Imagining the Kingdom is the second volume of a projected trilogy by James K.A. Smith called Cultural Liturgies. In the first book, Desiring the Kingdom (which I have not read, but Smith gets the reader up to speed in the early parts of this book), Smith argued that humans are primarily shaped more by the … Continue reading Tell a Story that Captures Hearts: A Review
Category: Education
Rodney Stark on “The People’s Religion”
I've been reading Rodney Stark's The Triumph of Christianity, and I'm struck by what he says about one of my major interests, Christian education, during the Reformation and post-Reformation: The English philosopher John Locke (1632--1704) noted that a preacher "may as well talk Arabic to a poor day-labourer as the notions" that the Anglican clergy preferred … Continue reading Rodney Stark on “The People’s Religion”
Why I’m Not (Currently) Studying for a PhD
Every now and then, someone I know will ask me, “Elliot, you’re a pretty smart guy. Why don’t you go on to further studies?” I am flattered by their assumption that I’m intelligent, but here is my answer to that question: 1. While I love to study, I don’t have a strong enough interest in … Continue reading Why I’m Not (Currently) Studying for a PhD
Laing Lectures 2008: Walter Brueggemann (1 of 3)
Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann came to Regent College to give the Laing Lectures on October 8 and 9. I graduated from Regent in the spring, but currently I don't live too far away, so I decided to hoof it up to Vancouver to see friends and listen to some good lectures. The lecture series … Continue reading Laing Lectures 2008: Walter Brueggemann (1 of 3)
Finished!
This past Friday, I handed in my Christian Spirit take-home final, the very last thing that I had to write in order to complete the requirements for my Master's in Divinity. Which means, I'm done! All I have left to do now is graduate next Monday, April 28. My parents are both coming out to … Continue reading Finished!
Woohoo!
Finished writing a paper today, and now I'm done for the semester. It was a 3800 word paper, and I'd been so busy with other things until mid-week this week that I didn't actually start writing it until Wednesday. After hours and hours of writing and reading and subjecting my body to obscene amounts of … Continue reading Woohoo!
Wolterstorff on Love and Justice
Last week Wednesday and Thursday, philosopher Nicholas Wolterstorff came to Regent to give the Laing Lectures: 3 lectures, 2 days, 1 topic. The topic of his lectures was "Love and Justice." He was basically answering the question: "Why is it that so many Protestant Christians are uncomfortable with the category of social justice, especially when … Continue reading Wolterstorff on Love and Justice
A “B” (probably) for Well-Being
I realized at about 4:30 this morning that life had become unbearably ironic. The reason why I was up that early/late is that I was working on a book review for a class of Thomas Morris' Our Idea of God: An Introduction to Philosophical Theology. The reason why I came to think that life had … Continue reading A “B” (probably) for Well-Being
Elliot Ritzema 