That's Christmas

That's Christmas (Short Film) HD from St Helen’s Church on Vimeo.

HT: BTW

NY Times Mag piece on Robert George

Click here for a NY Times Magazine piece on Robert P. George.

Linus on Christmas

Spirituality of Emerging Adults (18-29 year olds)

"Most emerging adults have religious beliefs. They believe in God. They probably believe in an afterlife. They may even believe in Jesus. But those religious ideas are for the most part abstract agreements that have been mentally checked off and filed away. They are not what emerging adults organize their lives around."

From Christian Smith with Patricia Snell, Souls in Transition: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults (Oxford: OUP, 2009), 154.

The Snuggie and the shortcomings of capitalism

Capitalism is not perfect. In his look at the religious and spiritual lives of American teenagers, Christian Smith considers mass-consumer capitalism as one of the formidable cultural factors shaping teenage (and adult, for that matter) spirituality. Smith says,

"Capitalism as a system must ever grow or it will die. The intrinsic problem in capitalism's logic, however, is that actual human needs are somewhat limited and modest: it takes only so many goods and services to sustain a healthy, potentially satisfying human life. For mass-consumer capitalism to forever grow, therefore, it must constitute masses of people as consumer selves who misrecognize new wants as essential needs, whose basic sense of necessity always expands. Consumer demand must always escalate if capitalism is to succeed." (178, Soul Searching)

Enter the Snuggie. This product is a symbol of just how far this capitalistic enterprise has taken us. It is a testimony of our frailty as humans that the Snuggie exists (and the Snuggie Puppy for those pet lovers out there). And there are other products. Jerry Seinfeld recalled being up late one night thinking that he could use the Ginsu Knive because he didn't have any kitchen knives that could cut through boots.

The Christian's task in the midst of all this is to remember that Christ alone will satisfy. Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee, as Augustine famously said. Consider how the gospel might satisfy the needs stirred up by advertising (for more on this I recommend Sam Van Eman's On Earth As It Is in Advertising? Moving from Commercial Hype to Gospel Hope)

Perils of gambling

Maura J. Casey has written a good piece in First Things on the too often overlooked woes of gambling.

Here is one excerpt:

Part of the reason that gambling spread so far and so fast is that the industry markets its product as just another form of harmless fun. In a brilliant move, the industry coined the term gaming as the euphemism of choice. Organized religion was slow to challenge the spread and, even today, rarely speaks out. Most of all, government has become predatory in its use of gambling as a worry-free method of increasing revenue without raising taxes. Indeed, the states have moved from granting permission to cheerleading. Government boosterism has legitimized gambling, eroding what few moral scruples remained on the part of average people against engaging in a behavior that, just a few decades ago, would have been considered largely unacceptable.

HT: Kevin DeYoung

Beyond our differences?

Beyond Our Differences from Jennifer Redfearn on Vimeo.

To read my two cents on this documentary on religion and some thoughts on the general mood represented by the film (a mood that dominates our religious landscape), click here.

Alan Wolfe on liturgy

"American society is a nonliturgical society, its pace of life too fast, its commitments to individualism too powerful, its treatment of authority too irreverent, and its craving for innovation too intense to tolerate religious practices that call believers to repeat the same word or songs with little room for creative expression" (17)

from Alan Wolfe, The Transformation of American Religion: How We Actually Live Our Faith (New York: Free Press, 2003).

"Calvin Miller on Preaching"

"Calvin Miller can tell stories. Miller, writer in residence and research professor at Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Ala., has the ability to make grown adults feel like children captivated at story time. And his hearers are captivated, not because they are listening to children’s stories, but because they perceive a richness and depth to the story; one senses that within Miller’s narratives are profound truths capable of plumbing the depths of human experience.

Not surprisingly, Miller advocated at the 2009 annual meeting of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma narrative preaching, that is, story-like preaching. After all, this is how the master-teacher, Jesus, taught. Moreover, the preacher’s text is a story. From the opening words of Genesis to the closing words of Revelation, one is presented with the story of God’s redeeming work in the world. Unlike propositional preaching, which preachers often do, Miller believes that narrative preaching sustains the listener’s attention and leaves indelible marks on the listener’s memory."

Read the rest here.

Care Bears and the human condition

Find out here.

HT: Creation Project

"The Religious State of Oklahoma"

The Simpson's evangelical character, Ned Flanders, attended Oral Roberts University in Tulsa. It is a fitting choice given Oklahoma's (and Tulsa's) decidedly evangelical hue. While broad, many have wondered just how deep this evangelical culture is. To read more on this, click here.

"In the Beginning, Grace"

Click here for a good article by Mark Galli on the need for grace to be what animates Christian living.

Southern Baptists and evangelicalism

What is the relationship between Southern Baptists and evangelicals? Are Southern Baptists evangelicals? In Southern Baptist circles, I've often heard Baptists quickly distance themselves from evangelicalism because of the boundaries present there. These Baptists, for example, do not want to be forced into evangelical understanding of the scriptures. These Southern Baptists felt that evangelicalism was too conservative.

Curiously, I have heard evangelicals argue the same point (that Southern Baptists were not evangelicals) but for the opposite reason. Southern Baptists, they believe, fit best in the Fundamentalist, not evangelical, camp. In other words, whereas some Baptists avoid evangelicalism because it is too conservative, some evangelicals believe that Southern Baptists are too conservative (i.e. Fundamentalist) to belong in the evangelical camp.

Is this not odd? I welcome explanations or thoughts on the matter.

You can read more about the relationship between Southern Baptists and evangelicals here.

New website for Baptist Messenger

Check out the new and improved Messenger website here.

Messenger insight podcasts

The Baptist Messenger has made available podcasts here. The first release is a discussion with Chuck Colson and Timothy George.

David F. Wells interview in Boston Globe

Here is a brief interview with David F. Wells, Gordon-Conwell theology professor and author of many books, including No Place for Truth, God in the Wasteland, Losing Our Virtue, Above All Earthly Pow'rs, and The Courage to Be Protestant.

Ed Stetzer on future of denominations

Union University has a solid line-up of speakers addressing the topic of Southern Baptists, Evangelicals and the Future of Denominationalism. Read about Ed Stetzer's address which wonders about the future of denominations here.

Deep Church review

Kevin DeYoung has a helpful review here. The review has even sparked dialogue with the author, Jim Belcher (see the comments section). Belcher says regarding DeYoung's review: "This is by far the most thorough review of my book, both in the overview it provides and the evaluation. It is well written, engaging and helpful, pointing out well the areas you agree and disagree on."

One of the things DeYoung challenges is the uniqueness of Belcher's "third way." This might be true, especially for DeYoung's Reformed background. As even Belcher admits in the book, what he is doing is what Tim Keller has been doing in NYC for two decades. However, for those of the low church, more mainstream evangelical ilk, Belcher's book is arguing for something very unique. (The confusion on this point might be due to Belcher's ill-defined "traditional church" category, another criticism that DeYoung notes--and one that Belcher recognizes as well.). In any case, I recommend both Belcher's book, Deep Church, and DeYoung's review of it.

The Baptist Messenger and the stagnation of a blog

FYI: I am going to be doing some research and writing for the Baptist Messenger. This means that this blog will suffer much neglect. I will, however, continue to link things (which is all I've been doing as of late anyway). If I have an energetic moment (the kind of moment that breathed life into this blog; by the way, notice the energy and frequency that marked the first month of this blog--I couldn't quite keep up) I may try to whip out a post or two.

Media and New Calvinists

Here is the Q&A from the Religious Newswriters Association meeting in Minneapolis. I found it both interesting and helpful.



For more, visit Desiring God.

HT: BTW

While we're at it...

YO JOE!

Battle of the cartoon theme songs

Kevin DeYoung has an exciting (and important) competition brewing. Click here.

On journalism

Are you a journalist that also happens to be a Christian? If so, here is a piece you might be interested in from executive editor of the Baptist Messenger, Douglas E. Baker.

Driscoll discusses idols

Mark Driscoll cruised Seattle with the ABC Nightline crew and discussed idolatry. Here is a post from Driscoll regarding their time together. The interview was for a Nightline series on the Ten Commandments.

HT: J. Dodson

On abortion

There is a helpful piece by Robert P. George in the latest issue of The City; it is taken from his opening comments from the National Press Club in D.C.

Having cited Obama's words at the 2009 Notre Dame commencement, George says:

The President is right. His view regarding the status, dignity, and rights of the child in the womb, and the view shared by Professor Kmiec and myself, are irreconcilable. A chasm separates those of us who believe that every living human being possesses profound, inherent, and equal dignity, and those who, for whatever reasons, deny it. This issue really cannot be fudged, as people sometimes try to do by imagining that there is a dispute about whether it is really a human being who is dismembered in a dilation and curettage abortion, or whose skin is burned off in a saline abortion, or the base of whose skull is pierced and whose brains are sucked out in a dilation and extraction (or "partial birth") abortion. That issue has long been settled--and it was settled not by religion or philosophy, but by the sciences of human embryology and developmental biology.

So it is clear that what divides us as a nation--and what divides Barack Obama, on one side, from Robert George and Douglas Kmiec, on the other--is not whether the being whose life is taken in abortion and in embryo-destructive research is a living individual of the human species--a human being; it is whether all human beings, or only some, possess fundamental dignity and a right to life. ("Obama and Abortion," The City (Summer 2009): 68)

Each group seeks to protect individual rights, and couches their case in "rights" language. The differences lay in how each camp understands those rights. For pro-lifers, individual rights are extended broadly, reaching the unborn. For those on the pro-choice side, individual rights are directed to the mother's right to choose. Pro-choice people do not believe individual rights should be applied to those humans that are unborn and unwanted.

HBU's The City

I have received my second issue of Houston Baptist University's The City, and it has yet to disappoint. The latest issue has a number of particularly thoughtful articles. The journal is reminiscent of the Catholic periodical, First Things.

Subscribe for FREE here.

Get more information on the journal here.

For those considering PhD

I am currently pursuing a PhD in theology. It has been a great and difficult journey (commenting on my studies at this point is like a runner trying to describe his joy for the marathon at the 20th mile; more will come on this when I complete).

A decision to do a PhD is a major commitment on a number of levels. For those considering, here are some sources you may find helpful (these sources, save one, are focusing on PhDs in religion/theology fields):

1) There is a glut of PhDs out there. This means that academic jobs are scarce. This NY Times opinion piece delves into this (and other) problem(s). See here. HT: Taylor Worley

2) Justin Taylor has provided excerpts and a link to Carl Trueman's article in Themelios. See here.

3) Ben Blackwell has done a service to all prospective PhDers at his blog, Dunelm Road. Click here for a link to some of his PhD pointers.

4) Like Ben, Nijay Gupta has a plethora of helpful posts at his blog, including this lengthy essay on the PhD.

Source for Turabian

This morning I found an extremely helpful site for working with Turabian. It is available here via Covenant Seminary.

On publishing

Two blogs that I frequent have devoted some recent posts to publishing:

1) Over at Deyoung, Restless, and Reformed there is: On Getting Published (Part 1), On Getting Published (Part 2) HT: Between Two Worlds

2) Nijay Gupta received a plethora of helpful comments from editors and academics on publishing theses and dissertations from this post. This post may yield some helpful advice as well.

For husbands or prospective husbands

Here is a great sermon from Sam Storms (pastor of Bridgeway Church) on the role of husbands in Christian marriage.

Tim Keller on preaching gospel

Too often 'gospel-centered' preaching simply means the most simplified version of the gospel tacked on to the end of a sermon which serves as a mere obligatory preface to the altar call. And, of course, this gospel message is intended only for nonbelievers; Christians begin to contemplate lunch plans at this point in the sermon. Tim Keller is a master at weaving the gospel into every sermon and exploring the riches and depth of that gospel in a way that grabs nonChristians and nourishes Christians, both young and old.

Here is a helpful video on the topic from Keller:

Tim Keller - Preaching the Gospel from Newfrontiers on Vimeo.

There are other videos at vimeo from the same conference.

The beginning of this session Keller further explains gospel-centered preaching:

Tim Keller - The City from Newfrontiers on Vimeo.

The 72 year-old Grant Study

In 1937 the Grant Study began to track with meticulous detail the lives of sophmore men at Harvard (including a future U.S. president). Since 1937 the study has limped along through wars, dramatic cultural changes, and financial woes that beset the study itself. Through all of the changes and challenges of the past 70 years, the study has persisted, producing a fascinating look at the human life. (Even reading the methodology of the study one gets the feeling that this study emerged during an entirely different era.)

Here is a video that includes comments from the one tracking most closely these lives, Dr. George Vaillant:


For more on the study read Joshua Wolf Shenk's article.

Who is your Jesus?

We are made in the image of God. And yet our temptation is to make God in our own image. It is this temptation that is behind the prevalence of idolatry. An idol, after all, is often a god resembling the human form made by human hands (it is much more than that too; see this video for more on that). This tendency to make (or conceive of) God as being in our own image does not only beset the pagan. Even Christians are tempted to do this. Those Christians that are legalistic-leaning might gravitate to passages stressing God's holiness, righteousness, and judgment. Those Christians that conceive of God as a happy, tail-wagging golden retriever, always looking for an opportunity to love on us, construct their God with passages stressing God's love, grace, and mercy. God is both a judging God and a loving God (see Exodus 34.6-7). In fact, his love is made greater through his righteousness and judgment. That God both loves sinners and is angry with them shatters our preconceived conceptions of God. Both the legalistic Christian and the sentimental Christian are churning out a God of their own design, not one that emerges from scripture (by the way, this is why we are often times stretched and our paradigms shattered by the God presented in scripture).

Not only are we inclined to make God in our own image but we are prone to do something similar with Jesus. Rather than aligning ourselves to Christ and his kingdom agenda, we often find ways to align Christ to ourselves and our own little "kingdom" agendas. Perhaps it is the evangelist that sanitizes sin and tinkers with the work of Jesus in an effort to make the gospel more congruent with contemporary sensibilities, thereby bolstering the popularity of his ministry (i.e., his "kingdom"). Or maybe it is the individual that cavorts with sinners knowing that doing so entangles themselves in a variety of sins yet continues to do so because, after all, Jesus spent time with the sinners. Whatever the variation might be, the temptation is to whittle a Jesus of partial truths, a Jesus that thinks the way we think and shares our own concerns. Kevin DeYoung has done a great job of describing the varieties of Jesuses that spew out of this enterprise. Here are some examples:

There’s the Republican Jesus who is against tax increases and activists judges, for family values and owning firearms.

There’s Democrat Jesus who is against Wall Street and Wal-Mart, for reducing our carbon footprint and printing money.

There’s Starbucks Jesus who drinks fair trade coffee, loves spiritual conversations, drives a hybrid and goes to film festivals.

There’s Open-minded Jesus who loves everyone all the time no matter what, except for people who are not as open-minded as you.

There’s Touchdown Jesus who helps athletes fun faster and jump higher than non-Christians and determines the outcomes of Super Bowls.

Here is DeYoung's conclusion:

And then there’s Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God. Not just another prophet. Not just another Rabbi. Not just another wonder-worker. He was the one they had been waiting for: the Son of David and Abraham’s chosen seed, the one to deliver us from captivity, the goal of the Mosaic law, Yahweh in the flesh, the one to establish God’s reign and rule, the one to heal the sick, give sight to the blind, freedom to the prisoners and proclaim good news to the poor, the lamb of God come to take away the sins of the world.

This Jesus was the Creator come to earth and the beginning of a new creation. He embodied the covenant, fulfilled the commandments, and reversed the curse. This Jesus is the Christ that God spoke of to the serpent, the Christ prefigured to Noah in the flood, the Christ promised to Abraham, the Christ prophesied through Balaam before the Moabites, the Christ guaranteed to Moses before he died, the Christ promised to David when he was king, the Christ revealed to Isaiah as a suffering servant, the Christ predicted through the prophets and prepared for through John the Baptist.

This Christ is not a reflection of the current mood or the projection of our own desires. He is our Lord and God. He is the Father’s Son, Savior of the world, and substitute for our sins–more loving, more holy, and more wonderfully terrifying than we ever thought possible.

Read all of DeYoung's post here.

Jessica Alba vandalizes OKC

I did not realize that Guthrie, OK is the location for the filming of The Killer Inside Me. Looks like the the actors/actresses may have a bit too much time on their hands.

Tim Keller article

Christianity Today has a good story on Tim Keller's NYC ministry.

HT: BTW

Renewing the Evangelical Mission conference

Fall break plans anyone? Gordon-Conwell's Renewing the Evangelical Mission conference, a conference honoring David F. Wells, would be a great option. Enjoy a hefty line-up of scholars amidst beautiful New England fall foliage. Click here for the details.

Twitter narcissistic?

Tweet, tweet: I like this video; entertaining commentary on twitter, and, by extension, the plethora of other Internet-based identity builders/amplifiers (MySpace, blogs, Facebook, etc.)

On cultural engagement

A simple algorithm to explain why cultural engagement is so challenging:

imago dei + Fall = difficulty at engaging culture

For a quick stab of joy...

For a quick stab of joy click here.

Does anyone remember this?

The 1986 movie Rad birthed in me both a love for Kix cereal and BMX racing--not that I ever raced officially (I did have a Dyno that was boss). If you have never seen the movie, allow this scene to whet your appetite:

Collision sneak peak

COLLISION - 13 min VIMEO Exclusive Sneak Peak from Collision Movie on Vimeo.

HT: Between Two Worlds

Big Truths for Young Hearts

About a year ago I mentioned The Big Picture Story Bible as a great children's bible. If parents are looking for another tool to add to their catechetical toolbox there is good news because theologian Bruce Ware has written Big Truths for Young Hearts (available at the end of April). It is a theology book intended for children ages 6-14. The book grew out of bedside conversations with Ware's daughters on matters of theology. Justin Taylor has a good interview with Ware about the book here.

Kathy Ireland on the issue of life

I had no idea that former supermodel Kathy Ireland is a Christian. Hear more about her faith and her lucid comments on abortion in an interview with Mike Huckabee.

HT: BTW

On time

We might be the most time-conscious people ever. Perhaps the biggest factor in our acute awareness of time is the omnipresent clock. Everywhere we turn there are a variety of time-keeping devices (cell phones, watches, computers, bank marquees, etc.) that precisely measure away the day. Time tumbles on and we often navigate our day like Jack Bauer feeling the punch of each second gone.

Yet for all our fretting over time (or a lack of it) we have never had more ways to waste it. We have a plethora of time-saving technologies that provide opportunity to use even more time-wasting technologies. Our time is often absorbed by temporal pursuits rather than eternal ones. Time is too precious and the world throbs too intensely for us to watch the sands of time sink.

Not only can we waste away the present with frivolous pursuits, but there is also the temptation to live in times past. Nostalgia adds a satin finish to reality. Our mind, fueled with reminders of the past (music and scent being the most potent), busily reconstructs the past, churning out glistening gold memories. It is a temptation to bask in these memories, forgetting the needs of the moment.

There is the opposite temptation that exists as well. Instead of living in the past, we might long for the future, always chasing the next dream. Perhaps it is pursuing the next degree or job. Maybe we long for the next place of residence. Our hearts reside in what lies ahead, failing to recognize the needs of the moment.

So what are the needs of the moment?

Jesus has entered this world and dragged heaven down with him. Eternity has pierced the present with the coming of Christ's kingdom. Time needs to be redeemed because there is only so much of it; time had a beginning and it will have an end. Not only is time limited, but we don't even know how limited it is! In the meantime, what needs to be done with whatever time is left is the building up of Christ's kingdom.

Christopher Hitchens/Douglas Wilson debate

Here is a preview:



And another:



HT: Creation Project

Pastor houses child killer

Read about it at Creation Project. Well worth the reading.

Open-mindedness

Certain words encapsulate the zeitgeist of a culture. Recently, Kevin DeYoung has done a nice job of unpacking two of these words, dialogue and inclusion. Here is another: open-mindedness. This word, particularly with regard to spiritual matters, expresses one of our culture's great virtues. If by open-mindedness one means a willingness to listen to those with whom we disagree or to thoughtfully engage with ideas at variance with our own, then I'm on board; open-mindedness is a fine thing. But typically when the term open-mindedness is tossed around it refers to a perennial suspension of judgment or an unwillingness to reach a conclusion or closure. The open-minded spiritual person is always searching, never finding. To have found, after all, implies in some sense a closure of the mind; options have been eliminated through some sort of sifting process which means our mind has narrowed, or closed.

Regarding this term, G.K. Chesterton offers a punchy comparison, saying, 'an open-mind is like an open mouth. It's only good if it chomps down on something solid.'

(Does anyone know where this quote can be found? Thankfully, my mind clamped, or closed, on the quote, and I am reciting it from memory which means it is probably not exact.)

A telling tale of the power of grace and forgiveness

Watch CBS Videos Online

ESV Study Bible and the interpretive task

Click here for Jonathan Dodson's word on interpreting scripture.

Joni Eareckson Tada on Suffering

HT: Between Two Worlds

Man with a hammer.../Man with a TiVo...

Typically, Christians are hawks when it comes to spotting the content of shows, movies, music, and other entertainments flowing from the steady stream of popular culture. The vehicle, or form, that transports such content (e.g. television, radio, computer, etc), however, tends to be overlooked. Cognizance of the form is perhaps just as important, maybe even more important given its insidious nature. As Marshall McLuhan famously said, "the medium is the message". In other words, the vehicles which supply our music, stories, and shows are teachers as well, conveying their own set of messages. Not just Desperate Housewives or 24, but television itself shapes our individual and corporate consciousnesses in profound ways.

Shedding light on the matter, sociologist Peter Berger explains the way society or culture impacts us, both corporately and individually, by employing a three-pronged dialectic: externalization, objectivation, and internalization. For Berger, externalization is the process whereby individuals create through both mental and physical labor. Having been created, things become distinct from the producer and begin to take on a life of their own (objectivation). It is at this point that they are used by individuals and begin to force their logic on the user (internalization)(for more on this see Berger's The Sacred Canopy). The thing produced has a way of shaping the user's mind. Someone has said that to a man with a hammer, everything becomes a nail. This gets at the idea. The tools we use shape the way we think. Here is another example: I have a TiVo which I love. Fast-forwarding and rewinding are my most proficient skills. Oddly enough, I often find myself wanting to rewind reality now that I have a become a sharpshooter with the remote (too much TV?). This is just one example of the way our tools (be it hammer or TiVo) impact our consciousness.

So what do we do with this? I think it is helpful in diagnosing problems we might otherwise overlook. For example, a content-only Christian mind might be elated that pornography is in no way included in his web-surfing; he's occupied with other, safer waves. What is neglected, though, is the massive amount of time spent on the web and the impact this has on his mental habits. Perhaps the disjointed nature of the web is creating difficulty in maintaining long, sustained meditation or reflection on a particular subject. David Lyon has said that the Internet’s openness and fluidity erodes authority structures because "it knows no priorities, respects no precedents, promotes no principles" (Jesus in Disneyland, 67). Maybe the Internet has bolstered his sense of autonomy, empowerment, and self-sufficiency by undermining any outside authority. This would impact the way he relates to God and neighbor. Finally, the Internet's bias toward efficient communication could conceivably hamper his non-web-based communication. His mind, saturated by the web, might be producing soggy communication and words.

This is not to say that the Internet should be avoided altogether (this is a blog after all). What I am suggesting is that Christian critique and concern extend beyond content to include form as well.

In addition to the books mentioned above, another book that has helped me on this issue is All God's Children and Blue Suede Shoes, by Ken Myers.

Sin, a parasite

"Everything sin touches begins to die, but we do not focus on that. We see only the vitality of the parasite, glowing with stolen life." (from Not the Way It's Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin, by Cornelius Plantinga, Jr., 95)

"Blazing" pencils and God's grace

Gordon-Conwell New Testament professor, Sean McDonough, in classic McDonough fashion, describes what "blazing" pencils can teach us about grace and sanctification. Read here.

I will never look at a No. 2 in the same way.

Mark Driscoll on Nightline

Here is Nightline's story on Mark Driscoll.

HT: Between Two Worlds

On sexual perversion

The NY Times recently reviewed Daniel Bergner's The Other Side of Desire, a book based on a series of conversations and interviews with the sexually perverted--although the book questions calling them perverted, and that is precisely the problem Douglas Groothuis has with the book and the review. Click here for Groothuis's analysis of the situation.

His conclusion:

America and the West is becoming increasingly perverted--and increasingly unable to even consider the category of moral perversion against any objective and God-given standard. We should have compassion for those twisted by abnormal desires and those defaced by aberrant behavior. They are made in God's image and should receive our love and concern. But we cannot bless the thing that perverts and pervades our culture: everything is relative; you cannot judge; you cannot offer objective, moral truth. May God have mercy on us and renew us again.

A convergence of contradictions: Obama's inauguration

Below I argued that the celebration of MLK Day and the anniversary of Roe v Wade in the very same week is ironic. Why? Because each day underscores America's difficulty to understand what exactly a human is. Whereas MLK Day trumpets progress, Roe v. Wade bellows regress. Our criteria for denying humanness has shifted from race to visibility, viability, and desirability.

Interestingly, these two days, MLK Day and Roe v Wade (Jan 22), are bridged by the inauguration of Barack Obama. This seems more than just happenstance, for the bundle of contradictions that these two days represent converge poignantly in the person of Barack Obama. On the one hand, Obama radiates the successes celebrated on MLK Day. Regardless of one's politics, Obama's inauguration is a monumental moment in American history. Tuesday will act as a reverberating echo of Monday's celebration. And yet, on the other hand, Obama's radical pro-abortion stance is a sobering reminder of the confusion that still remains.

What exactly is a human?

Putting aside the question of human nature (see below or here), there is an even more foundational question to ponder: what exactly is a human? It is a question this country has struggled to answer and two days next week underscore that struggle.

Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a day celebrating the steps made in racial equality. For much of our history blacks were not considered human but mere chattel property. The election of Barack Obama is a shining example of how far America has come in the race department.

Three days later will be the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision which legalized abortion. Whereas skin tone decided whether or not one was human for the first two-hundred years of American history, now it a different set of factors. Here are three: visibility, viability, and desirability.

1) Can we see you? (visibility)

2) Can you survive outside your mother's womb? (viability)

3) Do your parents choose you? (desirability)

If not, then "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" do not apply.

That these two days fall in the same week is a curious irony. One day celebrates a step in the right direction, the other day is a reminder that we still arbitrarily deny humanness to those we deem different. What is consistent in both cases is this: If there is power to be gained, the powerful will trample the helpless for gain. In the case of slavery, blacks were exploited for the purpose of personal wealth. In the case of abortion, unborn humans are killed for the purpose of personal autonomy.

(additional note: I do not want to be blithe about the trauma that accompanies women considering abortion. Those of us opposing abortion must lovingly apply the same concern for the unborn to their hurting mothers.)

Of note

1. Is viewing porn adultery? Ross Douthat explores the question here.

2. Click here for a story on the edgy and orthodox Mark Driscoll in the NY Times. (HT: BTW)

3. Douglas Groothuis lecture on natural law.

A Perplexing Conundrum

Humans have tended to vacillate on what exactly our condition is.

Are we, humans, good or bad? Beautiful or ugly? Whole or broken?

Alan Jacobs's Original Sin tracks thinking on these questions by looking at the acceptance and resistance to the notion of original sin, a doctrine with profound implications. A ways into the book Jacobs says,

Our story so far has inscribed a clear pattern. From time to time in Western history, a vision of the greatness of human moral potential emerges or arises, only to find an immediate counter in an equally potent and vivid picture of human bondage to the sin we all inherit from Adam. (127)

And later Jacobs writes, "A Pelagius rises up only to be met by an Augustine" (128).

That we so easily flounder between these different views of humanity is interesting. The intrinsic worth, value, and beauty of the human makes it hard to believe that we are hideous rebels, inciting the wrath of holy God. And yet, on the other hand, hideous rebels we are! All of our actions are tethered tightly to our own self-absorbed hearts; we crush the weak, schmooze the strong. Even our "good" deeds are often done with an eye to self-glory.

Given the plausibility of either view, does not the biblical account give us the most robust explanation for this conundrum? We are the climax of God's creative work as described in Genesis, beings created in the image of God. And yet we are severely marred, a tragedy described in the biblical account of the Fall.

D. A. Carson interview

Recently, Mark Driscoll interviewed D. A. Carson. Having read several books by Carson, it was good to learn more about the person himself. Also, drawing upon his dad, Carson mentions some of the "sins of old men," sins which also happen to beset younger men. All in all, a good interview.

For some reason I could not embed the video. Find the interview here.

HT: Between Two Worlds

"Beyond Our Differences"

Bill Moyers Journal aired a documentary on religion entitled "Beyond Our Differences." The film operated from the assumption that all religions have a large degree of commonality and, therefore, we must move "beyond our differences." This religious pluralism is widespread and it is assumed to be the more hospitable approach to religion in a religiously diverse context, particularly given the recent (and not so recent) violence done in the name of religion. In fact, the film was largely a response to this violence.

In the film, Deepak Chopra calls "dogma" and "ideology" the great problems for religion (never mind that this is a dogma itself). These dogmas and ideologies lead to the divisive "my-God-is-better-than-your-God" sort of thinking, says Chopra. At a glance, Chopra's familiar refrain sounds open-minded, peace-inducing, and humble. But there are problems. For starters, all interviewees shared Chopra's assumption on religion. The film did not contain one interviewee who was at variance with Chopra's pluralistic impulse. Sure, there were a range of religions represented (Buddhists, Muslims, Christians, Jews, etc.) but all the adherents were operating from assumptions similar to Chopra. Despite the appearance of diversity, the interviewees were glaringly homogeneous in their religious pluralism. As a result, a significant portion of religious adherents, namely, those believing in some sort of exclusive religious claims, were cut-off from the conversation. A more fruitful discussion would have included religious practitioners that do not presuppose that there are a number of valid paths (Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Sikhism, etc.) to the divine.

Even worse, though, is the religious imperialism inherent in the film. Not only were those maintaining exclusive claims about religion not allowed a voice in the conversation but their views end up being revised by Chopra and others in the film. In the film's relentless effort to maintain religious inclusiveness, it ends up importing its own faith assumptions into the various religions represented. In the film Christianity, for example, is said to be a religion that is just as valid as Buddhism. Many Christians disagree, and for good reasons! To completely neglect those reasons and represent Christianity in this manner is to invade and exploit Christianity to serve one's own idea of what God is like. At the very least, those maintaining more exclusive faith positions are less inclined to tinker with other religions in order to make them fit their preconceived understandings of the divine.

In the end, the film fails to get "beyond our differences" for two interrelated reasons. First, the film stifled diversity because of the homogeneity of the interviewees; they all shared the religious pluralistic inclination. Second, because of the interviewees presuppositional pluralism the film glossed over crucial doctrinal differences between the world's faiths. As a result, any "differences" discussed in the film remained superficial.

The issues discussed in this film are important for Christians to grapple with. With regards to religious pluralism, I have been helped by Tim Keller, Lesslie Newbigin, and Tim Tennent. Also helpful is Stand to Reason. Finally, I have dealt with how our cultural context makes it difficult to maintain the exclusivity of Jesus in a previous post.