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(Some of) The Fathers on the Eucharist
2007-03-06 02:25:00
They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they confess not the Eucharist to be the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ, which suffered for our sins, and which the Father , of His goodness, raised up again. - Ignatius of Antioch, Epistle to the Smyrnaeans, Ch. 8.For not as common bread and common drink do we receive these; but in like manner as Jesus Christ our Saviour, having been made flesh by the Word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so likewise have we been taught that the food which is blessed by the prayer of His word, and from which our blood and flesh by transmutation are nourished, is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh. For the apostles, in the memoirs composed by them, which are called Gospels, have thus delivered unto us what was enjoined upon them; that Jesus took bread, and when He had given thanks, said,"This do in remembrance of Me, this is My body;" and that, after the same manner, having taken the cup and given thanks,...
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New Counterpoints book on baptism
2007-03-05 23:17:00
Some of my old Church of Christ friends who check up on me here from time to time might be interested to know that Zondervan has just published another book in its Count erpoints series. This one is Understanding 4 Views on Baptism, and one of the views is supposed to represent a Christian Church/Church of Christ perspective. I've found this series by Zondervan to be quite helpful in the past, if for no other reason than we so rarely get to see multiple views clash directly in a respectful and academic way. If you're interested in this topic, check it out.
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March '07 Emergent Cohort meeting info
2007-03-02 13:32:00
The following was posted by Tim on the Akron/Canton Emergent blog: Hey Everyone! The Marc h meeting of the Akron/Canton Emergent Cohort will be Friday, March 9, at 8 PM. We’ll be meeting at my home: 2625 Maplewood St. in Cuyahoga Falls. Directions can be found here. Our topic will be spiritual formation, and to kick start the conversation I would like to leave everyone with a quote from Reggie McNeal’s book, The Present Future: “Let’s return to that person or family who has just become a follower of Jesus and has joined a congregation or is considering becoming a part of church life. INSTEAD OF DUMPING A PACKET OF CHURCH CLUB MEMBER STUFF ON THEM, WHY NOT INTERVIEW THEM ABOUT WHAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE HAPPEN IN THEIR LIVES IN TERMS OF THEIR SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT AND PERSONAL GROWTH? Maybe they’ve never thought in those terms. (Club members who have practiced churchianity for years would have more difficulty with this interview than spiritual seekers. Can’...
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Switch to Camino on OS X
2007-03-01 23:47:00
If you're like me, you want the all the eyecandy of Safari plus the speed and power of Firefox in your Mac browser. If so, then look no further. I give you Camino ... it's Mozilla power with Mac style.With Camino all of your buttons and forms will look awesome and you will be able to use features like Gmail's chat, which you cannot use with Safari. If you're a fellow Mac and Gmail user stuck on Safari, here's a taste of what you've missed in just the last two days by not being able to chat with me:me: dude, are you seriously pooping... that's awesome!*******: hehe..nah...not right now...but I think it's coming.me: excellentOr this, which was with a different person:******: Welcome back. How is your colon cleansing coming along. ;-)me: hehehe... no colon cleansing today. i had the chicken soup instead of chile coloradoI promise that all of my chats do not revolve around bodily functions! Certainly not all of them!
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On the development of Church hierarchy
2007-02-27 13:25:00
In a recent post named St Iggy and the Hierarchy of the Church , Scott Lyons briefly discusses the development of hierarchy in the early church just after the time of the Apostles. I really like the following statement:We need to be cautious in our treatment of hierarchy and authority, especially in an age that devalues it. The authority structure within the Church is not a power play. Though there have certainly been abuses (and there will certainly continue to be - as in any institution that includes us sinners) the hierarchy of the Church is and continues to be about service.Here was my comment:I got my English translation of the Apostolic Fathers and I've already read a lot and I've been thinking A LOT about this topic.I agree very much with your warning against interpreting the development of the Church's authority structure as a power play. This is exactly the story that I've been told and that I'm now beginning to reject. This is a very ungenerous reading of history, and ...
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Ever feel trapped by your own finitude?
2007-02-25 23:37:00
There is a little girl in our church that has become upset in each of our last two meetings. She's come running into the room crying and saying, "I can't sit everywhere!" Of course I reply, "I know how you feel, I'm also trapped by own finitude!" It's a good laugh for everyone!In case you're interested, she means to say, "I can't sit anywhere!", because we have so many people now that we're running out of chairs. :-)
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Friday miscellany
2007-02-23 18:18:00
Here are some contextless facts and opinions from my world:Current success: I'm approaching 20 lbs. of weight loss, which I believe I can maintain (my long term goal is 40 lbs.)Current failure: being patient with othersMood: paradoxically depressed and hopefulReading: Thus Spake Zarathustra (no connection to mood), Personal Knowledge: Towards a Post-Critical Philosophy, Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free ProductivityWatching: Lost, Battlestar Galactica, Grey's AnatomyWeekend plans: babysitting 3 awesome kids, intense racquetball, dinner with friends, attending Sunday Mass for the first time (I've been to many on weekdays), house church meeting, time with TinaNew joy: YogaThought of the week: Language is power. Speaking of faith as merely thoughts and/or feelings over against commitments and actions is not a good use of power. At best, it may be useful for providing people with a sense of security (although I'm tempted to add the word 'false' before 'sense of security...
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Akron/Canton Emergent Cohort - Feb '07 meeting recap
2007-02-16 13:01:00
One week ago the Akron/Cant on Emergent Cohort had it's second conversation, and I think it was a good time for everyone. We met at Muggswigz in downtown Canton, which was pretty busy but still had enough room for us all. The next meeting will be Friday, March 9th @ 8:00 pm, and I believe it will be at Rico Latte in the Falls, with Tim leading. Now I'm going to attempt to summarize our last meeting as best I can.A couple weeks before the meeting I posted an essay with some questions related to how we can best talk to and/or work with those who see the world, and Christianity in particular, differently than we do. Do we try to gently convince others that there is a better way? Do we let them see things and do things their way and simply partner with them as much as possible? How can we appropriately respond during those times that we feel like screaming in anger and frustration at the bad impression of Christian faith being left on those who are not Christians? These questions and m...
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How can you keep 'em down on the farm after they've seen Paris?
2007-02-13 23:27:00
I've struggled with how to write about my thoughts & feelings on authority, probably because these thoughts & feelings are themselves struggles for me, so I'm going to come at this via an analogy. The title of this post is similar to a quote made by Ernie Hudson's character in the 1995 movie Congo (an over-hyped but still somewhat entertaining movie). It speaks of the difficulty of going back to a life of simplicity and slowness after experiencing the glitz & glamor of the big city. This is exactly how I feel on the issue of authority: stuck between the big city of individual, autonomous reason and the farm of unquestioning submission to authority (leaving aside the question of which authority for the moment).You see, there are many things that I love about the big city, but I'm starting to question if I can live there anymore. Autonomous reason is great for holding authority figures accountable for their use of power, hence its rise alongside Protestantism and democratic po...
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The laying on of hands and authority
2007-01-31 16:10:00
Last night the Canton house church was reading through Acts 6 together, and we read the part where seven people were commissioned to see to the equitable distribution of food to the widows. They were commissioned amidst, or perhaps 'by' is a better word, a ceremonial prayer and laying-on-of-hands. This invested them with the authority that they needed to address such a sensitive issue, and no doubt aided them in ending the quarreling. As I was reading and pondering all of this my mind started flitting to other scenes in scripture where similar ceremonies are described or mentioned.Just two chapters later, in Acts 8, we find out that one of the seven who had been commissioned to oversee the food distribution has gone to Samaria (of all places!) with the glorious message. Many there accepted the message with great joy, but for some reason the Holy Spirit did not descend upon them as He had the Jews. A delegation of apostles is then called for and dispatched to Samaria to see what's...
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February '07 Akron/Canton Emergent Cohort meeting
2007-01-26 05:17:00
When: Friday, February 9th at 8:00 PM Where: Muggswigz (Click the link for directions. This is just a bit past Belden in downtown Cant on. I hope that's ok with everyone.) Topic: I've decided to write a short essay that will attempt to weave together some of the things that we discussed last time with some of the potential topics that have been suggested, in hopes of spurring thoughts for our next conversation. Please read this essay, think about it, and then come ready to discuss your own take on the subject(s). We'll start the conversation there and then see where it goes. :-) Many of us are involved in the emergent conversation because we have a different way of looking at things than many others around us. Gathering with people who see the world in similar ways is like coming home to the place where everyone speaks your language. Occasionally, and often when we least expect it, we come across someone who is obviously uncomfortable with popular modes of thinking, acting and bei...
More About: Emergent , Merge , Meeting , Akron

We love you, Dr. King!
2007-01-24 15:02:00
I wanted to write something in honor of Martin Luther King , Jr. last week, but the post alluded me. Last night, however, a friend of mine who has recently returned from China gave a presentation to our church about the experience and what it taught her about being a Christian there, and as she did so I stumbled across something fascinating in a little red book which she passed around entitled Quotations from Mao Tse Tung:We are advocates of the abolition of war, we do not want war; but war can only be abolished through war, and in order to get rid of the gun it is necessary to take up the gun. "Problems of War and Strategy" (November 6, 1938), Selected Works, Vol. II, p. 225.This immediately reminded me of my favorite quote from Dr. King. It's one of his more famous sayings:The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder t...
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Why delectatio Dei?
2007-01-18 15:21:00
Lingamish is intrigued about my switch from Jared Coleman's Blog to delectatio Dei, and I'm guessing that he is not the only one. Lingamish, language enthusiast and guru that he is, is probably more interested in the reasons behind my choice of the new name than in my reasons for moving my blog to Blogger, but I know others (and maybe Lingamish is interested in this as well) are interested in why I chose to move my blog at all. Actually, the reasons for both changes are related. So, I would like to explain my reasoning behind the move and my choice of delectatio Dei as the new name. Truth be told, when I made the switch I tried for about a week to write a post explaining all of this, but it just wouldn't come out, and I think the reason for this is that I'm actually a bit emotional about it. I'll try to work through it now and not give you a garbled mess.So first, why did I move my blog?There are several reasons (as there usually are to such things), but only one big one. Latel...

Thanks for tagging me, Virgil!
2007-01-18 00:30:00
Virgil has tagged me for the Best Contemporary Theology Meme, so I'm supposed to come up with and share a list of the best theological books in the past 25 years. The problem is that I feel woefully inadequate to do so. I haven't read anything theological that all of you haven't already read. I mean, you've all read Wright, McLaren, and Volf, and I don't just want to ditto your list. You've read Brueggeman and I haven't yet read even a single word of Brueggeman [hides in shame]! Amazon just delivered my Peter Rollins and John Howard Yoder (who wouldn't count anyway), but I haven't read them yet. I really think that a list like this should have Desmond Tutu on it, but I haven't actually read him yet. Come to think of it, why is everyone that I first think of to put on this list a white man? I'm tempted to have a Wittgensteinian moment and just list a bunch of poems that are vaguely theological but say very little and praise them for what excellent theology they include by ...
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I'm not afraid
2007-01-14 20:45:00
During my holiday break I read James K. A. Smith's Who's Afraid of Postmodernism?: Taking Derrida, Lyotard, and Foucault to Church, and I was suprised at how much Smith had to teach me about postmodernism and the church. I've heard it said before, and Smith agrees, that much of postmodernism is about reclaiming things from the premodern world that have been lost in modernity. Throughout the book he focusses on this "unholy trinity" of Parisians and on how what they have to say can actually help the church reclaim its ancient practices (or ways of practicing). In so doing he shows that what these men have said is, at least in many respects, not antithetical to Christian faith. And when Smith speaks, you can tell that he really knows what he's talking about.One thing that this book has helped me to realize, for example, is that the church (by and large) needs to reclaim a sense of its authority. In premodern times authority was a big deal. If you had it, people would listen to you...
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a theology of eating
2007-01-14 04:43:00
In the kingdom of God, we eat with thanksgiving. I don't mean that we give thanks before we eat. I mean we give thanks while we eat. Since every bite is a gift from God, it is not enough for us to offer just one prayer of thanksgiving before we eat. We do that, of course, but we also give thanks with each mouthful of food that blesses our senses and our bodies. We chew slowly, silently thanking the One who has once again provided for our need. The relationship is consummated as we swallow and are filled with a sense of peace. In so doing, we find ourselves both fully cared for and full - before we otherwise would have been. We eat less, and we feel better. This is how we eat in the kingdom of God!
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My blog has moved...
2007-01-11 16:38:02
Jared Coleman's Blog becomes delectatio Dei. New URL (new for some of you): http://www.jaredcoleman.com/ New RSS feed: http://www.jaredcoleman.com/feeds/posts/d efault If you have enjoyed reading my blog and/or interacting with me online, then please update your links and RSS subscriptions. I would love to keep in touch with you in the future!
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times of refreshment
2007-01-11 02:29:00
It has been a really good few weeks... really good! Between and around Christmas and New Years I had 10 days off of work, which was incredible. I didn't even have to take vacation days because the administration decided ot shut the university down to save on utility expenses at a time when no students are on campus anyway, so it was simply leave with pay (what a wonderful concept!). I think I needed that time much more than I realized, and although I didn't get to spend as much time with Tina as I would have liked it was still wonderful. I've since returned to work, but I have to say that I'm still feeling great! I'm not sure if it was the excellent books that I've finally been able to read, the time with family and friends, or the quiet meditation in the woods, but I feel a great sense of peace coupled with an exhiliaration and love for life that makes my heart beat slightly faster than usual.I have so many wonderful thoughts and experiences to share that I don't even know w...
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Akron/Canton Emergent Cohort
2007-01-10 15:12:00
From the Akron /Cant on emergent cohort blog:The first meeting for the Akron/Canton Emerge nt Cohort is just around the corner, and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to dialog with some new people! Our first meeting is Friday, January 12, 8 PM, at Rico Latte in Stow. For those of you unfamiliar with it, Rico Latte is located on Steels Corners Road and Route 8 in the Steels Pointe Shopping Plaza (across the street from BP and McDonald’s). Great coffee and a great place for conversation. This first get together will be a chance for us to get to know each other and to decide on some topics of conversations for the coming months. If you need directions or have questions, please e-mail Jared or I! See you there!
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Jared Coleman's Blog becomes delectatio Dei
2007-01-05 21:37:00
Why not celebrate the new year by trying something new?! My blog is getting a new name, new face, and new location. The old blog is still available here, but please update your links and newsfeeders to point to www.jaredcoleman.com!
More About: Blog , Jared , Cole , Coleman , Come

They devoted themselves to THE prayers
2006-12-22 04:26:03
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Acts 2:42 (NRSV)Last night as I was reading the NRSV I stumbled over this verse, and when I reread it I realized that the reason for the difficulty was the inclusion of the definite article before the word 'prayers'. Luke is talking about specific prayers that his audience should be familiar with, most likely the regular Jewish morning, afternoon, and evening prayers. While this particular Pentecost is often seen as the birth of the church, I think it is important to realize that the 3,000+ people who responded to the Holy Spirit's outpouring (coupled with Peter's and the other apostles' explanations of what this meant) were not leaving Judaism to join 'Christianity'. Indeed, it would be quite a while before the word 'Christian' would even be used. Instead they were convicted of being faithless at the worst possible time that one could be faithless. By responding fait...
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Top Ten Signs You're a Fundamentalist Christian
2006-12-19 04:24:02
I've been trying to write some original content, but it's just not happening. So here is a shamelessly stolen and hilarious post by Dave Lynch. Trust me, in sharing this I'm laughing at myself as much as anyone else. ----- Top Ten Signs You're a Fun damentalist Christian 10 - You vigorously deny the existence of thousands of gods claimed by other religions, but feel outraged when someone denies the existence of yours. 9 - You feel insulted and "dehumanized" when scientists say that people evolved from other life forms, but you have no problem with the Biblical claim that we were created from dirt. 8 - You laugh at polytheists, but you have no problem believing in a Triune God. 7 - Your face turns purple when you hear of the "atrocities" attributed to Allah, but you don't even flinch when hearing about how God/Jehovah slaughtered all the babies of Egypt in "Exodus" and ordered the elimination of entire ethnic groups in "Joshua" including women, children, and trees! 6 - You l...
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a great article on porn and sex in general
2006-12-11 22:18:02
A friend of mine has posted an excellent article by Naomi Wolf called The Porn Myth on Planet Preterist. It's really worth a read (but not suitable for young children). Check it out.Technorati Tags: porn
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The semester is over!
2006-12-11 10:17:01
I spent all day yesterday finishing my final exam from one class and my final project from another. Now I'm finished... no school for a month. Hopefully, I'll be able to get back into my reading and posting over break.
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the discipline of forgiveness
2006-12-02 16:09:15
So, right now we are having a church discussion on forgiveness, and I just shared something about myself that I never realized before. When it comes to the forgiveness that I give to others who have hurt me very deeply, I don't speak of having forgiven them. Rather, I say that I am forgiving them. In these cases forgiveness is an everyday discipline, and some days are better than others. Maybe someday I'll be able to say that I have fully and finally forgiven, but for now I'm cautious about saying this about certain things because in my experience as soon as I do I find that the negative feelings come back again. Have any of you ever thought of forgiveness as a daily discipline?Technorati Tags: forgiveness
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A valuable lesson on baptism...
2006-12-02 16:09:15
Yesterday, a friend and I baptized another friend into Christ, and I learned a valuable lesson. I've always thought of baptism as the commitment of one individual to Christ, but my friend who was being baptized asked that we view this not just as his commitment to Christ, but also as the church's commitment to him. I was blown away... I had never thought about associating a baptism with the commitment of the community to the person being baptized before! So, after I took his confession I also spoke for the community to pledge ourselves to helping him in his new walk with Christ. It was a very powerful ceremony for all. I thought I'd share this in case any of you who baptize others want to think about doing this too. I know I'm going to keep doing it in the future!Technorati Tags: community, baptism, church praxis
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New column posted
2006-12-02 16:09:15
In case anyone is interested, I've written a piece for Planet Preterist entitled Trailblazers of Christ Arise: A Look at 2 Tim. 2:15, and it is available here: http://planetpreterist.com/news-5125.html Technorati Tags: scripture, truth, nonviolence
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Faith and Politics: Should They Mix?
2006-12-02 16:09:15
This was the title of a discussion between Jim Wallis and Greg Boyd that was hosted by Bethel University last month, and I pass it on to you in honor of this election day. Audio and video are available here. It's a good discussion and I really enjoyed listening to it. I've read The Myth of a Christian Nation, and interviewed Greg Boyd on it, but I haven't gotten around to reading God's Poli tics yet (although I do own a copy). Since I haven't read Wallis's book I'm going to refrain from making judgments between the views of these two. Both of them said things that impressed me (and some things that didn't), and at times even they were unclear about where they disagreed (well, Greg Boyd said this at one point anyway). What's the one thing that this discussion has absolutely convinced me of? It's time for me to read John Howard Yoder.Technorati Tags: Jim Wallis, Greg Boyd
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Faithfulness is the key to power
2006-12-02 16:09:15
For the past five weeks I have been asking our church to think about power. We've been looking at the Bible as a book about power - it shows us how God uses His power so that we can pattern the use of our own power after His way (HT: Brian McLaren, Rob Bell & Don Golden, and Scott Berkhimer for pointing me toward this rabbit hole). Since God uses His power to empower others, even at great cost to Himself (I'm referring to the cross and to some degree creation as well), we should do the same. Since God is a God who hears and answers the cry of the oppressed, we should position ourselves to hear the cry and respond as God's agents in the world. What I'm describing is basically the imago Dei meets the Abrahamic covenant meets the Exodus. So here's my contribution to the discussion, and to me it has been a faith-solidifying epiphany of gigantic proportions. As I've seen myself and others begin listening as God listens and using our power the way that He does, it occurred to me th...
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Winds of change
2006-12-02 16:09:15
I think that it's time to change the look and feel of my blog, so I've installed a new Nucleus skin and in the coming days I'm going to be customizing it. Anything that looks weird or doesn't work should be fixed soon.
More About: Change , Wind , Winds , Chang , Chan