By Ragan Sutterfield on 03/01/2010
I have been thinking a good deal lately about culture and how it happens. There are two kinds of Pop culture it seems—the kind we consume and the kind we produce. These days the kind we consume seems to dominate. That we consume culture is not a bad thing, but that this form of pop [...]
Posted in Agrarian Notebook, Features, Society and Culture | Tagged culture, local arts, local living, local renaissance, means of production, music, pop culture, video
By J Fowler on 03/01/2010
In the realm of church and faith we absorb sermons, buy our Christian books and music (my favorite!), our evangelistic T-shirts and specialty Bibles…Maybe Consumerism is the real religion here.
Posted in Features, Society and Culture, Voice of One Calling | Tagged Anti-Consumerism, consumerism, consumerism and Christian faith, greenwashing, What Would Jesus Buy?
By Pam Fowler on 02/18/2010
I was not being fair to those that need to think about their basic needs first. So I started to think, how can I help those with limited choices not only have what they need to live but to give them choices?
Posted in Features, Learning As We Go | Tagged alternative energy, christian faith, Creation Care, environment, Intentional Living, Poverty, Social Justice, sustainable development, Sustainable Living
By J Fowler on 02/18/2010
We are desperately treading the waters of our often visionless but raging routine- afloat in hurry sickness and the cultural values of the American Dream. But JESUS tells us: “Take my yoke upon you…
Posted in Features, Voice of One Calling | Tagged christian faith, following Jesus, Intentional Living, Prayer, rhythm of life, spiritual disciplines, time management, vision for life, whole-life discipleship
By Ragan Sutterfield on 02/05/2010
The practice of actively turning our lives from sin and embodying our mourning for sin is called penance—an ancient practice that needs to be recovered in the lives of Christians seeking to live their lives holistically.
Posted in Agrarian Notebook, Features | Tagged christian ethics of consuming, christian practices, crisis of consumerism, ethical eating, ethics of eating, fasting, justice economy, penance, repentance, spiritual disciplines, thanksgiving
By J Fowler on 01/26/2010
All through scripture GOD is calling to us to wake up. In our self-centered sleepwalk we dream our own dreams- be they American or otherwise. We dream of pleasure, fame, respect, love, acceptance, knowledge, safety, revenge…
Posted in Voice of One Calling | Tagged christian faith, church renewal, Jesus, Peter betraying Jesus, spiritual awakening, sustainable traditions
By Ragan Sutterfield on 01/26/2010
If we are to recover the agrarian virtues of self-reliance and free ourselves increasingly from the bad valuations inherent in the money economy we are going to have to not only grow our own but breed our own…
Posted in Agrarian Notebook, Features | Tagged chicken breeding, Christian agrarian, Heritage Breeds, Homesteading, Marx, Poultry, self-reliance, self-sufficient living
By Ragan Sutterfield on 01/15/2010
Caitlin Flanagan recently created a stir with her article in The Atlantic criticizing school gardens. There have been some excellent rebuttals to Flannagan, but as I read the article I kept hearing Wendell Berry’s poetic character, “The Mad Farmer,”…
Posted in Agrarian Notebook, Features | Tagged agriculture as education, Caitlin Flanagan, Education, School Gardens, Sustainable Agriculture, The Atlantic, Wendell Berry
By Ragan Sutterfield on 01/06/2010
One result of the consumer economy has been a weakening of desire and a diluting of pleasure. This may seem counter-intuitive at first because desire is all around us after all…
Posted in Agrarian Notebook | Tagged Anti-Consumerism, Chesterton, Christian hedonism, commercialism, consumerism, economy, hedonism
By Pam Fowler on 12/27/2009
Security does not come in a full fridge, money in the bank, a paycheck each week, knowing that you can get it if you need it, eating organically (this is the newest thing on the chopping block)…
Posted in Learning As We Go | Tagged anxiety, faith, following Jesus, Intentional Living, Simple Living, trusting GOD
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