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I saw Prince Caspian last weekend as a cap to my birthday evening celebration extravaganza. It was fun, but not that big of a deal because 1) I only turned 22, and 2) it wasn't even on my birthday, and 3) it was just with my family. Not that I don't love my family and everything (I do), but because my birthday falls in those couple weeks between when school ends and summer jobs (only 11 days until camp starts!) start, it's been a long time since I got to celebrate my birthday with friends. Oh well, one of these days.
Oh yeah, minor spoiler alert. Read at your own risk. Unless, of course, you've already seen the movie.
Anyway.... The movie was great. I thought it was a lot better than the first one. Some say that it lacked that 'charm of originality' that all first movies of good series have (Star Wars: A New Hope, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Matrix, you get the picture), but I disagree. The world is different enough to keep that feeling of exploration fresh. Even though the characters are the same, the world is much older: Aslan's How is a major landmark, there is major industrialization due to the presence of the Telmarines, and everything isn't covered in snow. In addition, there are plenty of new characters to keep things fresh (Reepicheep was awesome).
I especially appreciated the way that the writers included spiritual allegories (keeping true to Lewis) but didn't beat the viewer over the head with them. When Lucy first sees Aslan, no one else can. Peter asks why he didn't see the lion, and Lucy's wise reply is, "Maybe you weren't looking for him." And through the rest of the movie, this theme is played out. Peter and Caspian both try to rely on their own strength to overcome Miraz and the other men, and thus, they aren't looking for Aslan or his help. They want the glory for themselves. It is only in their desperation, trapped in the How, that they send Lucy for him.
Once they finally get their act together and look to Aslan (who equals Jesus, by the way) to help, all goes well. When we let Christ fight our battles for us, the victory is sure. Yes the battle is hard, but we have confidence and hope that the victory will be ours. I love the scene in The Return of the King, when Gandalf is looking over the Fields of Pellenor, seeing the terror of Mordor, and he begins to laugh. Yes he is worried about the battle to come, yes he longs for peace, but he also knows the outcome. And that gives him joy. Knowing that Christ has already conquered sin should give us the utmost joy if we trust in Him.
The trees on the battlefield and the Poseidon-like water god at the end were a little 'deus ex machina' for me as far as movies go, but the spiritual parallel makes it more than worth it. Oh, and the Regina Spektor song that rolled during the credits was sweet.
The verses of this song move beautifully from hope for the future to the reality of the present. All will be well, all is well, all must be well.
Through the love of God our Savior,
All will be well.
Free and changeless is His favor,
All is well.
Precious is the blood that healed us,
Perfect is the grace that sealed us,
Strong the hand stretched forth to shield us,
All must be well.
Though we pass through tribulation,
All will be well.
Ours is such a full salvation,
All is well.
Happy still in God confiding,
Fruitful if in Christ abiding,
Steadfast through the Spirit's guiding,
All must be well.
We expect a bright tomorrow,
All will be well.
Faith can sing through days of sorrow,
All is well.
On our Father's love relying,
Jesus every need supplying,
Yes in living or in dying,
All must be well.
The theme of the conference I went to last week was glorification (check back a couple posts to see what I'm talking about), but one of the most recurrent motifs that I heard throughout the large group meetings and in each of my seminars was the fact that we need to see things as they are meant to be seen. In our sanctification, we need to see our sin for the rebellion that it really is, and as our sense of our sin grows, our sense of grace will grow with it until we see grace as it is meant to be seen. In our glorification, we are to see all of creation as yearning for its renewal, not its destruction. And in pop culture... well, that's what the rest of this post is about.
One of the seminars that I went to was about pop culture. It really just sought to answer the question "How should a Christian engage culture?" I think this is a very relevant question, and one that every Christian must wrestle with at one point or another. The first day we just talked about the most common ways that Christians usually engage with culture. They're pretty straightforward.
The first is absolute and total rejection. Bunker mentality. Bob Jones university comes to mind, as well as gated communities, black sharpie sensors, and honestly, boredom. It is the position that culture has nothing good to offer, and therefore, must be avoided at all costs. Often, it even goes so far as to shun or judge others that do associate with culture. A great example of this attitude is found in Luke 7:36-50, especially in verse 39. Jesus is dining with a highly respected religious leader, and while there, a woman who is a sinner (probably a prostitute) comes in to wash Jesus' feet with her hair. Simon not only is upset about the sinful woman being in his house, he begins to judge Jesus for letting her wash His feet. Furthermore, it is my conviction that this approach leads inexorably to self-righteousness. (Admittedly, it's difficult for me not to be self-righteous because I think that I think the right things, and am therefore a better Christian than others. Or something like that.)
A more common approach, or at least one that we're all more familiar with, is assimilation. Ark mentality, as this great article calls it. It recognizes that culture has things to offer, but is still wary of the influence it can have. So, it copies it. Instead of John Grisham and Michael Crichton, they have Frank Peretti. Instead of Weezer, Reliant K. Instead of Punk'd, Prank 3:16. Instead of Ninja Turtles (are they still around?), Bibleman. You get the picture. A copy of genre, musical style, whatever, so that Christians can safely enjoy all the products of pop culture. What's so bad about that? Three things come to mind for me.
First, if we're to love other people (Christians and non-Christians), we must have some ground to relate to them on. This pretty effectively kills that chance. Second, most of the time the copies are unsatisfying compared to the original. It's like looking at a picture of the Mona Lisa instead of the masterpiece itself (I haven't actually seen the Mona Lisa, I'm just guessing). The music lacks heart, or Christian elements seem forced in. The message seems to come across, ultimately, as "Come be a Christian! We party just as hard as anyone else! But for Jesus!" And I'm sorry, that just sounds corny. Finally, the biggest problem I see with this approach is that it takes self-denial out of the 'Christian job description' completely. Jesus plainly states that "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. (Luke 9:23)" How are we to do that if all of our desires can be safely indulged?
The last strategy that Christians fall into is immersion. It sets no boundaries. Like assimilation, it recognizes that culture does have good things to give us, but unlike it, it doesn't seek to filter it. And again, self-denial is removed from the equation. Another problem with this method is that the Christian life begins to be completely separated from the secular. The two worlds cannot be justified. Drunkenness is incompatible with temperance and self-control. As much as I don't like to admit it, there are songs out there that I don't need to listen to because they don't build anyone up. This is a problem because Christ seeks to restore and renew us. To make us whole.
So how are we supposed to see things? How is a Christian supposed to rightly interact with pop culture? I think it involves seeing ourselves and the world as they were meant to be seen. Without Christ, we're on the same page before God as our non-Christian neighbors. Without Christ, the world has no hope of redemption. That means that there is nothing on this world that is perfectly good. The problem of sin is pervasive, and the hope for restoration is universal. Creation yearns to be restored.
With that in mind, I think it is possible and beneficial to engage culture (again, keeping an eye out for those things that are not beneficial or uplifting). We learn things about others, and about ourselves. We see elements of truth in the Qu'ran, the Bhagavad Gita, Harry Potter, Star Wars, music, movies, literature, everything! Not perfect Truth, but certainly not useless. For example, I've been listening to Radiohead's Creep pretty much on repeat as I've been writing this. And truthfully, I think it's a more honest, more heartfelt expression of our human predicament than any pop Christian song I've heard. "I wish I was special." "I'm a creep." "What am I doing here? I don't belong here." This song gives credit to Augustine's confession to God that "Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee."
Thankfully, God has not just given us culture. Through Christ, He gives us Himself. We can learn about our neighbors, we can enjoy different expressions of truth that we see all over the world, but ultimately we must return to the Word to nourish and refresh us. We must seek communion with Christ who can satisfy the deepest longings of our heart. And if we really love those around us, culture can be a meeting ground, a medium through which to invite them to do the same.
Well, I'm sick. That's unfortunate, because it means that I can't work today (since until camp starts, I'm working as a contractor's assistant), which means that I'm not earning any money. One good thing about it, though, is that it gives me a chance to catch up on a few things: do some desk work, start preparing for the Bible Study I'm leading next semester, and toss a post or two up here. And, on the bright side, at least I wasn't sick on my birthday (yesterday) and hopefully this gets my 'summer cold' out of the way before camp. All the same, though, stuffy noses and itchy eyes are no walk in the park.
I finished The River Why last week. The book is in my lap in that picture (and no, I'm not the 'long-haired, freaky people:' that's my campus minister). One thing is for sure, that I missed a lot of references, allusions, etc, when I read this my senior year of high school. References to the Tao Te Ching, the Mahabharata, the Qu'ran, and more all flew over my head then, but this time through I was able to pick them out. One of the character's names is Arjuna, for pete's sake! (Granted, he is a slingshot-wielding kid instead of a half-god archer.)
Another thing that stood out to me, especially after reading a lot of David James Duncan's other books, is the fact that I think Titus is, to a large extent, based off of himself. His 'universalist mysticism' (I might have just made that up) and his knowledge of wisdom literature and cultural epics from all over the place are the biggest indicators to me, but also I think the love of fishing, and maybe even the semi-sentience of animals are part of him as well. With that observation, though, I was a little surprised by one of Titus's conversations with Gus.
Gus has just been on this devastating emotional roller coaster, and Titus invites him back to Portland to philosophize for consolation (and enjoy some adult beverages as well). They get to talking and thinking, Titus quoting wisdom literature that Gus is sure to not have known, and eventually they get to this thing called a 'soul pole.' I won't talk about exactly what it is, since I think you ought to read the book for yourself, but for those who have, this'll help them know where to look. Anyway, Gus wants to 'find his soul pole.' So Titus, being the guru he is, leads Gus in what I can describe only as 'the sinner's prayer' for mystics.
You know what I mean: at rallies and conventions, a speaker gives the gospel message and then invites whoever feels God working in their hearts to say a prayer with them. It's a 'repeat after me' kinda thing. Now I'm not saying that people can't be saved through that, but I think that more often than not, people don't really understand the gospel when they say that prayer. Either because they've only heard one side of it and therefore aren't really sure of what it means for them (and they feel pressured to say it), or because this is their 17th time saying it, and they don't understand that Christ payed once for our sins, and once we are washed clean in His blood, we are justified. It doesn't take multiple washings. It doesn't take us 'rededicating our rededications.' It takes Christ.
The reason I think this is strange, is because David James Duncan is passionately against the whole right-wing, evangelical, institutionalized way of religion, yet he uses one of their central techniques at a pivotal moment in his protagonist's life. I don't know, maybe I'm making mountains out of mole-hills, but I think that's a big deal. This book was written something like 25 years ago, so maybe he hadn't fully fleshed out what he thought about mega-churches by then. Or maybe, in spite of all the problems he sees with them, he thinks the guiding hand of a sincere mentor in a sincere disciple's life can turn even that into a positive thing. I don't know. What do you think?
The theme of the conference that I was at last week was 'glorification.' It is the completion of sanctification, the redemption of the world. It is the end of the struggle over sin. It is God making His dwelling place with His people. It is marked by constant praise, restored relationships, and all of creation finally fulfilling that purpose for which it was made: the glorification of God. This hymn expresses all that beautifully, and at the close, aids the worshiper in expressing the longing for that rest.
Ten thousand times ten thousand
In sparkling raiment bright,
The armies of the ransomed saints throng
Up the steeps of light.
'Tis finished, all is finished,
Their fight with death and sin;
Fling open wide the golden gates,
And let the victors in.
What rush of alleluias
Fills all the earth and sky!
What ringing of a thousand harps
Bespeaks the triumph nigh!
O day, for which creation
And all its tribes were made;
O joy, for all its former woes
A thousandfold repaid.
O then what raptured greetings
On Canaan's happy shore;
What knitting severed friendships
Up where partings are no more!
Then eyes with joy shall sparkle,
That brimmed with tears of late;
Orphans no longer fatherless,
Nor widows desolate.
Bring near Thy great salvation,
Thou Lamb for sinners slain;
Fill up the roll of thine elect,
Then take Thy power, and reign;
Appear, Desire of Nations,
Thine exiles long for home;
Shoe in the Heaven Thy promised sign;
Thou Prince and Savior, come.
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday dear Mooommmmmmm!
Happy Birthday to you!
I leave early tomorrow morning for Panama City, Florida, for a week at the beach with some of the coolest people in the world. No, it's not the Deleteheads, nor the annual meeting of the International Society of Nutella Lovers. It's Reform University Fellowship's Summer Conference 2008, better known as RUF SC '08. My guess is that, with speakers and seminars and the beach and friends and volleyball tournaments and sandcastle building competitions and more, that I won't find the time to post anything up here. But I would imagine that I'll have plenty of good food for thought when I get back.
Happy Mother's Day! To all you moms out there, from all us kids who turned out better than you thought we could (what with our nose-picking, food-smearing, diaper-wrecking, brother-hitting, lamp-breaking, general ruckus-making past), thanks for putting up with us for 18 years. Obviously cards and flowers and presents and breakfast in bed are a far cry from the amount that you've given us, but with a debt we couldn't hope to repay, we're just trying to say thanks, and we love you.
On a different note, this Mother's Day, we're having a little family song in church tonight. My mom will be singing (her voice is beautiful), my youngest brother, Jared, will be on djimbe, and I will be pickin' and grinnin' on the mandolin. If only Daniel had some talent.... Oh well. This is the song we'll be playing/singing. It's unusual in the sense that it's from God's viewpoint, singing to His children, but the words are utterly fantastic.
Pensive, doubting, fearful heart,
Hear what Christ the Savior says;
Every word should joy impart,
Change thy mourning into praise.
Yes, He speaks and speaks to thee,
May He help thee to believe;
Then thou presently will see,
Thou has little cause to grieve.
Fear thou not, nor be ashamed;
All thy sorrows soon shall end,
I, who heaven and earth have framed,
Am thy Husband and thy Friend;
I, the High and Holy One,
Israel's God, by all adored,
As thy Savior will be known,
Thy Redeemer and thy Lord.
For a moment I withdrew,
And thy heart was filled with pain;
But my mercies I'll renew;
Thou shall soon rejoice again;
Though I seem to hide my face,
Very soon my wrath shall cease;
'Tis but for a moment's space,
Ending in eternal peace.
Though afflicted, tempest tossed,
Comfortless awhile thou art,
Do not think thou can be lost,
Thou art graven on my heart;
All thy wastes I will repair;
Thou shalt be rebuilt anew;
And in thee it shall appear
What the God of love can do.
Well, school has been done for almost a week. More, if you consider that my last final was ridiculously easy. I'm at home for another couple days, and then it's off to Florida for RUF Summer Conference. And then back home for a few days, then off to Austin for a wedding. Then back home for a few days, then off to Virginia for a weekend at the lake. Then back home for a few days, then camp! But in spite of all the summer preparations, packing up and moving from Raleigh, and working for Dad the past three days, I have been able to get some reading done.
David James Duncan is definitely in my top five of favorite authors. God Laughs and Plays, a collection of his essays, articles, and speeches (maybe?) was wonderful. Lots of good quotes, lots of good thoughts. And most importantly, even though it is clear that he is passionate about what he believes, he doesn't cram it down your throat or become overly preachy. He is well-versed in the art of rhetoric.
River Teeth was highly enjoyable. I still remember the beach trip where I read the whole thing on the way, and then went back and reread my favorite short stories over the course of the week. In fact, just the other day I was having coffee with a friend, and somehow conversation turned to children's books, and I made the comment that Are You My Mother? always reminds me of the first story in that collection (I can't remember what it's called, but it's about that childhood experience we all have of grabbing the wrong 'mom's' hand or mistaking a stranger for Daddy). Coincidentally, she's the one that recommended The Master and Margarita, and out of gratitude for me actually reading it, she's supposed to be working on The Brothers K this summer.
The Brothers K was ... fantastic. Outstanding. Phenomenal. (Great segue, huh?) Baseball, Russian Literature, Hindu metaphysics, Vietnam, draft-dodgers, and so much more. I highly recommend it. (It's fiction, by the way.)
But I digress. The book I'm currently working on is The River Why. It's 'about' fishing. But not really. It's about Augustine 'Gus' Orviston, the son of a father who is a fly-fishing legend and a mother who is a staunch, unwavering, 'plunker': a bait fisher...woman. He is highly accomplished at both. His little brother, Bill-Bob (his mother names him that mainly to irk his father), in stark contrast to the rest of the family, doesn't care for fishing at all. So fishing is the medium through which Gus evaluates his relationship with his father and mother, their relationship with each other, and most importantly (I think) the medium he must shed and leave behind in order to relate to and love his brother.
One of the things that's struck me on this reading (I read it 4 years ago, my senior year of high school) is what obsession does to a person. With Gus, it's fishing. It starts out as a passion, but quickly turns against him. He hears water even when he's sleeping. He talks to, and weeps over, his pet fish. But most importantly, he looses the ability to talk to people about anything but fishing. That's what obsession does to people: it makes them so preoccupied with one thing that anything else (even good things) loose their flavor.
Darwin complained about this late in his life. As a younger man, he enjoyed the arts, especially good literature. But as he looked back, after much of his research on natural selection, he realized that he had lost all love for Shakespeare. Poetry became dry and boring. And, I would guess, in all of his conversations with others, natural selection, if not the topic, was at the front of his mind. I think to some extent, this can happen with anyone. Hyper-Calvinists, environmentalists, overly-politically minded people, people that get drawn into sports or their jobs, anyone.
The worst kind of obsession, I think, is self-obsession. Pride. I know that you've met someone who wants to talk about nothing but themselves. It gets old fast. Not only is it annoying, I firmly believe that it is idolatry. It's putting yourself before God.
But for most faults, there is a positive side. If we're obsessed with the right things, if our preoccupations are in the right place, they can be for the benefit of others. If service for others is at the front of our minds, even if it's not the center of our conversation, it will flavor our interactions. As always, love for God and love for others should take first place. If it does, our obsession turns to infatuation. What better place to be?
I finished a book Saturday! Just in time for me to start a new one for the summer. Just for you curious readers out there, the books I have on my list for the summer are The River Why by David James Duncan, One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, and maybe some short stories by Graham Greene in between. And that's just the fiction!
Anyway, the book I've been reading for the past couple months was... interesting. I'm sure I'm missing something about it: some social context, some other literary allusion, or something. All the same, I enjoyed it. Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita is set in Moscow during Stalin's reign. How it was able to be published (mid 1960's) without heavy censure is a mystery to me.
I don't want to spoil it, but I can say a few things about it. Basically, it's about the chaos that ensues when Satan and a few demons come to Moscow. They set-up shop in a recently deceased author's apartment, and proceed to haunt, terrorize, confuse, and disorient... Moscow. Their focus is on the literary community, and it's because of this that I think Satan and his retinue must represent the communist regime of the early 1900's.
The other plot of the book is the events surrounding Christ's crucifixion. Special detail is given to Pontius Pilate and his Inquisition of Christ before the crucifixion, a conversation with Matthew Levi about the book he is writing (presumably our Gospel of Matthew), and his involvement in the murder of Judas. This narrative is written by one of the authors that get sent to a mental institution after their interaction with Moscow's visitors.
The two story lines are mixed together with little apparent overlap. However, there is one parallel I see between the two stories. In the whole book, Caesar and Stalin are conspicuously absent. Their presence is undeniable: in Moscow, there is a general fear of the political machine that controls the country. In the same way, the strong hand of Caesar seems to always be on Pilate's mind. Their goals of cultural unity and civil peace at the cost of individuality and freedom seem to go hand in hand.
Again, I highly enjoyed this book. It was at times profound, hilarious, confusing, and absurd. But, as I said, I feel like I'm missing something. Maybe this one just takes a little time to sink in.
It's been a great week. I had some exams, some homework, but mostly just some relaxing and good bonding time with people I won't see over the summer. We hung out on the front porch the last two nights (the weather has been beautiful this week), had a fire in the backyard earlier this week, and have really enjoyed the 'exam week chill.' I've had good times of reading and contemplation, conversation and fellowship. Again, it's been a great week.
This song is, for me, a great culmination to a great week. As good as my week has been, the good news of the Gospel makes it even better. Christ is risen: this is not just a happy ending to the Easter story, but a radical new beginning.
Before the throne of God above,
I have a strong, a perfect plea,
A great High Priest whose name is "Love,"
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart;
I know that while in heav'n He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart.
No tongue can bid me thence depart.
When Satan tempts me to despair,
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end to all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died,
My sinful soul is counted free;
For God, the Just, is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.
To look on Him and pardon me.
Behold Him there! the risen Lamb,
My perfect, spotless Righteousness,
The great, unchangeable I AM,
The King of glory and of grace!
One with Himself I cannot die,
My soul is purchased by His blood;
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ, my Savior and my God.
With Christ, my Savior and my God.
I saw Prince Caspian last weekend as a cap to my birthday evening celebration extravaganza. It was fun, but not that big of a deal because 1) I only turned 22, and 2) it wasn't even on my birthday, and 3) it was just with my family. Not that I don't love my family and everything (I do), but because my birthday falls in those couple weeks between when school ends and summer jobs (only 11 days until camp starts!) start, it's been a long time since I got to celebrate my birthday with friends. Oh well, one of these days.
Once they finally get their act together and look to Aslan (who equals Jesus, by the way) to help, all goes well. When we let Christ fight our battles for us, the victory is sure. Yes the battle is hard, but we have confidence and hope that the victory will be ours. I love the scene in The Return of the King, when Gandalf is looking over the Fields of Pellenor, seeing the terror of Mordor, and he begins to laugh. Yes he is worried about the battle to come, yes he longs for peace, but he also knows the outcome. And that gives him joy. Knowing that Christ has already conquered sin should give us the utmost joy if we trust in Him.
