December 10, 2008
There is a great discussion going on at sensual jesus. Be sure to check it out. It is providing some great discussion and fodder for thought in terms of certaintude, belief and what, at the deepest level, we want from God.
Certain to push out your boundaries.
December 7, 2008
Does this fit your mental image of what Adam and Eve looked like? When I first saw this painting by Fernando Botero it messed with me. Of course that is not what Adam and Eve looked like! My mental image is one of a slender and beautiful Eve with dirty blond locks of hair flowing over her shoulders in perfect placement to cover over her bountiful bosoms. Standing beside her is Adam, self assured in his nakedness although conspicuously always pictured behind a waist high hedge (must of been lots of those hedge in Eden).
This is what this painting stirs in me. What does this evoke in terms of my view of the human body? And my own body(since mine bears a much better resemblance to this Adam, than the usual GQ models of typical Eden scenes)? How does an Adam and Eve created like this affect my view of what it means to be human? Why is Eve wearing a mullet?(ok this one is sarcasm) How does this picture view how I would view the love between Adam and Eve? These are just a few beginning thoughts. But my point is…
This is what art does. Art exposes, reveals and refreshes.
1. Art exposes our mental images
Every idea and thought we have is also associated with a mental image. Art, especially good art, exposes those mental images and gives our mind the option of something different. Art gets us to see something that we haven’t seen before. Or maybe we have seen it before, but with the anchor of repression we block and ignore certain images because of what they do to us. Some images frighten us, some pieces of art invoke feelings or emotions that we dare not acknowledge being there.
I feel this is the reason why Mel Gibson’s movie the Passion was so successful. What this movie did was challenge our sanitized images and versions of the crucifixion and exposed our current images as the comfortable Easter/nice little bunny season holiday that it has morphed into. Now, although the violent monolithic picture of the cross was IMHO a little too focused on the blood and gore, it did cause me to think and to re-imagine some of my images.
2. Art exposes how static our thinking has become.
Left to ourselves we will have the tendency to hold onto those images that secure and validate our past history and current culture themes. We cling to the images that agree with our history. When we encounter an image that transcends our past and sends us into a trajectory that causes us to consider our own past actions and thoughts as being incorrect or incomplete, we initially want to reject that image.
In addition to our own personal history we also have to deal with our current culture matrix. What happens when we see an image that runs counter cultural to the mainstream culture that we are swimming in? We can either reject the image or we can accept the reality that our image has become frozen by time and culture.
Of course this is normal. Remember that childhood friend that you grew up with and have now lost contact? When you imagine them, you don’t imagine them as they are now, but as they were when you interacted with them in grade 3. (This to me is the reason why Facebook as a social networking frame works so well, we all want up to date pictures and images to associate with our past memories) Deep down we all want new pictures and images. I believe this is part of the creative God image within us all. I also believe we have fallen out of rhythm with this creative tendency within us and instead now want to go back to the static photo album of who God has been in the past. We must move past the scrapbook snapshots of who God was and step into the nowness of a God who lives in real time.
3. Art refreshes our barriers
To deny that we have barriers is deny our own humanity. To be ‘full human’ is not to deny the existence of those barriers but to acknowledge that they exist and that they affect our lives. These mental obstacles and images have a direct correlation to our lives.
A perfect example was when my wife and I went to go visit a living Nativity. There was a huge crowd. Lots of people, animals, Roman Guards, Villagers etc. In the midst of it, Toree lost track of our little girl Charlotte and had the typical fear response. Me in my, “nothing bad will happen” ideal, said to her(in the most loving and caring way of course), “Come on who is going to steal a little girl in the middle of a Nativity scene.” The scene of love, birth and nativity had in my mind made the place a safe place, which of course, by its very nature of strangers was not.
To be fully human is not to deny the existence of those barriers but to acknowledge that they exist and affect our lives. Art, if we allow it, can be the light that shines and helps identity our presuppositions and assumption.
What if…
One image that has become sterile and anti-septic to our souls is the picture of Christmas. Baby Jesus, wrapped in swaddling clothes, laying in a manager. Silent night, Hark the Herald Angels Singing, etc, etc. This season is filled with images. I would like to suggest an alternative image of this picture in my next post.
December 3, 2008
Since I am a new owner of a Mac, I can join the chorus of PC haters. This video combines two of my favorite things the Matrix and Window bugs. I can truly attest that I do not miss the dreaded blue screen, the endless hourglass moments and constant freezing screens.
Enjoy! And go buy a Mac.
December 1, 2008
So it has been a little over a month since I have gotten rid of my AT&T data plan for my cell phone. Here is my update on what my life has been like since its departure.
There are times that I have nothing to do and I am forced to do the absolutely frightening thing and sit in stilllessness with myself. No emails to check, no drudgereport to peruse. Only myself, plain ole me.
I wonder if as a people we don’t really like ourselves. I mean, ever moment we are trying to get away from ourselves. We constantly are wanting distractions by means of music, movies, tv, email and books. Seriously, If I treated my wife like I treat myself, she would have divorced me years ago. Maybe the pertinent question is, have we divorced ourselves? Have I divorced myself?
There is much encouragement to spend a “date night” with your spouse, to encourage conversation, engagement and time for relational growth together. But can I ask, when was the last time you took 30 minutes of silence and solitude and listened to the thoughts, feelings and emotions that are running through your head.
So the disconnection I now feel in regards to my phone has been a reawakening of how much I fill my extra time with technological noise. There were times when I am waiting for my haircut where I am actually fidgeting with my phone like a crack addict, hoping for something to pop across the screen to entertain, to sooth the pain of the silence. When the silence becomes too overwhelming I crack and pull out a game of Solitaire, again filling my mind with some sort of noise.
How much time do you spend alone with your thoughts, please take the informal poll below, I would find the results interesting?
I encourage you, take a walk and unpack the clog of thoughts. Heck, even take yourself on a date… you deserve it.
November 28, 2008
So you know it is a bad new cycle when a toolbag lost in space becomes one of the leading headlines on the evening news. None the less, if you are bored of your Thanksgiving leftovers and your in-laws ad nauseuma going ons about how bad the recession is, you may want to take an evening walk on a clear night and star into empty space (well I guess less empty now that there is a toolbag floating around there).
Here is a website that can locate the exact sky coordinates so that you can view the flying set of Craftsman tools. (I wonder if lost in space is covered under the Craftsman warranty)
November 26, 2008
Being of course Canadian, my American history is at best foggy. Other than studying for my citizenship test, I have learned very little about good ole’ Americolgy. So doing my civic duty I have learned some interesting things about the voyage of the largely unknown partner ship of the Mayflower; the Speedwell.
Initially, the plan was for the voyage to be made in two vessels, the other being the smaller Speedwell, Separatists bought the ship Speedwell in Holland, and boarded it at Delfshaven. They then sailed to Southampton, England to meet the Mayflower, which had been chartered by the merchant investors. In Southampton they joined with other Separatists and the additional colonists hired by the investors.
The two ships began the voyage on August 5, 1620, but the Speedwell was leaky and returned to Dartmouth to be refitted at great expense and time. On the second attempt, Mayflower and Speedwell sailed about 100 leagues beyond Land’s End in Cornwall, but the Speedwell was again found to be leaky. Both vessels returned to Plymouth where the Speedwell was sold.
It would later be revealed that there was in fact nothing wrong with the ship. The crew had sabotaged it in order to escape the year long commitment of their contract.
Eleven people from the Speedwell boarded the Mayflower, leaving 20 people to return to London while a combined company of 103 continued the voyage. For a third time, the Mayflower headed for the New World.
Source: Wikipedia
Now the rest of the story… The story (or the myth) of what happened to those who braved the Atlantic was they landed at Plymouth Rock and had a hearty turkey dinner together with the local natives and lived happily ever after in this great land of America.
True history reveals that only 53 of the original 102 passengers actually survived and were able to call the new frontier home. Half of the wide eyed adventurers had met their end being ravaged by various contagious diseases such as scurry, pneumenia and tuberculoisis.
But back to those 20 passengers on the Speedwell who chose, well, they chose to go home. Back to their homes, back to warmth of their fireplace hearths, the comfort of a land that was known.
Now being the arm chair history quarterback perched on the edge of the Wikipedia universe it is easy for me to see how fortunate those 20 were. Saved from uncertainty, saved from unease, saved from disease, death and loss.
But I also see how they were saved from the adventure of a lifetime, the chance to make history, the challenge of the unknown, the uncertain and the unseen.
So for half of the passengers of the Mayflower their end was death, but it was death in the pursuit of something, something greater, something undefined by the conventions of the times. They died breaking into the New Frontier.
History always teaches us that,
“Nothing of the new is ever obtained without there being a dying to the old.”
My problem is that dying is so dang hard. Guess that is why it is called a life of faith.
November 21, 2008
For the last two days I have attended a conference put on by John Perkins and Paul Metzger called Drum Majors for Love, Truth and Justice.
Here are some of my favorite quotes from John Perkins…
“To take care of yourself is an addiction, there is more than yourself.”
“We have to lower our hate voice. We have to come up with a language for love.”
“The reason why you don’t relocate? You love yourself more than your neighbor.”
“We need a culture of love.”
“Go… live, love, learn, build on what they have. At the end, you want the people to say they have done it themselves.”
“We must move from charity to development.”
There was much more, but these are the things that are challenging me and my current thought-actions.
November 18, 2008
Whether you are just starting on the missional journey or are a seasoned veteran, here is a great page chalked full of missional links.
My favorites are…
1. Five Marks of Mission and Five Marks of a Mission-Shaped Church – Notes from the famous Anglican Church statement about The Mission-Shaped Church
2. The Missiological Foundations of Theology by Gailyn Van Rheenen (Author, Missionary – in East Africa for 14 years, and Adjunct Professor of Missions)
3. Twelve Hallmarks of a Missional Church and Three Overarching Principles – A short summary from The Gospel and Our Culture Network plus a short summary from Michael Frost and Alan Hirsh’s award winning book, The Shaping of Things to Come
And a great quote on mission by Yoder,
“The political novelty that God brings into the world as a community of those who serve instead of ruling, who suffer instead of inflicting suffering, whose fellowship crosses social lines instead of reinforcing them. This new Christian community in which the walls are broken down not by human idealism or democratic legalism but by the work of Christ is not only a vehicle of the gospel or only a fruit of the gospel; it is the good news. It is not merely the agent of mission or the constituency of a mission agency. This is the mission.” – John Howard Yoder The Royal Priesthood
November 17, 2008
The below is from an intriguing article discussing the future picture of what a “great depression” may look like in our day.
“And above all, a depression circa 2009 might be a less visible and more isolating experience. With the diminishing price of televisions and the proliferation of channels, it’s getting easier and easier to kill time alone, and free time is one thing a 21st-century depression would create in abundance. Instead of dusty farm families, the icon of a modern-day depression might be something as subtle as the flickering glow of millions of televisions glimpsed through living room windows, as the nation’s unemployed sit at home filling their days with the cheapest form of distraction available.“
Interesting, that the icon of a great depression would be the television. The television being the tool to help us forget. It would make a lot of sense that in the midst of current trends of emotional depression, hopelessness and despair that these feelings would only increase and be magnifide by the loss of security as spurred on by a financial depression. I could forecast that emotional trauma would multiply, with hopelessness and despair being the typical emotional outlook. Instead of facing these feelings of emptiness the TV would become, not only a great time filler, but an escape. An escape from the helplessness of the noise around them. The TV storylines of family, safety, security will transcend their own stories. I imagine that the TV story lines will revert back the happy and secure plots of the 80’s Cosby show and the 70’s Partridge family.
The TV would become the form of distraction from the unsettledness of life around me. The cheap and accessible drug to lull the pain. The 30 minute escape, into the fake life of imaginary charcters. And as with all successful TV shows I become more connected to the fictional characters than I do my own neighbours. Their happy families, nice jobs, nice houses and neatly managed lives would be the soothing images that would help shield the “real-life” story of those around me who houses are being lost to foreclosure, the family friend who lost his job and the general messiness of life.
What a place for the story of the church. People who are not only caring about the needs of others, but in tangible, real life ways providing for the needs of those around them, both physical and emotional. It is time for us as the church, to begin preparation for such times. Not only in terms of stocking away our 5 gallon buckets of dehydrated lentil soup, but in terms of the heart, spirit and mission of the church. To become a place, a central place, maybe even the central place, where those who are at the end of their rope, financially, spiritually and emotionally will find an answer. The reincarnation of the faux-ideal life of the Cosby family is not what we need, but a tangible church living out the life of Jesus that impacts real sorrows, hurts and pains and walks with and alongside those pains. That is a story that the world may want to tune into.
November 5, 2008
With free trade coffee, free trade clothes and free trade jewerly, what would be next but… Free Trade Music. I came accross a great website called http://www.noisetrade.com. It is a great one for connecting with some new artists.
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