"If you are dependent on people who don't know you, who control the value of your necessities, you are not free, and you are not safe." Wendell Berry, "Sex, Economy, Freedom and Community." The irony of it is staggering and sobering - and, please, may it lead us to serious reconsideration of our economic habits… Continue reading Can I have my quinoa and the Andean farmer eat it too?
A saint is one who exaggerates what the world neglects. G. K. Chesterton No, Virginia, that paunchy, red-suited, white-bearded stranger who breaks into people’s houses once a year is not real - he’s an imposter, a sham and serves as the front-man for the consumer empire we live in. But yes, Virginia, Saint Nicholas is… Continue reading A saint, a dude and an ordinary joe
Just had this piece posted on the CRC Network site so figured I'd repost an edited version of it here today. Today is Black Friday south of the 49th, the biggest consumer bender known to humanity. Called black because merchants' books finally crossover from the red into the black, it's an apt adjective for other… Continue reading An anthem for Black Friday – reprise
C.S. Lewis described his conversion to Christianity this way: "I was dragged kicking and screaming into the Kingdom of God." Those are words that describe my reluctant conversion towards a vegetarian diet. The simple truth is I love being a carnivore. BBQ ribs, chicken masala, grilled Alberta steak, souvlaki skewers, pulled pork sandwich, cedar-plank salmon,… Continue reading The end of my carnal affair
I think we need to update the list of deadly sins - and I vote that shopping just might be the greatest modern enemy to living the Jesus life. The church in North America is in such a dangerous place and we hardly know it. We exist in an environment of consumerism; it's the air we… Continue reading The eighth deadly sin?
The mall is not my friend as a dad to two children, not hospitable to raising healthy human beings. Sure, it provides clean and supervised play areas as well as interesting food courts with carousels but the rest of the place is a damn hazard. And not because it is the temple of all things… Continue reading A “pretty” dangerous place
Tomorrow is Black Friday south of the 49th, the biggest consumer bender known to humanity. Called black because merchants' books finally crossover from the red into the black, it's an apt adjective for other reasons. And it would be so easy to watch the spree and smugly gloat, believing I'm free from that, above it… Continue reading An anthem for Black Friday
Squinch 