Culture is "...knowledge that is learned and shared and that people use to generate behavior and interpret experience." That definition is from David W. McCurdy, James P. Spradley, and Dianna J. Shandy in The Cultural Experience: Ethnography in Complex Society (Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press, 2005). It has been my favorite definition for culture. It …
Month: February 2018
Reaching the Elders
Joanne Shetler, a Wycliffe Bible Translator, in her book "And the Word Came with Power," says on page 108 "Balangaos had always had village elders, older men informally chosen by group consensus to guide them. I usually sought these older people to work with me on translation; their status and their experience were invaluable. In …
New Article On-line
I put up a new article on http://www.academia.edu. Better than New: Christian Perfection as Informed by Wabi Sabi You are welcome to read it HERE. And always welcome comments. Here is the abstract. This article has the modest goal of suggesting that the Japanese aesthetic concept of Wabi Sabi may provide a useful metaphor for …
Condemnation and the Gospel
Today there is a bit of a theological revolution going on as many Evangelicals are questioning the ECT (eternal conscious torment) view of hell, in favor of an annhilationist view, or purgative view, or some other form. To me, it seems odd how dogmatic people are on something that is, frankly, not clearly answered in …
Human Exegesis
Consider Three Statements: A. Wife: "We have been married for 20 years, and have never had an argument." B. Friend: "My neighbor died yesterday." C. 16 year old son: "I am going to quit school." In each of these statements, we know two things--- we know who said it, and we know what it says. …