Monthly Archives: April 2012

A Short Critique of an Aspect of American Evangelicalism

Posted on April 30, 2012 | 1 Comment

Sociologist R. Stephen Warner: “What many people have not heard…and need to hear is that the great majority of the newcomers are Christians…This means that the new immigrants represent not the de-Christianization of American society but the de-Europeanization of American Christianity.”

I am looking forward to the day more theologies from regions around the globe—and locally—are not plowed over or bullied out by entrenched theological positions. I do value Western theology, but to think it’s exhausted theological enquiry is silly and dangerous. In fact, a proper understanding of the inexhaustible nature of God should help any Christian realize that theological development will probably never reach its end in time or by humans.

I am most looking forward to seeing American evangelicalism receiving a dose of much needed humility. Taking a global view, the myopic nature of the rhetoric on Continue reading →

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Posted in Christianity, Ministry, Racism, Theology

A Father & His Son

Posted on April 26, 2012 | Leave a comment

This is the second entry in my hospital chaplain series. In it, I’m revisiting some of the experiences I had while fulfilling my Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) unit at Overlook Hospital (Summit, NJ). To orient yourself as to the purpose, the context and tone of the series, it’ll be helpful to read the first entry “A Story about Holding Hands.” The following entry is a truncated account, and only touches on some of the events and the surrounding issues. I hope, though, that this short piece draws out some of the reader’s own struggles and that it helps point the reader toward some possible ways of processing them and finding hope.

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I could never get used to visiting the Intensive Care Unit. The lighting in the area was dimmer than in the rest of the hospital, everyone spoke in hushed tones, and there was heaviness about the room that was so palpable it felt like I was wading through a thick emotional humidity when doing my rounds in the unit. I didn’t necessarily dread visiting the ICU; I just had to prepare myself for it. In fact, in a way, I looked forward to doing my rounds there. The unit offered an experiential landscape that I’d never previously explored—one that was not replicated anywhere else in the hospital or in my life.

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Posted in Life and Death