gods to shovel us under so many piles of rubble, and what to do about it?”
The title of this blog comes from essays collected by Solzhenitsyn under the same name. I share the concerns he raises:
The Church and the Eucharist have lost their meaning of an integrated and creative communal life; from being a ‘common cause’ they have become a means of individual salvation. The Christian’s own religiousness has become his chief preoccupation. And in this context the concept of the Christian’s responsibility for the fate of the world has irrevocably lost all meaning.[ii]
This blog is for theologizers – laypersons whose theology is not merely abstract, but lived and practiced as Christians in the real world. The Holy Spirit gives spiritual wisdom and understanding that we may know Christ. We know Him if we keep his commandments. “Faith seeking understanding” involves the discipline of practical theology. Hence, my Internet handle, phronetic Christian. We are to demonstrate Christ’s teachings about the Kingdom; we are called to embody the ways and teachings of Jesus in “practical wisdom” as we engage the world around us.
Much more to come… please feel welcome here.
[i] A. W. Tozer, Fellowship of the Burning Heart: A Collection of Sermons, edited by James L. Snyder, Alachula, FL: Bridge Logos Foundation, 2006, p. 33.
[ii] Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, From Under the Rubble, Washington: Regnery Gateway, 1981, p. 185.
From Under The Rubble 