I confess...

I once vowed not to see any more blockbuster movies. The movie that put me over the edge was the “prequel” to Star Wars that decided to replace creativity with CGI animation in the form of a green “Rodger the rabbit” imitation. It was disappointing and about all I could take so I didn’t go back for many years. Even though I work in the computer industry, I have to admit that computers have ruined movies forever the same way that television (MTV) killed rock and roll.

In the last year I’ve actually been back to a couple of movies and this weekend I went to see the Da Vinci Code. It was not a very good movie, but I felt good about supporting something that had the nerve to stand up to traditional Christian theology even if it was obviously fiction.

I think the reason that the Da Vinci Code is so popular is that most people (including Christians) realize that something smells fishy with traditional Christian theology. Even worse smelling is the odor of Church history that is lined with deception, blood-thirsty power, and just plain bad science. We all know deep down that something is rotten but we are afraid to say it out loud. It just doesn’t add up. I’m glad that someone finally put it on the big screen even if it is woven into a fictional story that turned out to be a bit disappointing. The particular conspiracies that are portrayed in the Da Vinci Code probably never happened but it does bring to our attention that conspiracies are plentiful in our theological history and our elevation of the Bible to a divine status is destructive and lowers Christianity to the same levels as ancient pagan religions that still cling to mythological poems as if they were historical events.

I don’t think there is any question that the power of the traditional church is fading, but the real question is if anyone will bother to reconstruct some type of Christian theology that can survive in the post-modern world after it is gone. I think the Da Vinci code has paved the way for more public conversations about truth and religion. That is more important than an over-priced movie with a corny ending.

The Prophetic Imagination

I have heard Walter Brueggemann speak before and had read bits and pieces of his work, but after hearing him speak again last weekend at FBC Augusta I picked up my copy of The Prophetic Imagination and began reading. I had read a bit before, but after hearing him speak I seemed to be more in tune with his language and it seemed much more approachable this time around. After a while, the language actually became something I enjoyed. It is poetic and very inspirational.

I have to admit that this may be one of the most important books I've read in years. I don't think I can ever read the bible and particularly the Old Testament the same way again. Through the lens of Walter Brueggemann, the Bible is a beautifully subversive political document that describes the hope of a new type of neighborhood/community/covenant full of justice, love, and peace.

The first thing I learned from this book is that prophetic doesn't mean telling the future. Prophets are people that create radical social, political, and religious dissention using poetic language to inspire action. I struggle to function in a religious environment that still understands prophetic utterance to be some magical prediction of the future or divine revelation of events.

One aspect of the book that struck me as profound is that the royal consciousness (Imperial power) plays to our sense of despair. Despair and hopelessness is a key component to the continuation of the status quo and the entrenched powers of domination systems. I think that Christianity has bought into this by morphing its theology to insist that this life is doomed and has no chance of being saved. We have been taught that this life itself is evil and the only hope we have is in what may happen in the next life. That view of salvation leads to disempowerment which leads to despair which leads to apathy.

Today we face many types of Empire. Unlike the Empires of Egypt, Rome, and Nazi Germany, the empires that we face in today's western culture are less definitive. Those older historical empires didn't particularly hide their agenda to be empires. They were very proud of the status. Empire today is just as powerful but more evasive. It takes the shape of big corporate structures, political campaigns, fundamentalist religious groups, conservative media organizations, unjust economic distribution, and consumerism. Fighting the empire today feels more like fighting terrorists that have no single point of authority, geography, and structure.

I wonder however, if this is really that different in America now than how it felt to be a citizen of Egypt, Rome, or German during the birth of their Empires? Does the fact that most of us benefit in some way from our growing empires allow us to somehow ignore the fact the we are actually citizens of something less than admirable? Walter Bruggeman suggests that "numbness" toward the harmful effects of empire is one of the greatest tools of the empire. As long as we are numb we will allow the status quo to continue and the status quo is a good thing for empires.

It seems that today we live in a horrible mix of 2 toxic agents of thought. Half of us are oppressed and in a state of despair. These people have given up hope for any fix in this life so they live a passive existence grasping their only thread of hope for a better place in the next life. These people could best be described as "blue". The other half of us are in some way supported by the current structure of economic distribution and in order to cope they have become numb to the despair around them but they are also angry and scared that someone may try to take away their comfortable status. These people seem to be feeling a bit "red".

Today, our toxic kool-aid has mixed to become the Imperial color of purple. It tastes great, is surprisly less-filling, and pairs well with a nice slice of apple pie. But based on historical precedence, it is likely to cause a bit of a hangover.

bottoms up!

McLaren's take on Hell...

Here are the links to a 3 part interview with Brian McLaren about his views on Hell. I really like what he has to say on the subject. I think that an idea of an exclusivist type of afterlife (or any afterlife at all) is questionable at best. At worst it is an ideal that crept into human psychology and religion in order to manipulate the masses into submission. Another example of the empire doing what empire's do best.

part 1

part 2

part 3

King of the Hill - Church

This is a great video clip from "King of the Hill"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtI2pa2m5cg

Documentary kick

I’ve been on a documentary kick the last couple of weeks. At the beginning of April I went through the entire month’s TV schedule and set my DVR to record a dozen documentaries that were scheduled. For the last 2 weeks that is about all I have watched (other than the NFL draft which was good background to a new book by Karen Armstrong which I finished over the weekend).

Here a few that I really liked:

Original Child Bomb
The Corporation
All aboard (I'm not kidding. I actually liked the this!!!)
14 million dreams
Mardi Gras: Made in China
Born into Brothels

Of course I had to rewatch a couple of my favorites and more well known documentaries...
Fahrenheit 9/11
Super Size Me