I watched the Martin Scorsese film Silence the other day and had a lot of thoughts. Here they are in rough form. If you haven't seen the movie yet, there are spoilers ahead.
Musings on Silence
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
God or Mammon? Hutterites and Creation Ethics
Creation’s praise and humanity’s praise are inextricably interwoven: the central argument of this essay is that it is the human refusal to praise that ruptures creation's praise and is then deaf to its cries for mercy. On the other hand, right human praise can hear, attend to, and join with the praise of creation.
The Hidden History of the Resurrection
"For us Christians, Saints and the supernatural are the things that make history…and it is all the rest that we should be inclined to regard as legendary." Charles Peguy The life of Jesus Christ as the ‘true human’ represents a life of perfect freedom. The radical freedom of Christ is not the consumerist, sexualized, autonomous … Continue reading The Hidden History of the Resurrection
God’s Joyful Invasion
God's great frontal assult is the push out from the uterus; his first battle cry is the sound of a newborn. The creator and sustainer of heaven and earth, is sustained by the milk of his mother's breast and the warmth of her body.
Alternative Rememberance Day Reflection
They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
Gratatude
What our sense of 'gratitude' reveals is the depth of our false allegiance to the god of this age.
The Economy of Judgement, The Economy of Grace
There is no tension between the two: God's grace and judgement are the same movement; the one implies the other.
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
Coffee with Kierkegaard 