parables of a prodigal world

On Wednesday, May 7th, a group of Evangelical leaders jointly released what is being called The Evangelical Manifesto . According to the website : An Evangelical Manifesto is an open declaration of who Evangelicals are and what they stand for. It has been drafted and published by a representative group of Evangelical leaders who do not claim to speak for all Evangelicals, but who invite all other Evangelicals to stand with them and help clarify what Evangelical means in light of “confusions within and the consternation without” the movement. As the Manifesto states, the signers are not out to attack or exclude anyone, but to rally and to call for reform. You can access the short version of the Manifesto here . I appreciate the spirit in which the Manifesto was conceived and is being put forward. And I can put this in a million different ways, but I think I'll go with this: There was a time for the martyrs. There was a time for the Contantinian settlement. There was a time for the G...

Are we called, by Christ, to be traitors ? The short answer is "Yes!" And the question to us, 21st century Christians, is this: Have we turned traitor to our central beliefs and causes by our discipleship? Or have we simply incorporated our former ways into this system called "Christianity?" Just look at what Jesus called some folks to do, and try to grasp it from their perspective. He called people to turn from the core principals with which they had defined their entire lives. He called the religious leaders to rethink and reject the entire system of beliefs on which their lives were based. Saul of Tarsus turned traitor. As did Matthew the tax collector. Those who had committed their lives to be the heads of their families, to them he said they must now hate their families. And a million other examples. Jesus was executed for his message. As were most of the early disciples, and thousands of His followers in the first few centuries. Executed ! Not embraced; not l...

Yes, I am a closet American Idol fan. And yes, last night's final was the impetus for this post. But enough about that... Imagine (Original lyrics by John Lennon, Reimagined lyrics by the Spirit of Christ, As reflected and refracted through His stumbling disciple, Raffi Shahinian) Imagine New Creation It's easy if you try Not an optimistic fantasy But God's modus operendi Imagine all the people Living in light of that day... Imagine there's no fear It isn't hard to do Nothing to kill or die for The one on Calvary will do Imagine all the people Living by that peace... You may say I'm a dreamer But its actually the dream of the Son I hope someday we'll join Him So heaven and earth can be as one Imagine all possessions A wondrous gift to man Given in trust to hold in love Used humbly in aid of His plan Imagine all the people Embracing all the world... You may say I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us And the world wil...

Matthew 9 always struck me as rather odd. Jesus heals a paralytic. Miracle! Hallelujah!! Jesus heals a hemorrhaging woman. Miracle! Hallelujah!! Jesus raises an apparently-dead young girl. Miracle! Hallelujah!! Jesus heals two blind men. Miracle! Hallelujah!! Jesus heals a mute man. Miracle! Hallelujah!! And in the middle of all this, Jesus has dinner with Matthew the tax collector. Miracle? Hallelujah?? Yes. If you happen to be Matthew the tax collector. Grace and Peace, Raffi

I believe a great many things about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I believe these great many things individually , but together they comprise a unified whole, a worldview, and it that unified whole that is, to me, Christianity, the Gospel, the revelation of God in Jesus Christ, or whatever you want to call it. Among other things, I believe vehemently in God as Trinity, though I suspect I might mean something by that quite different than the traditional, orthodox explanation. But I am a Trinitarian. Today I was having a conversation with someone I care about very deeply. This person is a Christian by birth and by family tradition (let the reader understand). This person's life has recently been wrought with hardship, and it was those hardships that were the topics of the conversation. During the course of the conversation, this person said to me, "Raffi, you know, I'm really starting to believe that ignorance is bliss; that people who either can't grasp the complexitie...