Time Magazine wonders whether God should be blamed for the subprime mess. Adds J. Lee Grady, editor of the magazine Charisma: “It definitely goes on, that a preacher might say, ‘If you give this offering, God will give you a house.’ And if they did get the house, people did think that it was an answer to prayer, when in fact it was really bad banking policy.” If so, the situation offers a look at how a native-born faith built partially on American economic optimism entered into a toxic symbiosis with a pathological market.

Scott McKnight on why he isn’t a Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox. I believe the Bible establishes a clear framework for a vital characteristic of forming all theology. The framework is what I call the “wiki” nature of gospel and theological expression. That is, God spoke to God’s people in Moses’ day in Moses’ way, in David’s day in David’s way, in Isaiah’s way in Isaiah’s day, in Jesus’ day in Jesus’ way, in Paul’s day in Paul’s way, and in John’s day in John’s way. There is, then, a clear pattern: the gospel and God’s revelation participates in “wiki” (or ongoingly renewed and renewable) versions. What this means is that there is an ongoing pattern of development and a recognition that the former days can get swallowed up in the present days.

David Fitch thinks the economy’s collapse has something to do with idolatry writ large.  Starting in the 80’s however, our jobs became “careers” for personal fulfilment, our homes became idols of excess pouring thousands of dollars into upgrades, our money became a scorecard of our success. Each of these things became identity shaping idols. And these idols squeezed out community, Mission and even family from everyday American life. The obsessive focus on these idols emptied American life of depth, meaning and purpose beyond the thin veneers of American consumerism. The zenith of this excess reached its peak in these last 5-10 years. Today we are seeing the leveling of these idols. The idol hath fallen.

Cartoonist Jon Birch seems to agree with Fitch’s assesment.