Barnabas File

In the last few years, religion scholars and the popular press have written much about the “Nones”—people who profess no religious faith.     Ryan Burge and Tony Jones have found that it is not that simple.    The Nones are often thought of as a single group, but Jones and Burge have found they’re not. There are the Nones in Name Only (NiNOs), Spiritual but Not Religious, the Dones and the Zealous Atheists.  There not discreet boxes but gradients.   What this means for coaches is that we may find ourselves coaching about existential or faith issues when we least expect it.  Our clients may say that they have no particular religious views, but some are more spiritual than they think!   All coaches—Christian or not—can their support clients in authentic meaning-making by exploring their inner world, uncovering  and integrating their true selves.  Faith coaching acknowledges and accepts the inherent ambiguities and tensions ...

Anyone who has been to seminary has heard of The Didache, the ancient Christian guide for believers, but very few of us have read it. Tony Jones has. In fact, he has done a translation of the document which he includes along with some commentary in The Teaching of the Twelve: Believing and Practicing the Primitive Christianity of the Ancient Didache Community. Jones’ presentation is informative and would be an attractive study for those interested in an orthodox but fresh approach to practicing the faith. The Didache (teaching) is probably a combination of tracts written about the same time as the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) but earlier than the Gospel of John. Although some of Paul’s letters may have been written by this time, this community seems to be unfamiliar with the theology and writings of Paul. The influences present are similar to those that produced Matthew’s Gospel and may well have been directed to a small, rural Christian community on the Syria-Palestin...