Category Archives: culture

a couple of my colleagues and i are off to a three day conference on apologetics today… from a book I am reading by Robert Webber, The Younger Evangelicals, this idea about apologetics is put forth…

“If reason and science are no longer able to bring us truth, what will? Does the continuation of modern foundationalism, which uses reason in defense of Christianity, have any validity at all in a postmodern world?” p. 104

“There is a general agreement among younger evangelicals that the emphasis in apologetics has shifted from reason to embodiment.” p. 101

I hope I can further learn how to speak in a Christian voice that can be understood… as Wm. Placher said in Unapologetic Theology: “Christian apologists can adopt the language and assumptions of their audience so thoroughly that they no longer speak with a distinctively Christian voice.”

but that voice must be contextualized so that the person looking at the parade from the sidewalk can understand what the parade is about and join us travelers…

“The Queen” review on the BBC was okay. There was only fair acting. I would guess the casting was problematic because the two main characters: Queen Elizabeth II and Tony Blair are SO well known. When I told a friend I was going, he said I was going to see the shots of London. Well, don’t go for that reason, ‘cuz there aren’t any. A good 1/3 of the film is news footage from Diana. Anyway, there is some character development as the PM realizes what she has been and is up against and in ERII as she struggles with the apparent rejection. I found the other royals very UNbelievable, especially the hand wringing Charles and the cold queen mum, and Philip was poorly cast and poorly played, was this actor an American? or do I watch too much BBC on PBS? Don’t spend the $8, wait for the dvd, unless you are a Diana devotee who wants to see the Royals bashed on the big screen.

a couple of weeks ago, I ranted about the documentary “Jesus Camp”… a friend pointed me today to an interesting op-ed in the Washington Post about Evangelicals needing a break… read on

was spent on Halloween according to NPR yesterday…

I can’t believe this country…

in the world today there are people eeking (is that a word?) on $1 a day… but Americans can spend $5B on Halloween…

for crying out loud, this could be worse than a rant I had a couple of years ago when I heard that Americans spend $4BILLION on pet accessories!!!!!!!!!!!

maybe I shouldn’t listen to NPR…

I am reading about postmodernity… I have started a new blog which I will use to post quotes and thoughts i have about the issue… go to “serving in postmodern times”

Last night I joined a few people at the Virginia Film Festival and saw the documentary “Jesus Camp.” I was troubled at several levels by this documentary. Here are some things that are bugging me:

Why did these people allow such access to their private worship? Are they so foolish to think that a documentary would further the cause of Christ or their cause? Did they think that Jesus would be served? Did they expect thier context and culture and theology to be explained? I differentiate because while they may be well meaning and devoted to God, their stuff really shows through in this film as being ill thought out. Thought? hmmm…

It irks me that both the film and the “moderators” (who were really commentators from UVa… lots of balance… yeah, right) failed to differentiate between groups as terms were thrown around: Evangelical, Fundamentalist and Pentecostal. Giving the Religious Studies prof her due, she did, when I asked, define the terms for the audience… she did clarify that Fundamentalists (over against fundamentalists, that difference will have to be another post) would never be caught dead in Jesus Camp as they have some very differing views. THIS IRKS ME because people ignorant of the different branches of Evangelicalism are being portrayed and represented by the figures in Jesus Camp. If Evangelicalism is an apple pie (‘cuz it is American – ugh) then the guys of the Jesus Camp ilk are one bit of apple in the pie (if that)… one of my colleagues there thinks they are a whole slice… I disagree, if they are a slice, then a very thin sliver of a slice, indeed. Jesus Camp DOES NOT represent the vast majority of Jesus followers.

Now that I have ranted, here are some places you can go to see and hear more perspectives… first… the trailer

next, ABC has a report you can view that will give you a taste of the film and it furthers my thesis that Jesus Camp is a picture of all followers of Jesus. Again, I contend, it is not.

last, one of the people portrayed in the film is a preacher by the name of Ted Haggard, he has responded on a sponsored web page that they apparently paid to have Google show it first when you Google “Jesus Camp”…

Okay, I doubt if this blog has seem the last of this topic… Unfortunately.