More than enough evidence (some think) of the intellectual, moral and theological hole which has become American evangelical Christianity…
It’s no wonder people decide to become Catholics.
Seriously though, it’s a humor blog run by a Christian poking fun of all the religious stupity that Christians and nonChristians do. Enjoy.
I like to start out my days/weeks/months with lists, and I’m sure you’ll see many more of these things from me on this blog. Back to the point, here’s what I had to do today to at least “feel” productive
I did manage to get them all done, and then some. Of course, given how oddly focused and unfocused I can be sometimes, I completely forgot to bathe earlier.
My parents are the sorts that see getting out of bed after 9 as a sign of laziness, and showering in the afternoon as indicative of sloth. Now, as far as I can tell, it’s merely the act that one is rising after 9 or bathing after 12, not any of the attitudes that could be energizing those actions. But I guess that’s a failure of the human condition.
We’re always taught to look on the outside, and with good reason, ones external actions have the most effect on others, that we sometimes just toss away any sort of effort to examine a person’s motivations and attitudes, to try to get to the heart of their own story.
Jesus did say that out of a person’s heart comes everything that defiles, and that you can tell a tree by its fruit, so there is a rationale for being so keen on what we see and experience directly. But he also was known to his contemporaries as a “friend of sinners,” a drunk and a glutton as well; observations that came only with looking at the outside without bothering to see His story.
That is a constant frustration being here with my parents again. But I guess it’s more impetus for me to get going and make the most of these opportunities I’ve been scouting out as well.
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply! Fill the earth, take care of it, harness its potential and use its resources for your benefit.”
Genesis 1.28 paraphrased
Things like commerce and economics, art and science, technology and agriculture are all expressions of human creativity and resourcefulness. Traits like these in us that reflect God and who He is. When those who bear God’s Image get together with other Image Bearers, the result is civilization, ingenuity and a variety of ideas. It’s because we have dominion over Creation that we can do this. In fact, it’s pretty much expected that people do this.
Of course, fallenness and sin come in and contaminate everything and all we’re left with are poor, distorted reflections even in the best of human achievement. I fully expect that in the New Earth, without the obstacles that sin and death present to advancement, we’ll fully see the fullest and eternal fruits of all human civilizations in ever expanding and ever deepening ways all centered on the glory of Jesus Christ.
It seems that my sleep schedule has been normalizing in recent days. But, at the same time, I’m almost always completely tired by late afternoon. It’s like I’m being forced away from my night owl inclinations, wretched into a direction of daytime activity, that while not bad in itself, is not really welcome either. Oh well, I’ll deal with it.
This morning, I was listening to the radio and the speaker was making a point that because we’ve moved away from words (“typology” he put it), favoring a quick succession of flashing images, like that of television or the internet, we as a cultural have largely stopped thinking, and have stopped thinking for ourselves. A good texts draws out the best of human cognitive abilities – critical thinking, idea synthesis, comparing and contrasting ideas, and a lot more. He brought up the point that only two hundred years ago, it was not not unheard of for presidential debates in the United States to last six or eight hours. Eight hours of back and forth discussion on the issues that the audience would not just sit through, but actually listen and participate all the way through. Nowadays, it’s difficult to even imagine a debate lasting more than two hours.
I have noticed that my own attention span has been steadily declining since my college days. I like the disciple of concentration and focus, but I seem to have swallowed the pill, so to speak, and joined with the flow. Perhaps that’s why I want to fall in love again with books. The internet introduced the world to huge amounts of information, more than we can absorb or process in any real fashion. I think it’s time we try to step back and learn to read again. Not merely, the short “sound bytes” of information that’s thrown at us every time we click a link, but real, in depth reading that forces us to flex our mental capacities and to think. Not just snacking on articles or the blog buffet, but spending time in enjoying a full meal of literature – fiction and non fiction.
So to that end, I think I’ll start diving into some of the books I got for Christmas. It should be enlightening if nothing else. I don’t expect to regain my focus overnight, but every little step counts.
I’m in a very small minority.
Not only am I, Arthur Vinson, an African American, I am very much a Calvinist – though I suppose the nuances of my person theology and belief are more Reformed than strictly Calvinist. Then again, one of the charges that I’ve heard pitted against Reformed thought is that it and its practicioners are “too logical,” so I suppose I should work against the stereotype by not over thinking every little detail.
Of course, why does this put me in a minority? Christians with a heritage resulting from the African slave trade tend toward more Charismatic and Pentecostal branches of Christian tradition, branches that grew out of the theologies of John Wesley and the Methodist church. These systems of theology are the polar opposite of Calvinist thought. Now, let me go on record for saying that love Wesley very much, but I’ve never seen his objections answered in a way that makes much sense to me in the context of Scripture. The South is also somewhat sparse in its offerings of explicitly Reformed churches (though I’m happy to say that I have found that there are plenty of Christian bodies that implicitly Calvinistic.) Continue reading
Happy New Year! Since my first hours of the first day of 2012 were rather fun and full, I’m hoping the rest of the year follows suit.
I have a tradition of “giving gifts” to myself for the new year instead of making resolutions. Why “give gifts”? Well, I had a friend some years back who explained that instead of setting a hard fast resolution every year, he found it much more motivating to give a gift, even if that gift is to oneself. A resolution can tower over you ready to smack you down with guilt if (or when) you fail to follow through. A gift may have the same expectations for you, but is understanding if things don’t come together exactly right. It’s a gift after all, something that should be happily received instead of fearfully undertaken.
It’s very much like the law and the gospel now that I think about it. Of course, that is a whole other set of blog posts.
So what do I plan on giving myself this year? In no particular order…
A bookshelf. Within the first two or three weeks of 2012, I want to compile a book list. What I plan on doing is starting with my Amazon wishlist and going through my own set of books, both fiction and nonfiction, until I have about fifty books. The year 2012 will be one full of words as I’ll be trying to read about one book every week. It’s been said that who a person is consists of the people he’s met and the books he’s read.
A printing press. Whether or not I have a widespread readership, I am a writer. However, I do want to be able to finally see my words in print and on sale. It’s one of many longstanding goals that I’ve not followed through with yet. But even though getting published is “easy” – self-publishing is all the rage apparently – I want to be a quality writer. Even if I get a novel written in a week, just how good would that be? So wrapped up in this gift is the expectation that I need to get more skilled in writing, to learn more about the industry and to seek out help with marketing. In other words, putting myself to task on many objectives that already have reached.
A weight set. I’ve always been embarrassed with my fascination with bodybuilding as a hobby, so this particular gift, starting weight training, will perhaps be more difficult to accept. It’s been a full 18 years I first resolved to start working out, not just for health reasons either, but that I want to look better as well. I’m tired of being so skinny and not having much bodily strength. The discipline involved with all athletic pursuits is very inspiring, and I would hope that I could learn more about myself while trying to mold myself into something better.
Real estate. Though not a part of the American dream per se, house ownership has been used to represent the fulfillment of the dream. I want to buy a house to rent out, learning the details of the real estate industry as a way of starting the first steps toward long-term goal of mine: intentional community. The additional income and the new skills that would come with learning how to maintain the property would definitely be an advantage.
Text books. Yes, more books. But these books represent my push toward self-study in 2012. I’m going to pick up my Latin studies again. However, I also need to put together a list of other academic fields to self study. Also in this gift is the expectation that I will tangibly begin formal Christian training.
Typewriter. I’m a writer, of course. But the best way to be a better writer is to actually write. Unfortunately that’s been something I’ve been slacking on for reasons both legitimate and not. The gift is for at least 500 to 750 words daily, in addition to blogging three to four times a week. I already have no less than three personal projects that need work on that should have already been keeping my fingers and my muse busy for months.
Bible and Scripture commentaries. Simply, I want to get to know God better, and I’ve let this particular relationship, the most important relationship, slip in recent months. It’s more than just theological knowledge and orthodoxy, but connecting with my spiritual community, learning to love and serve them, and learning to be loved by God through them.
Ferret cage. This would be an actual gift to myself as well as a figurative one. It’s been so many years since I’ve had pets and I’d feel so happy to be able to take care of rats and ferrets again. Of course, this gift does mean more than just the animals, but the infrastructure to take care of them. So if I want to have pets this year, I’ll need to scout out a good veterinarian as well as have the income to support medical care costs and food, as well as the capacity to deal with the daily sort of expenses in time and energy that pets require.
Greenhouse. Productivity in all things that I attempt is, of course, a great gift to receive and an even better one to use. Procrastination steals time away from the more important tasks in life.
Lion and Doggy plushies. I’ve found myself becoming more and more of a coward in recent years. Even though I may have convictions that I feel strongly about, I don’t have the wherewithal to make them known, or to do things that would make a stand one way or another. In other words, making whatever convictions I say to have somewhat hypocritical at best. Even though I do like rats and ferrets, the lion and the dog have been symbols of courage and loyalty for a long while. To banish cowardice, you need to engage with love. Love will do difficult things for the good of the loved one if it has to. Courage and loyalty are simply love made manifest in ways that oppose cowardice.
When compiling this list, I managed to see a common theme of “dedication” or discipline. This year, I plan on persevering where I’ve allowed myself to drop the ball earlier. It’s just a matter of seeing what I can do differently, what I can do to follow through, and what I can do to hold fast when I don’t want to.
It’s a week into December, so I figured it would be alright to talk about Christmas. Every year, I try to send out cookies and cards to my friends who say they want them. So if you want a Christmas card from me, just send me an email with your address so I can get them sent out by this weekend. Let me know if you want me to send cookies a well. I love sending things through the mail; maybe because my father has worked in the Postal Service for the last 15 or so years, or maybe because there is still a happy thrill (a Christmas thrill!) of getting a package in the mail. And I want to share that sort of excitement with my friend and family.
So what’s on my Christmas list this year? Well, it has a mix of utility, education and entertainment – much like my lists every year.
In the end though, I understand that my gift requests are somewhat expensive and therefore, probably not very likely. (I suppose that given the general price tag, they could seem rather selfish too.)
Tangible gifts are fun to get, and when given out of selfless motivation toward well-being and the highest good, they become a precious expression of love. But moreso, what I really want for Christmas is that same gift-motivation in making memories with those I love and care for the most. Sure, I currently stay with my parents, and I am grateful for their company, but it’s not really companionship. The gifts I’d enjoy the most, are those that would stay for me for more than just a few years, the memories made with by doing things with friends, having a good time and enjoying each other’s company. I guess what I want for Christmas the most are my friends.
I have to admit, I’ve only read about half this novel, so my impressions, while not the kneejerk first impressions of merely the first chapter, may not be representative of the entire novel. That said, there are some good reasons while I’ve only read the first half of Ted Dekker’s Forbidden, with only ambivalence welling up whenever I find myself wondering about completing it.
To do justice to the review though, I’m starting on a positive note. The setting is fascinating, something that I have seen similarly done before (other times being The Giver and Aurelia’s Colors), though this is the first time it was explicit in the Christian symbolism in the way that one would actually expect. The world is one of living dead. Sure people are up and about, walking and working, their hearts pump blood and they have to deal with the basics of physical existence, but as the book clearly tells you over and over again, about 500 years ago, humanity completely died.
Now, in Colors the kingdom was “dead” only in that people had lost the richness of creativity and faith through the selfish, power mongering of and insecure sovereign. In The Giver, the community was “dead” only in that people had lost their connection with the past through years of careful cultural engineering. The glorious nature of those novels come, in part, from the careful pacing and plot structure, acting as map, and our guides, characterization and setting, directing us to that buried treasure that can enrich our lives.
Oh, how I wish I could say the same about Forbidden. If readers are guided by a treasure map in both The Giver and Aurelia’s Colors, then in Forbidden we are grabbed by the wrist, dragged off the kindergarten, having our hands held all the way.
Perhaps to emphasize the nature of the deadness, the fact of this deadness and the confusion that characters have with the metaphor being reality being symbol is repeated again and again. I have a feeling that Dekkar and Lee were trying to appeal a bit too blatantly to their Christian fanbase, individuals who would have immediately picked up on the “dead while living” imagery.
Readers enjoy “aha!” moments; times in the narrative with all the pieces and clues floating around join together to form some coherent aspect of the story. Why has the world been in technological stasis for the last four centuries? Are people actually living dead, shambling zombies in danger of falling apart? How did we die, was it an accident or intentional? The answers to these questions and others are just given to us, explicitly, mere pages to paragraphs after the question is first clearly formed in the mind of the reader. And I was really disappointed I was not allowed to discover more about this world on my own.
Related to the lack of mystery, there were some pretty predictable cliches as well. Perhaps I may be more observant than the average reader, but so many plot points were plainly telegraphed that the once or twice I was caught off guard pleasantly surprised me. Yet almsot without exception, the plot is rather Newtonian and mechanical. Readers are given all important details, and from there can predict who’s going to do what, when, why and in some cases how.
To be honest as fascinating as the premise was, I couldn’t engage with the characters, this was unfortunate since, naturally, having been excised of emotional depth sans Fear, they were all pretty flat, but even after the small group regained their emotions they still remained flat. The villain only becomes the villain when he gets his own emotions through a different source (and thus can feel ambition where he could not before), but he is almost directly stated to be driven solely by power and lust and a desire for more. But in keeping with the hand-holding nature of the narrative, we’re told again and again that his own emotional awakening was defective and only brought out certain feelings. So what could have been a chance for mystery or character development gets reduced to “I have to find the maguffin to be complete, oh, and I’m the most powerful person in the world. Also, I’m a vampire.”
Outside of the main characters everyone is motivated by Fear. But even within the main characters, they express their new ability to feel either so strongly or, oddly enough, so weakly that it’s hard to see much real growth. Either the newly “in love” young couple is always gushing about Love, or the villain is completely enamored with Lust and Desire. One of the characters is Brave during his limited time in focus. And so on throughout the story with those able to feel swinging from one extreme to another, giving the feeling that they’ve not only discovered emotions but PMS-charged mood swings as well.
I can’t say that Forbidden was a horrible book. It’s not. But I can’t say it’s one of my favorites from Dekker either. I was not shocked to learn that it technically is in the same universe and history of his Circle Series (again through rather heavy-handed means); I was captured, entranced and kindled to new heights of personal growth by the Circle. But, even though I’m hoping that when I finish, I can revise this review, Forbidden, so far, has been fairly uninspiring.
