Mary’s Son, the Genius

It’s wrong to reduce Jesus to a moral teacher or mere philosopher. Jesus was not a wordsmith selling word salads, nor a crank peddling new ideas, nor a sophist showing off his rhetorical verve, nor an intellectual establishing his own academy à la Plato. Continue Reading...

Ad-Copy Gospel and the Christian Marketing Dilemma

With perhaps the exception of the recent Asbury revival, it’s rare to see Christianity referenced in popular culture in a positive way. Be it debates over Christian nationalism or the tragically unending list of church abuse scandals, Christianity’s portrayal within modern media often swings on a doom-and-gloom pendulum, between the cheery endpoints of authoritarianism and abuse. Continue Reading...

Mars needs religion!

… Or does religion need Mars? So argues social commentator James Poulos at Foreign Affairs: What’s clear is that Earth no longer invites us to contemplate, much less renew, our deepest spiritual needs. Continue Reading...

Surrendered Unto Stewardship: Darrell Bock On Money That Matters

What is the purpose of money? Is it for our survival? For our status, significance, or success? Is it for the service of ourselves or for the service of others? In a talk for the Oikonomia Network, theologian Darrell Bock sets out to answer the question, drawing from the numerous treatments of money in the book of Luke — from the rich fool and Lazarus’ wealthy neighbor to Zacchaeus and the widow’s mite. Continue Reading...

Wounding Work: Creative Service as Cross Bearing

In recent years, we’ve seen a renewed focus on the deeper value, meaning, and significance of our daily work, particularly across the realm of evangelicalism. Yet as easy as it may be for some to alter old attitudes and begin appreciating the gift of creative service, it can be extremely difficult for others — and often for good reason. Continue Reading...

Sixpence Economics

Sixpence economics, like the economic teachings of Jesus’ parables, shows us the stewardship responsibility that God has given to human beings, says Jordan Ballor in this week’s Acton Commentary. At the conclusion of the first of his two chapters exploring the theological virtue of faith in Mere Christianity, C.S. Continue Reading...

Jesus Christ, a Small Businessman at Work

Mark Tooley of IRD highlights a talk by Michael Novak, “Jesus Was a Small Businessman.” Speaking to students at the Catholic University of America, Novak observed: When he was the age of most of you in this room, then, Jesus was helping run a small business. Continue Reading...