Author: Julian

Sometimes I wake up at 6 and have coffee with Kierkegaard. I am a Hutterite who, after reading Søren Kierkegaard's Concluding Unscientific Postscript realized he had some things to say and many things to think about. In this blog, I've been wrestling with the thought of Kierkegaard, while also expanding out into many other topics. I've written about truth, faith, Christianity and politics, the church, the modern condition and other themes. Recently I've also tried my hand at movie analysis. I would say the general perspective I bring to all of my pieces is very much influenced by the Kierkegaardian emphasis on human experience, the scandal of the incarnation, the glory of the particular, and the uncertainty and even irrationality of faith. I hope my blog makes you think in new directions. If you have any questions or comments I would love to hear from you. "Julian laying the smack down in vintage Christian style" - Commenter on Blog

Christ and Possessions

I recently heard that the foundational principle of some libertarian or anarchist political theories is the right to own private property. It is precisely this principle that leads these thinkers to reject all forms government coercion, because they violate this most basic human right to autonomy and self-sufficiency. As far as I'm concerned, this position … Continue reading Christ and Possessions →

Postcards From Babylon Documentary Review

Note to Reader, I received a free review copy of this documentary in exchange for this review. I've tried to remain impartial and unbiased in what follows. In one of the opening lines of Postcards from Babylon, Brian Zhand proclaims: “I am not following a donkey, I am not following an elephant, I am following … Continue reading Postcards From Babylon Documentary Review →

Parables of the Kingdom

He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. And the slaves … Continue reading Parables of the Kingdom →

Chapter 20: Conversions

In this chapter Taylor looks at the phenomenon of conversion in a Secular age, those people who “broke out of the immanent frame” into a larger perspective of Transcendence. These are people who come to recognize—perhaps through a conversion experience or via some other path—that there is more, that the immanent frame is insufficient. Taylor … Continue reading Chapter 20: Conversions →

Chapter 19: Unquiet Frontiers of Modernity

In this chapter, Taylor explores some of the points of cross pressure, tension, unease for modern unbelief. The places where the buffered identity and immanent frame have a hard time remaining “closed,” and an “open” take suggests itself. Taylor's exploration in this chapter can't “decide the issue between belief and unbelief” but it can “bring … Continue reading Chapter 19: Unquiet Frontiers of Modernity →

Chapter 17: Dilemmas 1

In this chapter, Taylor looks at some of the tensions and dilemmas that play out between aspirations to transcendence and ordinary human flourishing. Some of the cross pressures between "open" and "closed" spins. He begins by describing the “triumph of the therapeutic” over the older moral/spiritual perspective: “One of the most striking fruits... has been … Continue reading Chapter 17: Dilemmas 1 →

Chapter 16: Cross Pressures

In this chapter, Taylor describes the cross pressures between unbelieving and believing positions in modernity. Taylor begins by restating his resistance to the standard secularization thesis; that religion cannot but decline in the conditions of modernity. Taylor thinks that this kind of account of the place of religion in modern society presupposes unbelief, and is … Continue reading Chapter 16: Cross Pressures →