Have you ever read a book so convicting that you kind of wish you hadn’t read it? That’s this book.

Four Witnesses is a not-so-brief history of the early church from the perspective of four of its founders: Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr and Irenaeus of Lyons. It tells their stories in a personable way that helps to give an idea of what the early church was like, as well as giving a testimony to their dedication amidst persecution.

The most important part, though, comes in Bennett’s afterword, where he gives his own spiritual journey that took place while he was researching and writing the book. The underlying idea he points out, that he was convicted about himself, is this: when looking at the early church’s structure, hierarchy, practices and beliefs, the best model of that exists today in the form of the Catholic church. Furthermore, he argues that, when looking at certain actions that the early church swiftly did away with as heresy, they come scarily close to the way the Church is carried out by evangelicals and even Anglicans.

This has just scratched the surface. I don’t want to let one book be a strong enough force for me to drastically alter my faith, but it’s hard to not feel swayed strongly by the power of his words and the logic and support behind his arguments.

More to come, I’m sure.

I watched this slideshow about swine flu on WebMD and, with all my journalistic integrity and credentials, have determined that swine flu is basically normal flu with a fun name that didn’t get included in this year’s flu shot. The symptoms are the same, the severity range is the same. The only difference is that the media is covering this like it’s the black plague. (And I’m helping!)

20,000 people a year die of normal flu. So far a couple hundred have died of swine flu. Correct me if I’m wrong, but in perspective it doesn’t seem like we should be this freaked out.

There is something that, in the evangelical world, I was completely unaware of, but in the Anglican (and presumably the greater Catholic church) seems to have known for quite some time.

When talking to my good friend Mark, who works in the Anglican church I’ve begun to explore, he half-jokingly commented that his church is “seeker-hostile,” poking a little fun at the “seeker-friendly” philosophy that the evangelical church often touts. But what he means is that, yes, the traditional church is a difficult thing to jump right into with no background in the Christian faith.

Mark then goes on to point out that many people come to the traditional church when they feel as though the evangelical church has nothing left for them, as though it got them so far but once they’ve reached a certain maturity in their faith, they often feel as though there’s “something more” that the evangelical tradition can’t provide so that their spiritual growth can continue. This is, indeed, the main reason why I personally felt the need to abandon evangelicalism.

I just realized that this has something in common with my idea about a spectrum of belief. Maybe it’s time to revise that idea to say this:

It appears as though the evangelical church is good at getting people in the door, at population growth, but in a lot of cases it isn’t so hot at the continual spiritual growth at a certain point. It also appears that, though “seeker-hostile,” the Anglican church is not so hot at the population growth, but really good at the continual spiritual growth.

Here we see where a spectrum of belief — as there are disagreements between these two sections of the Church — is keeping many people, myself included, from falling off the map. I can’t discount the fact that the evangelical church built a certain foundation of faith in me for many years, but when it came time to continue to explore my faith, Anglicanism and the liturgical tradition has become the logical next step.

Mark says he thinks there needs to be a reconciliation of the two churches, and that these two points in the spectrum need to have a line drawn in between them so that the greater Church can do everything it was originally intended to do. If there were no Anglican or Catholic or evangelical, this spectrum might still exist, but as a means of growth in faith rather than a split in the church as is the present case.

I hate to quote someone in full (technically a copyright infringement, coincidentally) but Umair Haque wraps up two seemingly separate issues into one larger one so efficiently, I had to pass it on.

Set up a torrent tracker, get fined, go to jail.

Join a bank, destroy the economy, profit.

Let’s draw out the distinction.

The Pirate Bay guys were criminally prosecuted for….violating (largely obsolete) copyright. Almost no one in finance has been held even civilly liable for vastly more economically damaging actions.

On the one hand, we have damages worth maybe (maybe) a few million. On the other, a few trillion.

On the one hand, innovation and better music is stifled — benefits are foregone. On the other, reform of a broken banking system is stifled — losses are incurred.

That’s everything that’s wrong with the economy in two sentences: the ongoing inability of today’s leaders to deal with 21st century economics.

[Umair Haque via Ryan Catbird]

People complain that the news has become a form of entertainment that strokes one’s ego with biased opinions they already agree with rather than investigative, factual reporting.

But, let’s be honest, we’d all watch the news more if it were like this.

I suspect we get as worked up about music as we do because we believe it defines us — that music says something about who we are and what we believe, perhaps in ways more illuminating and honest than we could ever conjure on our own, since words alone often diminish the grand ideas and feelings we have inside.

[via NPR: Does Music Define You?]

Does music define me? Yes. Yes it does.

I often tell people that music is my fifth limb. If you can’t see that it’s there or why it’s necessary, you are never going to fully understand me.

I would venture to guess that anyone a passion and fervor for life and exploration and growth has a fifth limb. Maybe it’s books, or film, or photography, or travel, or food, or education. If you don’t have one, maybe it’s time to start letting one grow.

Jesus never said anything about how many people you should cram into your church building. Jesus didn’t tell us to set attendance goals. Jesus didn’t tell us to pray that a church (small c) will grow so big that it runs out of folding chairs and has to build a separate campus. However many people come to your church, fill out their attendance cards, and/or come forward at the altar call is completely, completely irrelevant to actual change in their lives and whether or not they actually experienced the person of Christ.

Stuff Christian Culture Likes does it again!

I have little to add here; Stephanie said it better than I could ever hope to. All I have to say is that the small-c churches that shoot for big numbers have, in my experience, done as much harm as good to their congregations’ well-being. It’s unfortunate to see pastors with good intentions but that are slightly misguided in the search for tangible stats for something entirely intangible.

I would even say that, to some extent, I’ve been a victim — both directly and indirectly — of this goal.

In an attempt to catch up, I’m cheating on my “post five days a week” goal a bit and linking to Buzzgrinder about lessons I learned aboutmy weekend at Coachella.

A bonus lesson: “anti-shake” on a digital camera is a lie. So much for about two thirds of the 200+ pictures I took.

Best sermon I’ve heard in ages!

[via Boing Boing]

I find it amusing that a lot of the Christians that preach the sovereignty of God and predestination are the same ones freaking out that Obama is the Antichrist. Seems to me they shouldn’t be concerned if they are saved. And, what the heck? Why are they freaking out about something that they will be the first to admit is outside their control? Be concerned for the state of your soul and the souls of those you love.

That said, I can’t say I have an opinion on Obama as Antichrist. I don’t know enough about end times theology to make that call. What happens will happen whether or not I have an opinion about it.