Sorry for the long absence.

I posted a response today to a recent article defending the institutional church, at Christianity Today's website. I think the article is anecdotal and misguided on key points. However, it did give me the opportunity to pen some thoughts I've been mulling over with friends lately. I had to be terse (they have a 1000 character limit) and so recommend reading the article first, but it's not necessary.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/august/35.58.html

A whole generation of women rose up and declared 'We will not be dictated to' - and they became typists (G.K. Chesterton)

All my batteries are failing ever faster falling farther

The stuff I used to know is ailing -

Whither my recharger?

It is a truism that those who speak for God can and often do speak out of self interest, or in a tone that many people, like Ricky, find themselves repelled by. If so Gervais is in the company of a good many followers of Jesus, including me (and some of the people who have had to put up with me over the years). However, if, in the words of St. Anselm, God is "than which none greater can be conceived" then perhaps we should expect less from those who claim to speak about God, knowing that no one aside from Jesus (God’s only known offspring) is up to the task.

On my recent trip to the Holy Land I had the opportunity to converse with several American citizens who were  participating in the study tour. The experience was eye opening as a Canadian. Some stereotypes were reinforced (the connection between Republican politics and evangelicalism), while others were challeneged (the willingness of Americans to listen to the perspectives of outsiders, say, Canadians). Much of the conversation centered on the then upcoming election.

Today I witnessed a short conversation between two people under 30. One asked the other about their religious convictions, or something like that. The other replied that they were Roman Catholic, but didn't paticipate anymore, or since the age of 5. I asked why he bothered to continue to identify himself with something he left behind so long ago.