Culture is complex. One of the least helpful things to do when it comes to culture is treat a complex issue as if it's simple. This is an easy but destructive way of speaking about a topic without actually understanding it. There is nuance—good and bad--in almost every cultural product or cultural movement. One topic that tends to get oversimplified by conservative Christians is …
Senior Integration Project: “Enjoying God through Creation”
We spend most of our days not reading the Bible or praying in solitude (necessary practices), but eating a meal, talking with friends, or watching a movie. For my Senior Integration Project, I challenged the idea that to love God more we must love the physical world less. My paper defines the true nature of idolatry and the importance of integrating joy in God with joy in his creation. In what …
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You Are New
You own me, I sayAs I anxiously bow to my idolsProstrate before them in quivering fearAll of my identity rests hereThe approval of others I care so much what you think, I sayThe endless questioning of what your opinion of me isOn edge and waiting for rejectionClenched fists around all the adjectives I hope to be defined byI cannot let goIf you see me as anything lessSurely I will dieAnd the …
New Year, Same Spirit
I've always felt my life was one of ongoing reflection and constant change--a continuous rearranging of habits. The New Year is of course a prime time to reflect and replace bad habits with good ones. But to me, the entire Christian life is one of reflection. Sanctification isn't annual, but moment by moment. The Spirit is always convicting me of sin and reordering my desires toward Christ. From …
A Prayer of Thankfulness for John Allen Chau
It was Thanksgiving day, and from the other side of the house, the living room TV caught my attention: Missionary John Chau killed. Instantly I began to search online and read what happened. He went to a remote tribe, the North Sentinelese people, off the coast of India to share the gospel. Many have questioned whether this was wise or if his life was wasted. He certainly prepared …
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The Scary Subject of Subjective Sin
I am naturally a black and white thinker. I thrive on clarity. When I became a Christian in 2011, I headed straight for the theology books. Sin is this, not that. God is like this, not that. We follow God like this, not that. Out of what I believe was a earnest desire to please the Lord, I absorbed convictions from those whose books I read. And then in an equally immature and self-righteous …