McDurmon — Lamb's Reign

McGrath, Gramsci, and the Future of Christianity

In his work entitled The Future of Christianity Alister E. McGrath focuses on the major paths and trends of Christianity in the twentieth century as a background for determining what may lay in store for the church, globally considered, in the near future. His analysis deals with the effects of Enlightenment thought on theology and lays out a method of appropriate reaction. For this he draws from the work of the Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci. This proposal has appealing aspects and yet sounds suspicious for drawing upon the Marxist theorist. In this essay, I hope to show you some of the worthy features while pointing to a better role model from Church history.

Joel McDurmonApril 9, 2010marxism, history, philosophy, mcgrath

“Social Justice” is for Socialists

Social Justice and “Social Justice”. A fun little debate has sparked between media personality Glenn Beck and Christian socialist Jim Wallis. I am not a frequent follower of Beck, though I think he has inflicted some damage to the forces of leftism. I do think he is much closer to the truth on this issue than his more propaganda-driven commie opponent. Let’s look at the issue.

Joel McDurmonMarch 19, 2010socialism, social justice

The Pagan Roots of Christmas

Depending on whom you ask, December 25 has a whole host of nefarious pagan characters laying claim to it. Mithra, Isis, Osiris, and Saturnalia are just a few of the names that get linked with this date. The general argument, illustrated by Ferrell’s quotation above, is that because December 25 is associated with so many pagan (or even worse, Roman Catholic) traditions and "deities," "real" Christians should not celebrate the day, or attribute any more significance to it than any other day of the year.

Joel McDurmonDecember 24, 2009Christmas, paganism

C.S. Lewis on Exmas and Christmas

As December 25 draws near, you will no doubt hear from some of your more "pious" and "holier-than-you" friends about the pagan traditions and customs that are bound up in our modern celebration of the birth of Christ. You may even be accused of worshiping the sun, rather than the Son. Perhaps you’ve already been informed that your Christmas tree is a pagan practice.

Joel McDurmonDecember 17, 2009Christmas, paganism, CS Lewis