Joshua P. Steele

Today I’m grateful for: Coffee; Books; My job as a software engineer. (That’s my list most days.) What are you grateful for?

Confession (ha!): I’ve never read more than brief excerpts of The City of God by Augustine. Which translation/edition is best? Anyone got a used copy of the New City Press edition they’d sell me? :) I’d love to get the Logos edition but will wait until it’s cheaper than $100.

I keep seeing a Bonhoeffer quote about community go around that I think is a loose paraphrase. Here’s the real quote:

Every human idealized image that is brought into the Christian community is a hindrance to genuine community and must be broken up so that genuine community can survive. Those who love their dream of a Christian community more than the Christian community itself become destroyers of that Christian community even though their personal intentions may be ever so honest, earnest, and sacrificial.

Source: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together and Prayerbook of the Bible, ed. Gerhard Ludwig Müller, Albrecht Schönherr, and Geffrey B. Kelly, trans. Daniel W. Bloesch and James H. Burtness, vol. 5 of Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1996), 36.

It’s too hot

This Independence Day, I pray that the church in the USA would reclaim her theological, cultural, and political independence.

May God liberate American churches from their bondage to the DNC and, especially, to the GOP.

May our allegiance to Jesus Christ trump all other loyalties.

Let us be known for laying down our rights, loving our enemies, and caring for the powerless.

Let us live according to the Kingdom of God, the Sermon on the Mount, and the radical love of Jesus for every tribe, tongue, and nation.

“They think I don’t know a buttload of crap about the gospel…and they might be right.”

Jesus Christ is Lord, ___ is not.

Whose doing the best thinking and writing on politics from a Christian perspective these days? I’m look for theologically robust analysis. Certainly not Trumpist, but also not just parroting the DNC.

If you’re interested in Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his context, Eric Metaxas is not a trustworthy guide. He gets Bonhoeffer very wrong and draws almost a completely backwards contemporary application of Bonhoeffer. For more info: www.christiancentury.org/reviews/2…

If you’re a progressive Christian who cares deeply about Scripture as the word of God, which resources have you found helpful when engaging with conservative evangelicals/fundamentalists who disagree with you? Commentaries, reference works, book, essays, etc.

If you’re an LGBTQ-affirming Christian and care deeply about Scripture as the Word of God, which 1-2 passages do you consider the strongest potential objections to your positions?

Also, same question for Christian universalists. Which passages make the shortlist for strongest potential objections?

C’mon, man. It’s not rocket science! It’s a social media website!

mo’ smoke, mo’ problems. cough.

Alright people give me your best take on the Akedah in Genesis 22.

Canada’s on fire, Midwest’s smoky, South’s melting. Are we in the Bad Place?

Smells weird outside. Looks hazy. #smoke #wildfires #airquality #pittsburgh

Finished reading: The Effective Engineer: How to Leverage Your Efforts In Software Engineering to Make a Disproportionate and Meaningful Impact by Edmond Lau 📚

Realizing that almost all of our friends with kids have family nearby. Meanwhile, we’re 3.5hrs or more away from family… Do/did you live close to family when raising kids? Did it make a difference?

Hey, if you own a treadmill: Do you use it regularly? Are you glad you have it? Is it worth the space it takes up in your house?

What are the best running shoes for fat guys like me? Should I stick with Brooks Ghosts, my old standby? Or try something different? I’ve tried Hokas before and they weren’t my favorite but I’d be willing to try a different model (I think I tried the Cliftons). I used to be a runner. I’ve run 2 full marathons and a handful of halfs. But that was over 50lbs ago! 😅🫠