Though America is obviously a country of immigrants—after all, very few of us are Native Americans—over the years each major wave of immigration has…
Discernment Exercise: Can We Make Our Faith Attractive?
In the opening scenes of the movie Chocolat, Vianne, played by Juliette Binoche, moves into a new town and rents a dingy, dirty storefront.…
Discernment Exercise: A Great Spirit Blessing
Living in a pluralistic culture, as we do, does not mean that we live among unbelievers; it means we live among people who believe…
Discernment Exercise: On Being Offensive
All things considered, there’s plenty a Christian can do, say, or believe which some other Christian will find offensive—perhaps even deeply offensive. A few…
Discernment Exercise: How Committed is Too Committed?
In a report published in Harper’s (January 2016, p. 53-62), “The Ultimate Terrorist Factory: Are French prisons incubating extremism?” journalist Scott Sayare tells how…
Discernment 101: An Explanation of Discernment
If anything is certain for Christians today, it’s that we find ourselves living among people who do not share our deepest convictions and values.…
Discernment 101a: Always Begin Objectively
The process of Christian cultural discernment involves asking a series of questions that allow us to deepen our understanding of whatever it is we…
Discernment 101b: What’s obvious might not be
Some people act as if pluralism isn’t simply a fact of life. Instead, they are offended when movies do not depict the values they…
Discernment 101c: Liking it or Getting it
In an increasingly pluralistic and technological world like ours, hardly a week goes past without the possibility of being confronted with some new artifact…
Discernment 102: How to Disagree Agreeably
I don’t know very much,” James Agate is recorded as saying, “but what I do know I know better than anybody, and I don’t…