After the holidays, here are some scattered musings I have mused:
- The Golden Compass is not doing so well at the box office; I think it must be God’s judgment against atheism (lol)… well could be, or maybe it’s just that it’s a poorly done movie and not many American folks are interested in ruffian children killing God. (Besides, we liked Narnia.) Haven’t seen the movie, so I can’t really comment. I still think that atheism is finding it’s voice in our post-Christian culture, and it’s getting some popular press (and several spots on the NY Times best-seller list). I read the rumor that the studio may be canning the sequels (no movie pun intended)….
- Twisted Sister has a Christmas album… seriously??
- Why do we need soooooo many college football bowl games? It must be about the money and companies getting their name on a “big game” or something. At the risk of sounding like some fuddy-duddy traditionalist, can’t we get back to a few games that mean something, and get away from the slide into the “Any Excuse for Another Game” BCS? The Chik-Fil-A Bowl? The Papa Johns.Com Bowl? That’s too much….
- I am realizing more and more that we truly are in a “post-Christian” culture and society. I have been realizing this for years– and periodically irritated at the “let’s get back to our Christian roots as a nation” rhetoric (which incidentally is only partially correct historically, and increasingly irrelevant)– and asking and teaching for a return to the mindset that Paul and Co. had in the book of Acts, i.e. that the whole culture is full of gods, religions, philosophies, supernatural experiences, immoralities, etc. etc. and we need to be proclaiming Christ and His kingdom in and into the midst of that, not religiously clamoring for a return to the 10 commandments, moral legislation, and prayer in schools. Face it: the culture has moved on; America and the West have heard the gospel and have rejected it. There is no modern collective center of absolute truth that the culture can fall back on or reference like they could in the 1940’s and 50’s. There is no “call to revival” that our society will respond to; “revival” entails a sense of a standard to return to. Our society has already left that behind, some time ago actually. What we need is a fresh and real expression of the kingdom of God exploding into the culture and the world, healing the sick, raising the dead, and preaching the GOOD NEWS to the poor.
- I heard recently on a podcast that they way we have preached the gospel for decades (i.e. the Four Spiritual Laws/Bridge Illustration gospel) hinges on the idea that we are separated from God by our sins, and that Jesus came to bridge the gap. While this is theologically true, not many in our day and culture think or feel that they are separated from God. My Hindu friend communes with Krishna, his god, and has true spiritual experiences. My post-modern friend finds great joy, kindness, and love in the service, art, and culture of Hindus and Buddhists who serve and love one another and the world around them. Both would say in one way or another that they are communing with God and seeing others who are. When we come and tell them they are separated from God by their SINS, that they need Jesus to “save” them, so they can go to heaven when they die, they immediately feel judged and step back, and shut down the conversation. They’ve seen that version of Christianity, heard that story, and want nothing to do with that. And a whole lot of people either don’t believe in heaven (or hell), or could give a rip if they go to heaven when they die. What about now? What about here? What about justice? What about global warming? What about poverty? I don’t know all the right “answers” yet for these kinds of dear humans, but I know we (as the Church) need to find some new and fresh ways of communicating the truth of the GOOD NEWS to them, and we sure as heaven need to be living and demonstrating the kingdom of God in power and signs and wonders to point the way to Jesus! Hmm… that what Jesus did and what they did in Acts… why not do that?
More random cultural thoughts later….
Revolution 115 