I Hate the Hate

As a Christian I'm exposed to so many classically poor interpretations of my faith during the course of a day. I can't stand it!

I keep thinking we're past the pithy, inflammatory statements posted on church signs, or wherever else Christians think they're clever (e-mail signatures), but no. No, I'm regularly shown that people's unaltered human nature is simply focussed through their "faith".

With grace I can understand what they're saying. I can see the truth behind the blatant but (probably) unintended offense. Of course, not everyone is wired that way. (Most people, I dare say.) And the unthinking, smarmy, smug, trite, snappy, little statement reinforces everything negative that ever existed within faith. Oh, how I hate the "I'm right, and you're going to Hell" mentality! And it's bandied about so readily! If people had a taste of what Hell was like (whatever it's like) that mindset would die in a snap -- I have to admit that I sometimes wish that for people. Imagine if instead of telling people that they're headed there, Christians would actively and unitedly work to prevent it.

Faith requires a life change. Otherwise it's not faith, it's something else. (Actually, there are innumerable examples of what it isn't.) But the life change doesn't come first -- it can't and never will. People who expect that in whatever form are simply heading for a reality smack upside the head. The process is what grace is, and what it does. It's the supernatural power that leaves us speechless -- like trying to describe the colour blue to a blind person. So please quit trying to encapsulate it in a catchy little slogan. You're bound to fail, and I'm bound to my anger!

Open Letter to the American Media

Well now you're covering a horrific massacre at a college. It's catastrophic, shocking and sad. But there's an upside: I won't have to hear about Anna Nicole Smith any more. (After far too long, you were still rife with commentary and 'updates'. “Yep, you guessed it. Still dead.”) Unfortunately with that substitution, all news is tainted. Now ANS and 33 dead college students have both been granted the maximum you can offer. This is far from the first time, but it so face-smackingly obvious this time that I can't just let it go.

Your loss of credibility is pretty much total. It's going to take you a long time for you to recover it, assuming the goal is even on your radar screen. You've proven that honour and dignity are merely words in forgotten dictionaries, and now you feel equal to the task of handling this much bigger, more significant story? One with real impact on families, politics and a whole culture? Your sensational bungling is my skepticism feast – how can I bring myself to care about anything you tell me is important? I can't: I don't trust you. You've shored up a nation's apathy and a generation's cynicism because you went all histrionic over something vapid. And you've got no reserves left for a story with real significance.

But hey, I know it's not your fault. What can ya say? It's just been a slow news year...

"It's a Free Country, Last I Checked"

I can't help feeling we're at a huge crux for democracy. It's not the soldiers in the Middle East “defending our freedom”, or industries that are seducing and enslaving populations in need and debt. No it's more fundamental: do people even have a clue what freedom means anymore? We have an increasing number of blowhards that make comments that get picked up and broadcast over a huge audience, and then get lambasted by the very media world that they are a part of. It's oddly hypocritical – stories are only publicised because they're sensational, and the sensationalism is carried by everyone telling the story, who is each then complicit in the original offence. And top to bottom, front to back, everyone is using the same descriptor: free speech.

Howard Stern has played this game perhaps most publicly and most successfully. Recently, many others haven't been so lucky. The stories gain this ungainly momentum, and take on a life of their own, and the offence that is so scandalising becomes blown entirely out of proportion. Suddenly in this internet era when words in many cases are all we have to lean on, and private and public spheres are blurred, those words have a hell of a lot of importance. That's part of it, but wait there's more.

There is an understated but direct culture clash that we've been living with for decades. It's been in the wings, the oft-quoted “live and let live tolerance” thing. Segregated subcultures have been allowed their own ways and biases, in fact those have even been encouraged. And now suddenly the broader culture is saying that's not enough. There is a recognition that we should be living in unity with respect and forgiveness (dare I say, love?) for each other, and that's the fulcrum on which this whole thing pivots. Is the world really ready to buy fully into what that means, and make room for it? That's a whole lot of opt in, and the ramifications are extreme and I believe, in this reactionary period, not well thought out.

Of course, this could be just a bunch of whiners complaining that they don't have enough freedom, because other people's freedoms are impinging on their own. (When everyone is free, no-one is?) I'm interested to see what becomes of it, and what changes are effected. (If any.) Either this goes away (again) with some sincere-sounding apologies and crocodile tears, or we make some unwieldy rules 'n' regulations, or it becomes internalised change at the gut level. As for you and your house, that's your call.

Have you ever heard “if we offend you, don't watch”? That's the sort of defence that's been around for decades – the "if you're offended, it's your fault" mentality. It's been twisted to defend everything from edgy comedy to pornography. If we're serious about this unity gig, and don't want to be hypocrites, that mentality dies here. There's no room for it in community. Or if we believe in free speech like we claim to, then we take a few knocks every once in a while by people who can get away with abusing trust. Sometimes you need to hear a lot of crap before you hear one true thing. And of course, this is all juxtaposed with the real need that people have to be offended, whether they know it or not. So now what?

Well, all I know is this: I can ask prophetic questions, but I'm no prophet.

Definitive Proof, Because I Said So!

I am Anna Nicole Smith's baby's father! Okay, America, lavish me with fame and fortune! Or just fortune, your choice. Arrange for me a talk-show circuit and a book deal I want rights to the movie and merchandising too (perhaps a bobble head so that I can match A.N.S. herself). Oh, and a cool-dude entourage, and an Escalade. I know how this gig works! Oh and that other guy? The one who's suing $10m for character defamation because it was said that there's no way he could be the father? Take that as a lesson, man. Don't tell me whose father I can and can't be! For all you know I could your father, America.

Jimmy Kimmel (in a rare case where I agreed with him) said that everyone associated with television should be ashamed of themselves. In fact, even the people that supply electricity to television should be ashamed. When TV is knocking TV on the head, perhaps it's time to take notice.

At what point does all the trivial emptiness implode on itself? Do people honestly care that much? And if they do, why are they allowed to continue to consume perfectly good oxygen? At what point do either the audience or the entertainers realise that they're propagating the biggest waste of time, money and energy in history? And who's losing sleep on the biggest unasked question of all: "How are we going to top this when Kato Kaelin dies?"

In other news, CNN said-- sorry, my bad. According to CNN, there is no other news...

What does Evangelical Mean?

This question was asked in an online forum amongst a bunch of evangelical pastors. It got one answer -- a cut and paste from a wiki. And that's it. We're living in such a weird time where the buzzwords get bandied about so readily, with so many interpretations, that they have no real meaning left. Or at least that's my take. :-)

Gazing Upon the Wonder of a -- What Th...?!

Have you heard of Orlando's Holy Land Experience? I gotta be honest, this thoroughly weirds me out. I can't quite put my finger on it. (Could it be that I just don't have enough fingers?!) There's just something strange about a bunch of modern white people acting the part of ancient jews. (Though, after all, we all know that Jesus was a lean, lanky white guy with long, luscious locks, right? It's utter heresy to imagine otherwise!) This is all about as pleasant as a mouth full of sugar. I'm trying to articulate my feelings, all the while feeling kinda stunned that I'd have to -- that there's actually a monstrosity in the world to cause to me to feel this way.

It seems like suddenly people have been listening to the clamour of the Christian right that have been chanting the same mantra same message for years: "We have money to spend! Give us Christianised entertainment!" The trouble is, I'm not so sure that that's actually a worthy goal. I have a rather large problem with the way the church continues to create walls between itself and the world. And things like Christianised theme parks merely add more bricks, making ourselves irrelevant to other faiths, cultures, even (dare I say) the truth of the gospel, all in the name of Christ. I know! Let's make artificial, surrogate experiences that hollow out the essence of our faith to a dry husk. Now we can have a profound religious pilgrimage, right from the comfort of the family gas-guzzler, while sucking on a fast food milkshake and watching who-knows-what on the onboard LCDs. Gee whiz, kids, now ain't this fun!

If this is either the church's status report or the forecast, I'm just a tad concerned! I can only imagine how much this has cost, and will continue to cost. And for what? Seriously, what? Oh yeah, but if you're going, can you take this little prayer I wrote to stuff into the replica wailing wall? They just gotta have one...

Isn't it Ironic?

Some people have held on so strongly to Christian truth that they've killed each other over it. Which just proves that they never understood what they were holding on to...

Truism Time

Too many initiatives exist to satisfy needs that don't.

Consumerism's Chief Commentary

Eventually you'll own a thousand things, each of which you'll hate for a different reason.

Nations Rise and Fall

In recent informal conversations, there is some perception that China has already become the world's new economic superpower. I personally don't think it has dethroned the States just yet, purely on the basis that the majority of its production is geared for the American market. How can you be all-powerful if you're entirely dependent on one particular market? However, if the US wants to continue to enjoy its level of world influence, it had better watch its back. And the mighty States is falling all over itself to get the largest number of the cheapest products it can, unwisely throwing all of its wealth away. And China's doing a great job of catching.

Some have argued that the continued (and now escalated) Iraq presence is bankrupting the US (though really, it's only billions and billions, not real money yet...). Others point out that country's debt load, if spread out over each household, has crested the $90,000 mark. I've played enough Starcraft to know that military might trumps economic weakness. But when you run out of crystals on the map, things get tense.

I think the issue that's going to sink the US is the same one that build it: materialism. That's fascinating. As the US has systematically commodified its own population, carefully and scientifically scrutinised and dissected it into tasty bite-sized morsel for industrial consumption, that population has become inured to its own harsh realities. Well, judging by how much activism there is suddenly, perhaps it's not case-closed yet. But even many of the thinkers and protagonists are admitting that they've succumbed to the 'inevitable' sellout. And anyway, all activism seems much too little, far too late.

It's the phenomenon of the "rich kid" nation. Think about what a spoiled brat looks like. What do they want? Everything! When do they want it? Now! They don't know the value of money, or really how to fend for themselves. They never mature, because the hard truth is that maturity takes hardship. Right, so now map that mentality over an entire nation, culture, whatever, and you get a scary picture. Only now there's not slavery to provide it, so it always costs somebody something. Actually, quite a lot as the stakes keep getting higher. This was unsustainable decades ago. Now it's just toxic.

When you have a competing system that is going to value human life in a whole new (though not necessarily better) way, and that system has the capacity for far greater critical mass, it's going to cause a change. I hope that China holds on to some form of socialism as it ascends. I hope that it thinks slower and more strategically about the fixed resources the planet has. And I hope that it forms imaginative new solutions that live far outside of entrenched, closed-minded, arrogant economic structures (oil companies, that means you!). But from everything that history has demonstrated, I don't really hold all that much hope...

Honey, I Pimped the Kids!

Maclean's just provided Canada with an article called "Why do we dress our daughters like skanks?" Um, good question. I hope some parents get a quick smack upside the head with it. I really do. Because it's about time!

We're living in a strange era. A (growing) number of things are given greater importance and less value. Freedom. Sex. In this case, childhood. I just went to Blood Diamond (worth a review -- I'll get to it), and there were kids in the theatre, as young as ten. A movie that in part depicts the African "child warlord" with the bloody awful things that accompany it (it spared the audience witnessing actual rape, but there were brutal threats and other references to it, and there's no illusions in any adult's mind about what's going on with the women in the war camps). What's that going to do to a Canadian kid? Any kid? I don't know. But it's not a social experiment I wish to engage in. I'm not saying we need to start enforcing prudishness or ingorance. But if kids get desensitised to violence at 10, then what? Blood Diamond claims to be fictional, but its reality is being acted out every day -- it's not even possible to pass it off as mere fantasy. But does the fantasy excuse work for 5-7-year-olds watching Pirates of the Carribean? Or the 2-and-4-year-olds exposed to the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy? Hello? What are those parents thinking? Let's go another way -- perhaps more of what you were expecting with the title of the post.

There has been much made of the eroticised (pre)teen for my entire lifetime. Realistically the argument probably started with Frank Sinatra's "bobby-soxers". Only recently, the balance of power has switched. Critical mass is now firmly on the skanky side. But I can't really put my finger on why. What switch goes off in a parent's mind that says it's a good idea to either actively or passively engage in the sexualisation of their children? Is this just the ultimate expression of youth-obsessed culture? (Or will SNL's diaper-thong skit prove prophetic?) Or does it perhaps go along with the commodification of the word "pimp": a hot kid is the ultimate fasion accessory for the suburban-SUV lifestyle? Whatever it is, it's pretty gross.

Children and childhood are not symbols to be wrapped up, commodified and sold in malls. Well, that's not entirely true. They are. But they shouldn't be. As adults, this is our responsibility. This means protecting kids when they need it. Preparing them for the stuff of life (e.g. they're unique and special, but aren't the centre of the universe). And when they're ready for it, pushing them out of the nest. I'm seeing parents everywhere neglecting their responsibilities in each area. It's time to stop and step up!

Hey, I'm part of this whole global-village-raising-a-child thing. And my stake is the condition of the world when I leave it, and my responsibility under God for people. Aren't those stakes high enough?

Prescriptive Truth

I hold creative Christians directly to scripture. I'm a little forgiving with (and somewhat welcoming of) interpretations of scripture, but if something seems to contradict, wrongly emphasise, or even exagerate a biblical truth, my guard goes up fast. The truth is so fragile, and I can't allow it to be diluted in my own head/heart. That even goes for poetry or abstract art! I must add though, I appreciate art that honestly probes the mysteries of life and God, and don't want everything to be literal. ( Heaven forbid!)

On the absolutes, certainty; on the interpretations, grace.

Materialism in an Immaterial World

There is a new movement afoot to help the church find its voice. But what is this field of Communications we're all being touched by? It's challenging to explain because it is so intangible. And because the church is now trying to redefine itself from the world's perspective, its communication is rapidly modified through experimentation. Corporations have become quite adept at the elusive art of marketing. The church? Not so much.

That's strange though, because current marketing is as adept at tapping into the ethereal as the physical, which is just what the church is about. In fact, the marketing tactics in the world have, to a very large extent, simply been co-opted from church. It's not science. Or new age. It's a desperate new materialism. As people have their minds placated with shinier, fancier trinkets, either their souls are lulled to sleep, or the only thing they can taste is their dissatisfaction.

How many times recently have you seen a product sold on its specifications? Um, none. Well maybe mention is made of "time-release this" or "micro-whatever that" (microscrubbers?). But in advertising, invocations are made to a feeling, an experience, or something equally indefinable. This is true of everything from the most abstract services (think financial advising) to the most concrete products (like, for example, concrete). People are approaching exhaustion what with the myriad of complicated emotional appeals being made. "Buy our vacuum-cleaner and you will feel empowered." "Some of our gasoline profits fund eco-friendly fuel development, so you can feel good about your SUV's 15mpg." "Our body wash will make you feel like this naked supermodel doing her best otter imitation." It's all about the association of experience, and very little to do with reality. And the message and the medium are appropriately connected.

Virtual reality is a pretty much passe term already. That's because we're so steeped in it, it needs no further reference or definition. It's not just the internet, though it has connected many of communication technologies. ("For more, check out the site...") And technology has democratised communication. $3,000 worth of video tools can achieve over 90% of the production value of the studio execs who wear $3,000 wristwatches. Music recording and production have seen similar changes. Then of course the web is the perfect all-in-one promotion-to-distribution channel, and it's pennies per glass. (Interesting to note that its costs continue to tailspin even as travel costs skyrocket. It's a stick and carrot for virtual experience.)

But as people find themselves increasingly crammed full with the intangible, the elusive and the abstract, their souls become ever hungrier for truth. Thus the church finds itself in a unique space. It has always been ambidextrous in the deeply real and transcendantly intangible, therefore the world's quest should find no greater fulfillment. Our challenge is to be eloquent where the world is fluent, and in its language to continually proclaim our eternal hope.

Subtle Tolerance (No More!)

I asked a group of leaders recently if, as the world 'gets smaller', they've noticed a change in our culture toward being more adopting and accepting of other cultures. They explained that it's not a merger, as much as it is a peaceful co-existence. People tend to go to extremes on one side or the other. One attitude is that they're too different for us to ever completely understand -- they do their thing, and we do ours. The other is that they watch Hollywood movies and wear Nike shoes, so they're just like us! As per usual, the truth is somewhere in between...

Here is a point that I cannot stress enough. When people are dropped into North America, they are met with a high-paced, frenetic culture, for which they have no context and no filters. Advertising (and for that matter any message) has had to continue to compete with media desensitisation that the media have themselves caused. It's an arms race between the populace's apathy and the shimmering cool, extreme, quirky, funny, whatever. A the newcomers fall for it. Hard!

Here's a perfect example of the culture clash: An immigrant kid watches The Family Guy and doesn't get that it's funny because it is so absurdly opposed to the values of our day. Instead she takes it as a literal interpretation of North American life, and ends up saying something entirely inappriopriate (which, depending on the situation, may or may not be uproariously funny) and unfortunately has no clue what she's done.

It seems a little strange to me that traveling to other continents to see otherness is so wildly popular, while going next door isn't. We need to do more to integrate newcomers into their brave-new-world. They are shaping it, and are being shaped by it, whether we are invested in it or not. I say let's help!

(With increased sensitivity to this issue, I've heard of one church in particular starting this type of outreach. It's a large church with plenty of resources at its disposal, so I hope it does the effort justice. I would like to add that there is room for everyone to participate: One church can't reach everyone!)

A Long, Thin Tightrope.

I'm always on my toes. I tread the fine line between morally-oblivious marketing as propagated by corporations, and the hackneyed, rough-and-ready existing methodology from the church. When I see a Christian piece that is a direct rip-off of an innovative commercial strategy, I cringe. When I see dusty, traditional Christian marketing efforts, I shudder. Both provide constant reminders that we don’t have it all figured out just yet.

This is the challenge: our metaphors need to be entirely reworked. We cannot afford to be aligned with money-as-sole-goal corporate institutions, and yet we need something newer, fresher, better than what is out there now. The story we’re offering is the same one it’s always been, it just needs to be be told in "the parlance of our times".

We need to reduce the program to its elements. Those individual fragments must be linked to a specific need, and after each is examined carefully, they must be assembled into something new to match them. It’s a risky, scary process, because what’s currently available works for some. And for those whom it’s working, it’s working quite well enough, thank you very much. And the new model certainly won’t be perfect. But the imperative remains. It takes new to attract new.

This of course is familiar to all people, perhaps especially Christians as we straddle the immediate and the infinite. However, not all are as aware of the struggle as those on the front lines – those whose vocation it is to lead culture. Culture by itself cannot be trusted to form an accurate way to address its own needs. It needs input, guidance and encouragement. And, with all that I am and have, that’s what I’m trying to do.