Carman

I know as a youth minister, I am not supposed to lead people into sin. However, I cannot help but post this cd cover even though many of my brothers and sisters out there will stumble into jealousy, envy, and even lust. I am sorry, but my good friend and youth sponsor extraordinare, Danielle, braved a Carman concert and brought me back an autographed copy of this "Ultimate Praise" cd. I think that I could die happy now. I feel that I have a special connection to Carman himself. Are you ready to R.I.O.T.? Do you know who the Champion is? Have you ever received a Witches Invitation? I recently read an interview with Derek Webb in Relevant Magazine. He said that the Christian industry was falling into a state of ordinary cheesiness. Perhaps the way out of the Cheesiness of contemporary Christian music is through the stylings of Carman! Come on, the guy not only sings, but he also talks through his songs, raps, acts, and dances (have you seen the video to A2J? Now that's hot!). What could be more relevant in our day that Carman?*



*I realize that reading the above may be a bit painful for Danielle. I would just like to take this time to affirm you as the coolest person on earth for getting this autographed cd. You rock Danielle!

Da...............................Vinci

Just as a point of reference, you must say the title to this post as if you were one of the superfans found on Saturday Night Live. "DA................VINCI." Ok, now that we have that out of the way, I would like to say that I am not trying to rip off of my friend Pete's blog, however, I also went and saw the DaVinci Code on Saturday night. Here's my take.

First of all, it was so great to actually go see a movie. Granted, I have been told that seeing this movie will send me to hell, so all in all, I guess it all balances out. (BTW, I finally watched the Chronicles of Narnia on Friday night, so I guess that means that I can still make it to heaven.) The movie, from a critical perspective, was just an ok movie. It is worth seeing, but there were some odd cuts, slow dialogue, and even some mediocre acting by Mr. Hanks. (Did I mention predictable at times?) Still, I would recommend seeing it over the Flight 93 and DEFINITELY over RV.

Secondly, here's my take on the whole sacrilegious side of things. WHO IN THE WORLD FEELS THREATENED BY THIS MOVIE!!!!!???? I just don't get it. I did not leave the movie questioning my faith. I did not leave the movie thinking that Jesus was not divine. I DID leave the movie a little hungry however, and, a Nestle's Crunch Ice Cream Bar later, I was fine. Here's what I did think was worthy of noting in the film: the relation of semiotics to this whole debate.

I had never stopped to realize that this entire issue is an issue of symbols! Indeed the film opens in a lecture on "religious symbology." The relationship between a symbol and the way that we perceive reality through the interpretation of those symbols are of great interest to me. What the movie taught me has nothing to do with Constantine, or marriage. What the movie taught me, or rather affirmed in my spirit, is that we should all check our usage of religious cultural symbols and question what they are telling others. What does our use of the cross in jewelry and fashion really represent? Is it possible that the symbol of the cross once meant something that is so much more in depth than what it is used for now? Are there symbols, or images of Christ that have been so assimilated into culture, or rather viewed through specific cultural lenses, that they no longer look anything like the Jesus Christ that actually walked on this earth? I left the movie questioning my faith to the extent that I want to be open to critiquing the cultural symbols that have replaced, or become synonymous with our religious symbols.

If you can't tell, here's my suggestion. Go see the film if you want to know what it's about. (or if you simply want to tick off the fundamentalists who are trying to make Ron Howard go bankrupt.) The film is good, but don't expect too much. And finally, make sure that you don't go in the middle of a thunderstorm - you stand less of a chance of getting struck by lightening on the way out of the theater.

KKK

For the past few weeks, I have really not liked living in the South. Let me back up and say, thanks for putting up with my sabbatical from blogging. I have been focused upon school work so I haven't had the chance to blog, but I'm back for better or for worse. (You can thank Pete for the constant kicks needed to get blogging again.)

Now, for the real post: the image used here was printed in the Huntsville Times a couple of weeks ago. Apparently the KKK held a rally in Northern Alabama, where I live, protesting the current imigration issue. I couldn't believe it, the KKK is actually calling for Black and White people to ban together to kick the "Mexicans" out. The protest itself, or rather the very fact that it happened, was enough to tick me off. What pushed me over the edge however, was the image that I have placed above. That is an eight year old kid that is wearing the official dress of the KKK. Does this fire anyone else up?! Eight years old and the kid is already being taught a form of hatred that is so dark many of us will never be able to comprehend it. What's worse, is that the kid will be taught that the hatred inside of him is actually based upon scripture.

I wish that I could spend enough time, and knew enough words to express the feelings I have for these people. Still, I am forced with the fact that the gospel of Christ must be the good news for even those hiding behind their white masks. I recently faced this issue on an even more personal basis. Our former neighbors were not necessarily the neighborly type. He was a former Marine that got a kick out of spitting his chewing tobacco on my support peace sticker on my car. The day finally came for this family, who lovingly screams obsenities at each other, to move out. Why did they move out? Well, apparently the city of Athens, which is close by, is 87% white. Finally, they can let their children and grandchildren play in the yard again. I struggle to love people like this. But still, the way of peace means peace in all situations. I am learning what this means and what it looks like in practice. Until I have an answer for my reaction to such hatred and prejudice, I have a proposition: let's deport the KKK. Just a thought.

Shalom.

Theologian Quiz

Everyone else has done this, and, since I would jump off a bridge if everyone else did it, I decided to take the quiz. I was a little upset that Moltmann didn't take the top spot. I like him.

Anselm 73% J�rgen Moltmann 73% Martin Luther 67% Friedrich Schleiermacher 53% Charles Finney 53% John Calvin 47% Paul Tillich 40% Jonathan Edwards 40% Karl Barth 40% Augustine 20% Which theologian are you? created with QuizFarm.com

Real Update

I was looking over the last several posts and noticed that I have not posting anything serious in quite a while. So here's my serious post.

I purchased Brian McLaren's new book The Secret Message of Jesus the other day and have been thinking about its premise for quite some time. I am not one of those people that looks for the secret codes, etc. that are found in the Bible. Thus, when I saw the title of McLaren's book, I had to say that my first thought was, "oh no! They got McLaren!" Thankfully, the book is not a rendering of secret code language, but is an attempt to peel back the layers of what we have superimposed culturally upon the message of Christ. The freedom that comes from such a presupposition is very freeing to me. I have become more and more aware lately of the gaping differences between the Jesus of scripture and the Jesus of the Church. My heart breaks every time I see the way that we have watered down the message of Christ. Here's a good case in point.

I am constantly amazed by youth. I love working with youth, they will act like they don't care and don't know anything one moment, and then the next moment will give you a truth that you have never seen before. Last Sunday I was sitting in Sunday School and was facilitating a discussion on the call of the disciples. We were reading from Luke 5, where Jesus gets in the boat with Simon. One of the students noticed that Jesus waits until right after Simon began to catch fish before calling him to "fish for men." Here's a guy who makes his living by catching fish. He has caught nothing, and then finally gets what he is looking for, he finally has enough money to live for a while, and then Jesus calls him to leave it! What a rip off! Is this the way that God works? We work our whole life trying to get what we need to make it, and then, just when we think we have it, Jesus says, "ok, I've got something better. I know you worked hard and you've finally arrived, but, well...it doesn't really matter anymore! There's something bigger out there to which you can give your life!"

This is exactly how I feel right now. I have been liberated by the fact that I don't have to accept the culturally watered down version of Christ. Furthermore, I have been liberated because this revelation leads me to believe that there is no such thing as a utopian ideal out there. My life is not about what I can work towards, it is about what I give myself to. I know that there is another way of reading this above scripture. If there wasn't, then TBN would be off the air. I appreciate the fact that there are multiple readings of the scripture that constantly keep each of us in check. However, I also understand that the scriptures are all about a new way of life. I can't help but wander if we are simply just adding Christianity on to our idealized American Dreams. What if the call of God is bigger? What if the call of God is to abandon the American Dream and devote ourselves to something that is bigger? What if there is no Utopian Ideal? Then again, what if there is a utopian ideal that we refer to in passing as the Kingdom of God and what if we are completely missing it by not living in it?

Shalom.