Author: davidjdunn

Gay Marriage and Christian Paranoia

 

 

Queer Eye for the Straight Guy: Marriage Edition!

According to the Pew Research Center fewer people are getting married, and they are waiting longer to “tie the knot.” Basically, what we think of as “traditional marriage” is on the decline. It clings desperately to life, somewhere in the hinterlands of suburbia, where scattered herds of Hummers and Tahoes still run free. But it is basically a dying institution.

Personally, I am not quite so worried. Our ideal marriage has more in common with 1950s sitcoms than the facts of history or the theology of the church, for that matter. That’s not to say I do not worry about marriage. Speaking for myself, there are lots of threats to my marriage, but I’m pretty sure none of them is gay.

Continue reading “Gay Marriage and Christian Paranoia”

The Rest is Commentary

“And who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29).

This question was posed to Jesus by a lawyer who wanted, the scripture says, “to justify himself.” He had just “tested” Jesus, asking him to sum up the law and the prophets, and Jesus gave a good answer. In a nutshell, “Love God. Love your neighbor,” he said. As the rabbi Hillel later said, “The rest is commentary.”

So it is important to get this question right. It means summing up at least half of what it is to be a Christian. But that is easier said than done. Like the lawyer who asked it, we usually want to try to find a loophole. Asking, “Who is my neighbor” is another way of asking “Whom can I not love?” Continue reading “The Rest is Commentary”

Heaven is not my Home: Gnosticism and Building 429

 

I do not really listen to “Christian music,” but my wife does. The other day, she was driving when I heard the following lyrics:

All I know is I’m not home yet.
This is not where I belong.
Take this world and give me Jesus.
This is not where I belong.

As far as music goes, I guess this is a pretty good “hook.” But the lyrics are pure heresy. Continue reading “Heaven is not my Home: Gnosticism and Building 429”

Matrimony and Miracles: My Second Marriage to my First Wife

In 2008, I surprised my wife by marrying her…again.

I have known Stephanie since 1993. We began dating when I was 14 and were married five years later. Any decent gambler knows you don’t bet on that kind of marriage lasting, but somehow we beat the odds to become a more or less happy statistical anomaly.
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Against Thrift

 

James Livingston, Against Thrift: Why Consumer Culture is Good for the Economy, the Environment, and Your Soul

James Livingston has published a timely and provocative book in Against Thrift. He is not an economist but teaches history at Rutgers, and his argument is basically that everything you think you know about economic growth is wrong. Continue reading “Against Thrift”