Cornel West on American Christianity and Democracy Matters

This past week I have been reading Cornel West’s Democracy Matters, which for the most part has been an insightful read on the contemporary situation of American democracy. In one chapter, West looks at the face of American Christianity and declares that as Christians we have often capitulated to imperialism and nihilism, opting for power and wealth when we were really called to be humble and just. West calls this Constantinian Christianity, in reference to the wedding of empire and Christianity in the fourth century A.D. I have included below a direct quote from this author that I think offers some hard truths that we need to recognize about ourselves (as Christians):

“Power, might, size, status, and material possessions- all paraphernalia of the nihilism of the American empire- became major themes of American Christianity. It now sometimes seems that all Christians speak in one voice when in fact it is only that the loudness of the Constantinian element of American Christianity has so totally drowned out the prophetic voices. Imperial Christianity, market spirituality, money-obsessed churches, gospels of prosperity, prayers of let’s-make-a-deal with God or help me turn my wheel of fortune have become the prevailing voice of American Christianity. In this version of Christianity the precious blood at the foot of the cross becomes mere Kool-Aid to refresh eager upwardly mobile aspirants in the nihilistic American game of power and might. And there is hardly a word about social justice, resistance to institutional evil, or courage to confront the powers that be- with the glaring exception of abortion.” (pg. 167)

West also includes a brief sketch of contemporary views on how the church should engage in public discourse. In opposition to theologians like Stanley Hauerwas and John Milbank, whose position is that the church should generally stay out of the discourse and be prophetic by being a counterculture, West believes that Christians should contribute and guide the discourse by taking a stance of being-in but not-of the secular world. West points directly to Martin Luther King, JR. as someone who positioned himself in the public world but did not compromise his prophetic identity. Some really good points here, but sometimes West gets disjointed in presenting his points. Overall a good read though.

Where has Atticus Finch gone?

This past week I have been rereading To Kill a Mockingbird, probably one of my favorite books of all time. It is a classic story told from the perspective of Scout Finch of Maycomb, Alabama. She is daughter of lawyer Atticus Finch, one of the most respected figures of the small town but also the most controversial. If you are familiar with the story, you know that Atticus takes on a case that is hotly debated in his time, choosing to defend an African American man accused of raping a young white woman.

Throughout the book we get small glimpses into the life of Atticus. He is relatively simple, conveying wisdom to his children concerning things such as decency and not retaliating in response to wrongdoing, imploring them to be peaceful to other people and to “walk in their skin” instead of judging them. He is quiet-natured, a true gentleman, and asks simply for people to respect each other. He never yells at his children, nor does he become indignant when they are clearly defying him. He gently corrects them, and tries to hear them out before taking action. With his peers, he is always polite but not indifferent, he challenges the perceptions of those around him but never condescends them. He speaks about trying to have a clear conscience, about choosing what is right over what is comfortable. Atticus is a rare character, he is not without his flaws, and yet he is a witness to the fact that humans can truly transcend the natures that often pull them down into mediocrity and sluggishness. He is the mockingbird that sings a beautiful song to the rest of us listening.

I remember first watching the film starring Gregory Peck and being in awe of Atticus. He was such a mystery, and at the same time there was nothing intimidating about him. He simply chose to do the right thing, to live with a free conscience and be an example to his children and to his town. Often when I think about the figure of Christ, I am reminded of Atticus andof his conduct, of his gentleness equaled with his ability to transform. Our culture is void of these characters, both in fiction and in nonfiction, on print and in reality. Where has Atticus Finch gone in our culture? Where have the gentlemen gone? How do we begin to reclaim that character in this culture?

Brueggemann on Rethinking Church Models

Here is an article I found today that was written by Walter Brueggemann sixteen years ago for Theology Today. Basically, he challenges the church’s traditional view on church models and counteracts our stereotypes by exposing other “models” found in the Old Testament that can serve as a guide for our present situation. There are some key insights here into the areas of imagination, memory, hope, and being formed by the biblical text. Take a look and tell me what you think…

The Irresistible Revolving Door

 

Before I get into today’s material, I would just like to plug a special place here in Tulsa. Today, I am writing from The Coffee House on Cherry Street, probably my favorite place to hang out and write. There is always a great feel to the place, people conversing about whatever, using wi-fi, drinking their vanilla bullshits (as Larry David describes it). It’s a wonderful environment or aspiring writers, and for those who have writer’s block! I am currently eating the best cheesecake I have had in my life! So, help these guys out and come visit some time, maybe you’ll see me and we can chat in person instead of online. Okay here we go…

Over the last few days I have spent some time in Shane Claiborne’s book The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical. I wanted to share a few thoughts with you today on the book. I am about half way through, so I will probably post a second review when I have finished it. So far it is a good read, Claiborne is not the best writer, but I don’t think it is his prose that he is trying to win you over with. What he can do well is invite his readers on a journey through his life, pointing out the people and events that have shaped him and have guided him to where he is now. Plus, he introduces key figures along the way, the many people who have influenced him such as Momma T (Mother Theresa), Tony Campolo, and Rich Mullins. But it is not just the more well-known people that figure into his life. It is also the homeless, the poor kids playing in the street, the lepers that have shown him Christ in new, transforming ways. Claiborne is going to show you that Jesus is found on the streets of Philly, in Calcutta, in the leper colonies.

I hesitate to give a full review of what I have read thus far, because what I would really like to see is people read this book for themselves and if they want they can post some thoughts on this blog. If you have read it, please tell me what you thought, what held you and stopped you in your tracks. Or maybe what you think should’ve been added? Anything you want to contribute, please do.

Now, I will give some thoughts on some things I have really enjoyed so far. For one, I think Claiborne tackles something that I think needed to be addressed, and that is cynicism. “…cynicism takes very little energy” (pg. 100). I know that at times it seems like there is much to be dreadful about: our own personal situations, war and poverty, drugs, and crimes and diseases that seem to plague us at all times. However, Shane Claiborne refuses to let that bog us down, and he argues that it is the prayer of Jesus that keeps us going: “Your kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven”. That reality that continues to be inaugurated in our own lifetime should prompt us to act accordingly, to live as if that kingdom is waiting to burst forth upon us at anytime. It is easy to be cynical, but it is harder and yet more fruitful to live as kingdom builders.

Secondly, I admire his affirmation of the church. Not the empirical church or the divided church, but the only holy, catholic church. Going along with the first point, Claiborne says it is easy to dissect the church and discriminate against her, but it is a much tougher job to actually try and be the church. The church will always need to be checked and balanced out, but we need more people who are willing to dream and build a better church than rail against her.

Finally, I love his focus on relationality as it is formed whenever we truly seek justice. “We can admire and worship Jesus without doing what he did. We can applaud what he preached and stood for without caring about the same things. We can adore his cross without taking up ours. I had come to see that the great tragedy in the church is not that rich Christians do not care for the poor but that rich Christians do not know the poor” (pg. 113). Also he adds later, “Charity wins awards and applause, but joining the poor gets you killed” (129). We don’t know the poor like we should, we may give a lot of money or lend our voice every once in awhile, but we do not consider the poor our friends. I appreciate what Claiborne is saying here, even when it tears at my own character.

And this is where I conclude my review, with an confession that often these revolutionary ideas inspire me and change me for a moment, but often times I get stuck in a rut and fall back into old habits and thinking. I fail so miserably at knowing the poor, giving my life to them and calling them friends. Often its not a revolution, but a revolving door that I continually step into, moments of passion and drive, countered with complacency and laziness. My prayer is that God can continue to shape me and form me in ways that call me out of my comfort, that challenge me to live for the kingdom and not for myself.

Grace and peace

 D

Is Emergent Biblical?

I just got done reading this review of the book An Emergent Manifesto of Hope over at Open Source Theology. If you are familiar with the recently released book or if you are interested in its content, this review is very insightful and highlights something that I think needs to be addressed concerning the emergent church. The author basically questions whether those who are leaders in the emergent church can argue their points biblically. I have long thought about this very issue, because for awhile now I have read blogs, articles, and books on the emergent church and by its leaders and have questioned their ability to construct an argument based on the biblical narrative. Now, lets get some things straight before moving on. I think that they do speak a lot about the biblical narrative forming their views on such topics as grace, the kingdom of God, and social justice. However, this is not always defended by using actual texts and letting it frame their points. Also, as much as I believe emergent has opened up discussion in new ways, it has also silenced some things that are very good, such as doctrines like salvation and atonement among others. This review offers a good critique but also supports the book in a way that gives a balanced view of things as they are. Personally, I am tired of so-called “outsiders” criticizing the emergent movement, and I hope more people like Scot McKnight and others will give some “critique from within” that is needed. It was the writings of Brian McLaren and others that helped me embrace a form of Christianity that I could relate to, I just hope that he and others can give an account for their beliefs based on biblical themes.

 Tell me what you guys think…

Blog Silence

The last couple of weeks have been very busy for me and I finally have a break this week from it all. It has been frustrating not being able to sit down and write anything much less blog so I this week I should have a few posts coming  us. I hope you all have been doing well and I look forward to hearing from you.

And something to keep you busy while I write: Here is a photo that I viewed at CIVA that I have linked to here. This picture is captivating to me, don’t really know why. What do you think about it?

Talk to you soon…

The Ringing Bell

For the record, I am pretty much skeptical of what most call “Christian music”. I find it to be relatively flat in content and narrow in how it articulates spirituality. Mark Driscoll calls it singing prom songs to Jesus, and often one gets the feeling that Christian music is like contemporary political rhetoric, using a particular set of words repetitively as to coerce one into thinking along the same lines. To me there is usually nothing challenging about politicians nor Christian music, and neither one seems very honest most of the time. Sure, there are moments when the listener can find something to resonate with, but overall it doesn’t quite connect ( at least not with me). 

All this to say that recently I have come across a few artists who would call themselves Christians, but do not fit the mold of what we would usually think of about Christian music. These musicians are independent artists such as Sufjan Stevens, Denison Witmer, Rosie Thomas, and my favorite Derek Webb. In my opinion, Webb is one of the most honest musicians I have ever heard, and many of his songs deal with his own frustrations and his own thoughts on all things political, spiritual, and social. His last album was called Mockingbird, and discussed issues of poverty, affluence, social justice, and ethics. I don’t hear too many musicians talk about these issues and approach it from a Christian standpoint. It is refreshing for me to hear these things, and at the same time it creates a pause in me because it forces me to reflect on my own inaction, my own complacency on these issues, and how what I believe doesn’t always mean that I live it out.

 

Yesterday, Webb released his fourth studio album, The Ringing Bell. Overall the theme is about peace, about how there is a responsibility for Christ-followers to embody peace in a world that is at war. In our culture particularly, there are many who want to point fingers and place blame on who is responsible for war, and I believe there are those who should take some of the brunt of that responsibility, but I also know that I am a violent person myself and the message of peace is something I need to hear and embody in my life to those around me. What if instead of blaming others, instead of our futile attempts at power and exclusion, we longed for and engaged in peace? I hope you would check out Webb’s new album, or just ask me and I’ll let you borrow it. Or just help out an honest musician trying to make a difference…

Trust

Trust has been a huge issue my entire life. In my relationships I often fail to feel secure, to attain a level of intimacy in which I feel truly free to be myself and to be authentic in the things I express to others. Perhaps the metaphor of the circus is appropriate, for often I feel that I must present and showcase the things that will somehow make me worthy of affection and acceptance. Really the issue is about control and management, I want others to conform to my expectations, to act accordingly with how I see fit.

Somehow the way I view relationships, whether they be with God or other people, mirrors Israel’s tendency for idolatry as portrayed in the Hebrew scriptures. It is so easy to perform for idols, to placate them and present them with burnt offerings, and often this comes through in my life by the ways I attempt to offer things from myself that will somehow manipulate the way others treat me and look upon me. But the thing that you realize, however painfully and slowly, is that people do not make very good idols. They won’t bend to your will at all times, they will also fail you and not always give the way you would desire them to. God is even worse, because all though people will often act favorably if you give to them often regardless of your intentions, God does not play by the rules. I can’t give anything to him that is not already his, I can’t sacrifice what is not mine. So what the hell do you do with that? Even if I just present myself, and I am a created being, then I have nothing at all to offer. This is where I am most troubled and also hope to be the most at peace. I guess what it comes down to is that I must open myself in trust, to simply receive what God is willing to give.

This isn’t a very profound post, but sometimes the simple things can be the most moving. I just needed to share that with somebody. Peace…

The Battery’s Dead

I remain transparent, open to your suggestions.

Unable to resist, and longing for an abrupt shift. A shift in being.

If you could only heed the call, but I refrain. For I want you to make the first move,

to see you slide your foot across the ground and view its movement, to see the impression that is made.

I wish for your connection, to feel the static between us and to witness the sparks as they fly.

But nothing is created. The battery’s dead.

 

Weekend of Over-Stimulation

This past weekend I got to hang out with some good friends for my friend Matt’s bachelor party. We traveled down to Irving, TX and hung out in Ft. Worth (which in my opinion is one of the coolest cities around) and Dallas. I will not go into the details of the weekend but I will say that it was really fun, though we did so much that I feel I must detox over the next couple of days by simply doing nothing! Here are some highlights:

The Flying Saucer (great bar that has Fat Tire!)

Four Day Weekend, which is an improvisational comedy group that is absolutely hilarious, I left with a headache because I was laughing so much!

Milk Chug 2007! My friend has attempted it four times now, and each time ends up with him puking! He finally made it to the trash can this time. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, check out The Gallon Challenge.

Chipotle. After hearing my friend Eric rave about this place for years and being skeptical of the hype, I must now confess that Chipotle is awesome.

Dave and Buster’s. Way too much time spent playing skee-ball and basketball. When your arms start to hurt from shooting the little basketballs so many times, that is a sign that you have gone too far.

Speed Zone, go-carts galore!

Not a highlight but definately noteworthy: a sprained ankle for yours truly. My foot found a pothole while I was chasing a football, the result was not pretty…

Oh well, it was a great weekend and I am definately over-stimulated! Hope your weekend was just as fun…