Humans love being religious. That’s not to say everyone loves a given religion—or even the notion of religion. I mean, simply, the function of religion. In the secular West, for instance, the place of the Christian Church or the many alternative and non-Christian forms of worship seems to be fading. But the impulse to worship remains lively.
The balance of this post is offered on Cor Deo. To read it please click here.
I do imagine you sitting there and feeling a kindred with Paul at Mars Hill.
It is so sad to see so many with a fervor for god, but seeing their hopeless end.
I especially appreciate your recognition of Christ’s compassion as the motive for Paul comments there. I appreciate how you always bring the attention back to Lord himself.
Have you noticed a difference from year to year in the tone of the conference (that is if you’ve attended before)?
I’ve attended many times and the overall shape of the event remains the same.
I was just curious if there seemed to be an increase in rejection of Jesus as the Way to God and therefore more diversity and increasing numbers of those who try to make their own paths.
It’s not something to measure on the basis of visits to the AAR/SBL, of course, but the increasing departure of Americans, Brits, and others in the West suggests a pattern.