Monthly Archives: January 2012

The Religious Magnetism of Bodies

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Alastair Roberts

In a post on the ever-stimulating Sociological Images blog, Donovan O Schaefer comments on the charismatic character of Tebow’s body and the manner in which it has become ‘a sort of theological battleground for broader religious and cultural forces’. He writes: … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Introversion and Why Evangelicalism is Doing It Wrong

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Alastair Roberts

Introversion In a recent interview for Scientific American, Susan Cain claims that American society is biased in favour of extroversion. Cataloguing some of the ways in which introverts can be marginalized and their skills underappreciated, she argues that this results … Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Experience, Culture, The Church, The Sacraments, Theological, Worship | 42 Comments

How the Liberal Market Revolutionized our Understanding of Humanity

Posted on January 29, 2012 by Alastair Roberts

In The Making and Unmaking of Technological Society, Murray Jardine raises questions about the underlying anthropological assumptions of the market as it functions within liberal societies (I raise a slightly different set of questions about its anthropology of individual self-interest … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Economics, My Reading, What I'm Reading | 2 Comments

‘Symbol and Sacrament’ Chapter 7: Sacrament and Ethics

Posted on January 29, 2012 by Alastair Roberts

Symbol and Sacrament Posts: Introduction, Chapter 1, Chapter 2:I, Chapter 2:II, Chapter 3, Chapter 4:I, Chapter 4:II, Chapter 5, Chapter 6 Chauvet frames his seventh chapter with the question: ‘How can we avoid the temptation to oppose ethical practice and ritual practice without yielding to the reverse temptation … Continue reading →

Posted in Ethics, My Reading, Reviews, The Sacraments, Theological, Worship | 10 Comments

Daniell on Tyndale’s Style and Effect on the English Language

Posted on January 28, 2012 by Alastair Roberts

Via Daniel Stoddart comes this article on the effect of William Tyndale’s Bible translation upon the English language. David Daniell has a wonderful treatment of this in his tome, The Bible in English. Not only did Tyndale’s solitary work of … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible | 3 Comments

‘Symbol and Sacrament’ Chapter 6: Scripture and Sacrament

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Alastair Roberts

Symbol and Sacrament Posts: Introduction, Chapter 1, Chapter 2:I, Chapter 2:II, Chapter 3, Chapter 4:I, Chapter 4:II, Chapter 5, Chapter 7 Having established a model for the structure of Christian identity in the previous chapter, Chauvet proceeds to explore the interrelationships of the various elements of the … Continue reading →

Posted in My Reading, Reviews, The Church, The Sacraments, Theological, Worship | 11 Comments

The Juvenilization of the Church

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Alastair Roberts

via Dr Jim West Does anyone have any thoughts on his thesis?

Posted in Video | 2 Comments

Body-Modification, the Market, and Identity

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Alastair Roberts

This post follows on from On Tattoos. It might be best to read that first. Following my recent post on the subject of tattoos, John H suggested a connection between the practice of body-modification and Christian consumerism. Both are attempts … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture | 7 Comments

Tarrying with the Tragic

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Alastair Roberts

Yesterday I made some brief remarks on the Christian economy of pain. The subject came to mind again earlier today. The following are a few further thoughts on the matter. In yesterday’s post I commented on the manner in which … Continue reading →

Posted in Theological | 11 Comments

The Christian Economy of Pain

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Alastair Roberts

From William Cavanaugh’s superb Torture and Eucharist:  The Christian economy of pain, therefore, overcomes the strict incommunicability of pain on which torture relies. Torture is so useful for isolating individuals in a society from one another in large part because … Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Experience, The Church, Theological | 6 Comments