An evening with Os Guinness at the Falls Church, or an evangelical critique of evangelicalism

Haven't written anything in here as of late because of the beautiful weather these last few days, being out of town and catching up with errands, etc. A few brief updates:

I rode my bike a good distance on Friday, going from Falls Church to Shirlington to National Airport to Union Station. I found a new and better path to Capitol City Brewery Shirlington, which, in my travels, is as significant as discovering the Northwest Passage.

I got a haircut.

I ate Chipotle with a homeless person who wanted to shine my shoes for money.

I had Palo Santo and Raging Bitch beers on cask, in specialty glassware, glassware that I got to keep with the purchase of the beers.

I had a couple good dinners with friends outside in great springesque weather

And today: Work, SuperChicken, Os Guinness.

I went straight to SuperChicken after work to have my usual: quarter chicken, beans, rice. I went all out and got a Mexican pineapple soda, which, as advertised, has real sugar, not corn syrup. I'm also amused by the fact that Mexico, a big corn producer in its own right, and a poorer country, nonetheless has higher quality and more natural sweeteners. Perhaps they are just more pre-modern.

I'm not going to write a whole bunch of what Guinness said tonight, number one because I'm not good at instantly digesting and representing such events, and because I've been listening to talk and typing since 9:30 this morning and need a break.

Os Guinness spoke about the crises in the Western Church. He spent a lot of time talking about modernity and globalization, as well as a lot of the usual stuff I've heard on Islam and secularism, though I will say he was refreshingly critical of the amount of nonsense within evangelicalism. He criticized a recent apologetics event he'd attended, saying their whole concern was with beating "the other" and winning arguments, and not caring a great deal for the souls with whom they're arguing. (Though I didn't think it as eloquently, this was the impression I got when I heard Alister McGrath (an Anglican) debate Christopher Hitchens.) Michael Cromartie of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, who moderated the event, told me he had been disappointed with McGrath's performance, and I told him, when I was sharing a cab with him, that I thought McGrath was thinking more than about just about winning the debate. Perhaps I'm being too charitable and McGrath wasn't as good as I think, but I get a better feeling from him than, say, Dinesh D'Souza, who dated Ann Coulter at one time.

Guinness told more than a few good, dry jokes -- jokes that I couldn't do justice to here by typing them. Two of the jokes referenced his Guinness beer heritage, and one joke was actually a true story that incorporated Guinness -- the family and the stout -- St. Patrick's Cathedral and scripture. Needless to say, it was a good joke.

Since I don't have the will, strength or mind to write any of the substantial points Guinness made tonight, I'll just mention that I was pretty impressed with him. He criticism was evenhanded, noting nonsense where he found it but never overdoing it, and always saying our greatest concern should be with ourselves and not others. And he made a few good criticisms of the church growth movement, designed by Dr. Elmer Towns, M.A., Th.M., MRE, D.Min, as well as a few other heresies of the Religious Right.

Certain questions raised by the audience were asked by those who had not understood what he was saying, and obviously already had preconceived notions (who has those?), like "Why should we not be concerned about militant Islam at all?" But the majority of questions were thoughtful.

That's all for tonight. I'll be in Lynchburg this weekend, and it's looking to be a hot one, so I'm hoping to do some evening events with anyone in town. Holla at me.