Christmas Without the Incarnation

"Nothing's changed...nothing is right..."



On the Incarnation

The Avett Brothers - Emotionalism

Here's a video that make me want to pack thing up, buy a bus, and head out on tour with all my friends...



Move Avett Brothers videos

theavettbrothers.com

Roger Ebert on our celebrity driven culture....

If you are interested in hearing Roger Ebert rant and rave about our celebrity culture, read this blog post, "Death to film critics! Hail to the CelebCult!". I enjoyed it. A couple exerpts:

"The CelebCult virus is eating our culture alive, and newspapers voluntarily expose themselves to it. It teaches shabby values to young people, festers unwholesome curiosity, violates privacy, and is indifferent to meaningful achievement. One of the TV celeb shows has announced it will cover the Obama family as "a Hollywood story." I want to smash something against a wall."

"The celebrity culture is infantilizing us. We are being trained not to think. It is not about the disappearance of film critics. We are the canaries. It is about the death of an intelligent and curious, readership, interested in significant things and able to think critically. It is about the failure of our educational system. It is not about dumbing-down. It is about snuffing out."

"Death to film critics! Hail to the CelebCult!"

Free Dr. Pepper - Today

Dr. Pepper...Guns-n-Roses...2008? ...it means a free Dr. Pepper.

http://www.drpepper.com/freeDrPepper

UPDATE:
I've tried about 5 times today to get my free Dr. Pepper with no luck...I guess there's lots of cheapos like me out there. Or, it's a strategic Dr. Pepper move so that they don't have to give out free drinks...conspiracy theorists, beware.

Also, you can download the new Springsteen song today for free. You can get it at iTunes or brucespringsteen.net

UPDATE II:
I'm officially registered for a free Dr. Pepper. Thank you Dr. Pepper and thank you Guns-n-Roses for releasing an album in 2008. 4 minutes and 23 seconds to spare.

Coldplay - Viva La Vida

This is everything I love about music...and everything I hate about music videos. Press play and minimize your screen.



Same song...better video...



...which is a spoof/tribute of/to this Depeche Mode video.

The song (not Depeche Mode) has an interesting spiritual side to it. I like what it has to say about pride. ...I could be interpreting things too straight-forward-ly, though. There may be a touch of cynicism hiding out (Wikipedia, BBC, Q Daily).

Star Wars by John Williams

(FilmChat)

Politics & the Abortion Trump Card

I've always been frustrated that I've never been able to jump into the "fun" part of the political playing field. I feel like there's a fence around the field called abortion that keeps me from the more interesting discussions of big government vs. small government, tax cuts, etc. I know I fall into that stereotypical right-wing group that doesn't get it...that people are dying overseas, that we aren't taking care of our sick and our poor, that we don't care about our environment...wouldn't it be better to be part of a party that (arguably) handles these issues better?

I've flirted with this thought before...for a couple minutes I even thought Donald Miller had a pretty good argument in his post which said: "The continuation of rhetoric about being pro-life but not having a realistic plan has tired me of the Republican Party". The idea that the Democratic party (supporting a Pro-Choice ideal) will lower abortions by promoting safe-sex type of concepts makes sense and is interesting, but I don't buy it. For me it is just as "rhetorical" as what some may accuse the Republican party of in their attempts to overturn Roe vs. Wade.

In regards to this, I found Justin Taylor's blog post on the Freedom Of Choice Act helpful...he references this chart from the Guttmacher Institute that shows that the number of abortions in Maryland has increased since 1991 while the national numbers have gone down.

The significance of this is that Obama has stated that "the first thing I’d do as President is sign the Freedom of Choice Act"...which is disturbing because I think Maryland is representative of where we'd be if Obama were able to impliment his pro-choice policy. I say this because Maryland is a very Pro-Choice state. NARAL Pro-Choice America gives them a grade "A", which means the state is extremely Pro-Choice friendly. I think the rise of abortions in Maryland is due to the fact that they are quite liberal in their abortion views...which is where our country would head federally with something like the Freedom of Choice Act in place. (You can look at the chart above and this NY Times article and possibly draw some conclusions from the bill they passed in 1991.)

The above paragraph is only a brief example...and, perhaps too wordy for the simple point I'm making...but, with all that said...I really don't think we are going to lower the number of abortions while at the some time condoning abortion and making it easier to get abortions. I don't understand how we can tell people that abortion is not a big deal (in some ways easier than buying beer or a pack of cigarettes)...and, yet, you should be careful in your sex life because you don't want to get pregnant...? ...it doesn't make sense to me.

...so, my vote comes down to the fact that I believe abortions will increase under Obama.

Maybe I could be convinced that the Democratic party could answer some of the other problems of the world that are also offensive and moral. But, I firmly believe that there is no difference in killing a week old infant and a 40 week old "fetus" in the womb. Philosophically, if you are consistent, this is the only option. If we rewind the tape from there, I know of no term in the pregnancy where you can draw a line in the sand and state it's okay to end this life now. Simply stated...human life is on the line, the burden of proof is on the person who says life (human rights...personhood...whatever) does not begin at conception. I've never heard anything to convince me otherwise.

Woman's Rights throws an emotional difficulty into the equation, especially, when something like rape is involved. But, I still feel as though the killing a living being is of greater importance than the inconvenience of a pregnancy. I don't feel as though this emotional concept should be unfamiliar to a Pro-Choice advocate, because many of them would emotionally feel the reverse...i.e. it's a horrible thing to end the potential for life, but a woman should have these rights over her body. I think it can be a difficult (I can't quite bring myself to write "horrible") thing to carry a baby that you don't want, but the baby should have the right to live.

So, for what it's worth...I'm the guy who's tempted to consider some of Barack's promises to America...but, I just can't get past the abortion trump card. Abortion is different than slavery, anti-semitism, sexism, etc...I acknowledge that, but in my mind...in my conscience...it's of a similar caliber. No matter what a leader offers in their public policies, if slavery, anti-semitism, or sexism were part of their agenda, by conscience I would refuse to vote for them. For myself, it's the same thing when it comes to abortion.

_____

Also See:

Witherspoon Institute 1
http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/viewarticle.php?selectedarticle=2008.10.14_George_Robert_Obama

Witherspoon Institute 2 (Infanticide)
http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/viewarticle.php?selectedarticle=2008.10.16_George_Robert_Obama%20and%20Infanticide_.xml

One More From Witherspoon
http://thepublicdiscourse.com/viewarticle.php?selectedarticle=2008.10.24_New_Michael%20J._Pro-Life%20Politicians%20Have%20Made%20a%20Difference,%20Pro-Life%20Laws%20Work_.xml

Randy Alcorn on Donald Miller
http://randyalcorn.blogspot.com/2008/10/not-cool-obamas-pro-abortion-stance.html

Akira Kurosawa Interviews

I briefly read through the Akira Kurosawa Interviews tonight (edited by Bert Cardullo). Here were some of my favorite parts.

1963 - "Nothing could be more difficult for me than to define my own style. I simply make a picture as I wish it to be or as nearly as it is within my power to do so. I have never thought of defining my style. If I tried such a thing, I would be caught within my own trap." (25)

1966 - "There are so many things which portray violence and so many films show this. Somehow, I feel tired of it. It is easy to be happy. If it is necessary to show violence in a film, it is good to avoid ugliness...There are already too many films that show sex. I do not want my films to be another vehicle for it. Besides, I do not think it should be a purpose for entertainment. Children would not be able to understand it; it will only complicate their minds, and they will not be entertained." (32)

1975 - "Where films are concerned, if you set out to convey some special message or thesis you will become narrow and rigid. I think it is true for any other creative work as well." (58)

.

1980 - "...there's a tradition in Western films that deal with cavalry battles, whereby one almost invariably fires to hit the rider. In terms of real battle strategy, however, this is entirely unrealistic because the horse is a much bigger target and if you wanted to disable the whole cavalry, you'd get rid of the horses first. But nobody has ever made a film that way. The convention is to shoot the rider and see him fall off and the response to the film comes from that. I felt that this tradition has already worn out and wanted to try something different, more effective, for the sophisticated film audiences of today--to show the final effect of the battle rather than those shootings themselves. Besides, when you have a stuntman on a horse who knows he's going to be shot, this is apparent in his whole physical attitude. The audience also knows it's going to happen, so why show them what they already know?" (72-73)

1986 - "Ideally, a film should be spherical. This is physically impossible; however, it is possible to approach such a shape. A film should appeal to sophisticated, profound-thinking people, while at the same time entertaining simplistic people. Even if a small circle of people enjoy a film, it will not do. A film should satisfy a wide range of people, all the people." (141)

1986 - "CINEASTE: Once you said that the most important thing for young people aspiring to become directors was to read world classics. Do you still believe so?

.

KUROSAWA: Definitely. To read everything is almost impossible, so you must find writers that you like. Then, to find favorite works of these writers, and read them again and again. Therefore, your understanding of the characters in these works is deepened. One's level of understanding after reading a work once, and after reading it ten times, is naturally different." (143)

.

...if I ever complain about not having any free time, feel free to slap me.

Paul Newman

A couple good articles on Paul Newman...

Roger Ebert

Robert Redford

"Theirs is a mission impossible..."

(...from Justin Taylor's blog)

"I pity satirists who might be tempted to try to tweak these segments of the evangelical world.  Theirs is a mission impossible.  It can no longer be done.  No matter how indelicately they might exaggerate, no matter how much they might embellish to make a point, no matter how many descriptions they might offer of the tasteless things that are happening, it will most likely be met with only a yawn and a bored question: 'So...?'  Nothing seems improbable.  None of it, in fact, ever seems exaggerated and none of it seems improper.  It has now become impossible to insult some evangelicals."  (David Wells, The Courage to Be Protestant, p 24)

Bob Dylan Links

Don't miss the free download ("Dreamin' of You") at bobdylan.com

The video is freshly posted at amazon.com

Also, finally, here is my liberal friend John Mellencamp covering "The Times They are A-Changin'" (We are both native Hoosiers, you know.)

Ben's Brother, John Mayer, and videos that I can't embed

Here's a good video that I can't embed: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5Ctt4fIo1w

...it's Ben's Brother singing Carry On. 

Also, here's John Mayer singing Free Fallin...also, I can't embed it...also, it's not funny like the Ben's Brother video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wJ-VPqFzy0

...it's the internet, isn't all this stuff supposed to be steal-able? 

Gossip in the Grain - Ray LaMontagne

The first two tracks off Ray LaMontagne's new album, Gossip in the Grain.
Release Date: October 14, 2008

http://www.raylamontagne.com/home.php

You Are The Best Thing


Let It Be Me


Tracklisting:
1. You Are The Best Thing
2. Let It Be Me
3. Sarah
4. I Still Care For You
5. Winter Birds
6. Meg White
7. Hey Me, Hey Mama
8. Henry Nearly Killed Me (It’s A Shame)
9. A Falling Through
10. Gossip In The Grain

Evil in the Movies

I'm still thinking about the evil-in-the-movies concept I brought up a few posts ago (The Dark Knight). At the risk of implying a tidiness that I don't think exists...

Which says more about our attitude toward evil...1) an explicit rendering of what is evil, or 2) a discomfort that prevents us from visualising it?

Which paints a better picture of evil...1) an explicit rendering of evil acts, or 2) an explicit rendering of the consequences of evil acts?

Superman vs. Batman

How To Reboot the Superman Movie Franchise -- Comic Writers Chime In

"Superman was created not because America is the greatest country on earth, not because Moses came to save us from Krypton, but because a little boy lost his father,” Meltzer said. “In his first appearances, he couldn’t fly. He didn’t have X-ray vision. He was only bulletproof. So Superman’s not a character built out of strength, but out of loss.”

“When you hear that, it puts on a whole new spin on Superman and his origins,” Waid said. “The understanding was that Batman was born out of tragedy and Superman out of hope and aspiration, and it turns out that it’s about not wanting to lose your loved ones. That’s critical, and it means that we can connect with him. He’s not an untouchable character. Bad things still happen to him. His father passes away, and his powers can’t save him.”

Mike Bullmore

Thoughts on The Dark Knight

I think it happened again last week. Further desensitization. I remember the first time I saw Saving Private Ryan and The Passion of the Christ and soon realizing that I don’t want to see them again because they are built on the shock of their violence. If I keep watching them, they lose their punch. The first time I saw The Fellowship of the Ring I went away distressed at the clear way in which evil was visually portrayed in the orcs.

And, last week I saw The Dark Knight and again left the theater wondering about evil depicted in the movies. It seems like we might be part of an un-winnable battle. We can become more and more explicit in our depictions of what is wrong…but will a generation ever hit the evil threshold and say “okay, now we’ve finally got a handle on the darkest depths of evil…we can no longer top ourselves”. Or, will we continue an infinite trip down the dark layers of our hearts?

My mind gets fuzzy every time I think about it because there are two sides of the argument. On the one hand…are we actually telling the greatest of lies when we portray evil as anything but the disturbing, pit of darkness that it is? When we pretty it up, so that it is not difficult to look at, are we actually insulting all those who have been touched by its pain?

But, then, when does the game go from artistic to pornographic? If we take The Dark Knight for example, so many times the camera takes us up to the second before death and then turns away. There’s only so much we need to see and then we are indulging in things that don’t need to be seen. A slasher movie takes you on the full ride. It takes you to the point of death and then presses forward allowing the pleasure of the removal of all curiosities.

So, we have somewhat of a dividing line. Show all the evil except for the final act of hatred. But, maybe we aren’t dealing with a very good dividing line? Maybe the mystery should begin earlier? Maybe the line of indulgement exists sooner than we think? …we might be reveling in unprofitable areas because the camera doesn’t turn away when it should.

There are no easy answers…but, if nothing else, I think it’s good to be aware of our slow slide into further realism and explicitness. There has to be consequences here, perhaps of a moral nature, so it would seem wise to be alert to the desensitizing effects surrounding us.

Neon Bible Part II

"...not much chance for survival if the Neon Bible is right..."
- Win Butler (The Arcade Fire)

My Life as Seen From the Second Row at a Kenny Loggins Concert

Sometimes you find yourself hanging over the guard rail at an Extreme Home Makeover in Kansas City yelling for Ty to come out of his trailer…and, then you start talking to the person next to you and you reveal that you’ve never watched a full episode of Extreme Home Makeover…and, then, suddenly the joking stops, the smile leaves the face of your new found friend as they say “What are you doing here?”.

And, other times, due to free tickets, you find yourself in the second row…dead center…at a Kenny Loggins concert…(yes, Mr. Footloose himself)…and he says, “Okay, everyone knows the drill here”…and, as the spotlights hit the crowd he looks down at you and holds out the microphone to the crowd… …It’s amazing the thoughts that can run through your mind in the .5 seconds it takes you to think “Please, don’t make eye contact”. …Things such as: Kenny, I’m sorry. Kenny, I should have been listening you in the eighties. The crowd can’t be singing “Please, celebrate me home”. Kenny, I should have done more YouTube research before I came. If I sing “Please, celebrate me home” and those aren’t the lyrics will Kenny be able to notice? The horrible grammar of these lyrics apparently makes sense to the 5,000 people behind me. I’m glad the old guy in front of me isn’t singing. Kenny, this doesn’t mean you are a failure. We’ll never be friends after this.

Luckily, a couple songs later he sings “Your Momma Don’t Dance” to which I knew all the words.

Link to D.A. Carson Interview

Here's a quick interview with D.A. Carson:
http://www.reformation21.org/articles/don-carson-talks-about-culture.php

It's in reference to Carson's latest book, Christ and Culture Revisited. It's a fairly short interview, insightful, and uses plenty of big words. Here's one question/answer that I found especially thought provoking. Enjoy...
___________________________________

DT: You mention several key issues which force us re-evaluate Christ's role in culture (secularization, democracy, freedom and power). In short compass, can you explain what you mean by this and how this helps us to understand our own (postmodern) culture?

DC: Inevitably, we in the West, not least in America, tend to adopt a host of "givens" that are part of growing up here. Most of us think freedom is a good thing. But is it always a good thing? A friend in Slovakia once told me that only three weeks after the Berlin wall came down, for the first time in his life he saw pornography sold in the street. Was the enhanced freedom an unmitigated "good" thing? I'm not denying it was good in many ways, but some of us have given "freedom" such an iconic value that we fail to see how, in the name of freedom, we may become slaves to sin. Most of us are thankful to God that we live in a democracy. But I have met Christians who live in parts of the world under one form or another of tyranny who are much less daunted by the violent "beast out of the sea" that they face than by the "beast out of the earth," the danger of deceptive teaching and materialism, that we face in the West: they pray for us that we will escape the tyranny of the seduction of easy, triumphalism, and materialism. Certainly what Paul wrote about the government of his day being appointed by God, he did not have a democracy in mind: what bearing do such differences in the structure of power have on our responsibility as citizens -- as citizens of the US, and as citizens of the new Jerusalem?

Anne Rice is a Christian?

I know this is old news...but, Anne Rice is a Christian? ...weird. If this intrigues you, as it does me, this is an interesting place to start:

"Essay On Earlier Works"

Tonight on the blog post...dedications...

Tonight we're turning on the love light as I send a special dedication out to the man who sits atop the maple mountain. Sentiments are dedicated, not theology... Enjoy. We can hug later.

Preaching As Concept Creation, Not Just Contextualization

Even if you disagree with his list, John Piper makes an excellent point in his first few paragraphs. ...also, the list is good.

Preaching As Concept Creation, Not Just Contextualization

CJ & Discernment

I've been wanting to post some follow-up thoughts to my last post on emergent-ness. Instead of taking the time to do that, I thought I'd pass on this link a good post C.J. Mahaney did (at his brand new blog) about pastoral discernment. He uses Rob Bell's NOOMA videos as an example. He also provides plenty of links for further thoughts on the problems of Rob Bell's theology. It's worth reading if you are interested in such things as discernment, Rob Bell, or even theology...

http://sovereigngraceministries.org/Blog/post/Rob-Bell2c-the-Pastore28099s-Task-of-Discernment2c-and-My-Heart.aspx

Ranting, Raving, and Blaming the World's Problems on the Emergent Movement

I subscribe to the Emergent Village podcast. It typically just annoys me and puts me in a bad mood...and, generally does everything that a good political debate does for my soul. For some reason I keep hitting the play button, though. Since, I've plowed through a couple episodes this week, I thought I'd share my disgruntled spirits. Maybe you'll end up thinking that the world is coming to its end as I do.

Before I get into ranting and raving, here are a couple quotes from one of the Emergent head honchos...Tony Jones***.

From: http://www.emergentvillage.com/podcast/aar-panel-part-1

"This is a message problem, this is not a method problem. The gospel has been gotten wrong and we need to start trying to get the gospel right."

"Listen...this is a thorough-going reconsideration of the gospel in America. This is about whole new ways of thinking. This is about epistemology...How do we reconsider the gospel and everything that goes along with it?"

"We were of the minds that everything should be up for consideration."

And, because I'm old fashioned a Bible verse:
Galatians 1:9
"As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed (anathema)."

I'm not going to try to tackle the argument that Tony Jones is preaching a different gospel than the one preached in the Bible. I'm merely going back to the point I made last time I harped on the emergent movement...hopefully with more clarity this time. And, if I can boil things down to one question, I think it would be:
"Is the emergent conversation characterized by wisdom?" I think there are some red flags that many are paying little attention to.

For example, when the Bible is so clear about the consequences of tampering with the gospel...wouldn't wisdom lead a person to be cautious with statements such as "we've gotten the gospel wrong...thorough reconsideration of the gospel in America...everything should be up for consideration". I suppose there are some instances where these statements can be said legitimately...but, in my mind there are so few instances...that I cringe when I hear someone say these things without disclaimers.

But, as much as I'd like to give Tony the benefit of the doubt...it does seem as though the emergent troops are questioning everything. For example, inerrancy of the Bible, the doctrine of hell, penal substitution...virgin birth. It's no wonder that people argue that emergent is just a reworked liberalism.

One of the problems is that the "conversation" is packaged in a cleverly appealing way to evangelical minds. I'm quite comfortable agreeing with the emergent folks that most Christian grew up in fairly pathetic churches. It's easy to take pot-shots at these churches and get a reaction...and feel a commonality with someone. But, it's easy in the way that a dirty joke is easy...anybody can do it. Simply bonding over a shared problem isn't a guarantee that together you can beat the odds and find a better way.

More caution flags show up in the hyper-individualism of the relationship-friendly emergent church. As a good Protestant, I'm pretty individualistic myself...but, again, I think "wisdom" tells us to forsake tradition with great hesitancy and last resort. What's ironic about emergent is that the tradition from 100 years ago is meaningful to them...and the traditions of our parents are the death of the church. Along these lines, I think a small army of bloggers thinking together can form a very deceptive community in which you think you truly understand things...when in reality you are simply dumbing down Christianity in the same non-scholastic way that old-time fundamentalists are accused of doing. There is something to say for academic scholarship.

More red flags...lack of cultural diversity. A person can argue that most churches are racially segregated...and, they are, to their detriment. However, my church is still preaching the same gospel as the Korean church down the road...and the Afro-American church next to it. We have this is common.

...also, my least judgemental criticism of the emergent church is probably the inherent temporariness of it. Can a movement perpetually be in the process of moving/emerging/complaining about the entity that is inspiring their movement? Are they emerging into the very thing that they will emerge from again down the road? What's the goal? Where are they headed? Are these questions still fair in a postmodern's mind? If everything is up for grabs...then, where's the urgency stemming from?

It's only fair that I add my own disclaimer...the emergent/emerging church is growing (I have a hunch it's currently at its peak, I could be wrong, though). And, with the breadth of the movement I can't lump everyone who considers themselves to be emergent or emerging into the Tony Jones variety. There are some voices that I would find myself agreeing with for the most part. But, in an overarching sense, emergent is not something I would want to be associated with. It's good to ask questions and think things through, but there's a wise way to do it and a foolish way. ...it's my opinion that much of the emergent movement is heading about things in a foolish manner.

*** Tony Jones

Sewer Mains

"...longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate..." (Luke 15:16)

”And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 2:10-11)

“...apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5).

Newsprint Boats

I ain't never been to Vegas but I gambled up my life
Building newsprint boats I raced to sewer mains
Was trying to find me something but I wasn't sure just what
Funny how they say that some things never change
- Ryan Adams, "Oh, My Sweet Carolina"

Worship

Here's a quote from Mr. D.A. Carson from the book he edited called Worship by the Book. In talking about corporate worship he says, "...however much we seek to be contemporary for the sake of evangelistic outreach, there must also be a drive in us to align ourselves with the whole church in some deeply rooted and tangible ways. What it means to be the church was not invented in the last twenty years. The demands of corporate rootedness must be melded with the demands of living faithfully and bearing witness in a particular culture and age." (pg 45)

I think I used to picture an incredible corporate worship experience as a moment when I became so lost in the words and music of what I was singing that I lost all reference of those around me and just felt close to God...just me and Him. I don't want to downplay that idea too much, but there does seem to be something about it that defeats the purpose of being together corporately. I think corporate worship might be as difficult and as rewarding as pretty much everything else in my life that is both difficult and rewarding. It's difficult because I'm doing several things at once. I've focused on my attention toward God and the words that point me to him...but, I'm also aware of the people I'm encouraging with my participation...I'm aware of the people encouraging me...I'm aware of the church through history...I'm aware of the persecuted church of today...other cultures worshiping Christ...and, all of this...this accumulation of fellow worshipers causes me to further my awe of God and this time of worship becomes even deeper.

I'm sure this is simplistic. But, it's a side of the coin I haven't thought much about until lately.