Week 3, Cobb Chapter 3

I was really intrigued by this chapter. The historical basis of culture as it relates to the gladiators killing Christians in the Roman coliseum and the early theater. The causal relationship and the historical influence that these events had on Western Christianity and it's views on entertainment and culture is fascinating. It was interesting in that Cobb draws distinction between Tertullian and Augustine and their two different views on theology and culture. Tertullian saw them as "discrete realities". Augustine saw them as "intertwined cities". This idea of intertwined cities resurfaced centuries later by Martin Luther when he saw the roll of God in culture as dependent on both God's will and the reception of the viewer. I think that there are certainly quite a few different viewpoints out there in the role of theology in culture. However, it is easy for me to see how a church father such as Tertullian would have been strongly opposed to culture and entertainment given that Christians were being killed as sport as popular entertainment.

Week 3, Bevans Chapter 3

In this reading we learned about six various models of contextual theology. Anthropological is the most radical and countercultural is the most conservative. I understand that each of these models is distinct and can be used in conjunction with each other. I found it interesting that Darrell Whiteman pointed out in the chapter that, "when the Gospel is presented...along appropriate cultural patterns, then people will more likely be confronted with the offense of the Gospel, exposing their own sinfulness and the tendency toward evil, oppressive structures and behavior patterns within their culture" (Bevans, p. 33). I think this is an important idea worth holding onto as we attempt to understand how the Gospel might be received in context with their culture.

Week 3, Barker Chapter 6

In this chapter I keyed into the idea that "Globalization is not constituted by a monolithic one-way flow from the west-to-the-rest" (Barker, p.173). Instead, we need to realize that our increased consumer culture and our newfound means of globalization has created an environment in which we consume all sorts of new products. I found it particularly interesting how this plays out with religion. Not only do our churches swim against the tide of catering services/programs to the church members. But we're quickly becoming less and less of a Christian nation. Islam and Hinduism, and other world religions are quickly becoming more and more popular. I think this important to realize and evaluate as we move forward in stepping out into the world. I think the task in a large part becomes understanding the other religions and realizing how Christianity differentiates itself in a positive way from these other religions.

Week 3, Barker Chapter 5

"In 1994, about 51 million Americans aged eighteen years and older were diagnosed with some form of mental illness" (Barker, p. 145). This stems from "family trauma" and "a loss of social and cultural connection". This idea jumped out to me as I read this chapter as the larger implications from our perspective seems to be how do we as a body respond to these staggering numbers? Barker suggests that "drugs and talk" are one of the ways we need to change brain biochemistry. But I responded to perhaps the less quantifiable idea that is presented in this chapter. The idea of how changes in our patterns of personal experience and changes in our thinking can alter our brain chemistry. I think that a large part of our mission is to discover where and how our Christian culture and secular culture intersect to create a cohesive and connecting culture.

Week 3 Monday

I thought that the discussion today about the emerging church was interesting in that we outlined the difference between the "attractional" model of the 80s/90s with the "missional" model that Bolger and Gibbs tapped into in 2004. I think where I'm at right now is trying to figure out how the best of these two models can be blended together in a way that will engage the church community. I don't believe that there's only one right way in how to do church. However, I'm inspired by the missional and emerging church and I do believe that "traditional" congregations need to come alongside the missional and emerging churches and tap into the idea that they're not just there to cater or market to the church body.

Reponse to Randy's Blog Harmony - Bevans Chp 1 - Week 1

The main line from your post that I would have to take issue with is when you state, "culture just distorts what we hear He's saying to us." The use of the word distorts implies that culture is negative and blocks us from hearing God.

I would like to suggest that while this certainly can be true some of the time, it is not true all of the time. I believe that God has the potential to work in and through anyone and anything, including culture, as a way of leading us to discover the greater truth found in scripture. I think when we start saying that culture only blocks us from hearing God then we're underestimating the ability of God.

Response to Jim's response of Harmony on Week 2 Wednesday

To me, this all seems like a question of avoidance and that's a very tricky proposition...especially with youth. I think you're dead on in stating that kids do have a blind spot...not that we don't as adults...but there is a different level of innocence there that can be manipulated. I hear you on the millstone reference but at the same time I was thinking about how Bolger talked about how Christ didn't invent parables. Bolger made the point that Christ took the parables of the day and twisted the endings to give them his own meanings.

So my question is what if we shift from strictly telling kids, young adults, that this media is good and this media is bad (not saying that this isn't important and part of it) and we figure out how we can engage them through the mass media that they're consuming by developing a theological twist on that media. Not putting added importance of media over scripture...but figuring out how we can use media to ask questions and lead youth to engage scripture. Obviously, I'm not suggesting that we use the profane to accomplish this task but what I'm saying is that we have to relate to their culture if we're going to break into their culture.

Response to Aaron's blog Wednesday, Week 3

I think Aaron makes a good point when he says that congregations often leave their Biblical understanding up to the paid ministers...Then the question becomes why? And I think part of the answer gets back to the nature of living in a Capitalistic society...unfortunately, many folks treat church life as a part of consumerism...I attend or tithe to this church because I get this, this, and this out of going there...I think we've all probably been guilty of that at some point in our life and it's a real struggle. I think part of the responsibility has to be put on the ministerial team. Not just devising programs that will serve the members but devising programs that will allow the members to serve.

Week 2 Wednesday

After class lecture I walked away with the message that, "Jesus is inviting us to be agents of transformation in the world." The method we employ to become an agent of change is up for debate. I think in a large part it comes down to where you see the Holy Spirit using the community in which you belong most effectively. I think one of the ways that this course is interesting is it begs us to look at the way we're involved in our own churches and the way our churches are involved in the community. I think about how my church can become more missional and what it will take to mobilize and move the congregation towards that next step. As a guy who grew up in the Midwest, I could identify with Bolger's statements about the interviews he conducted with Midwesterners and how they could fall into two categories...those that went to church every Sunday or those who used to attend church. In a weird way, I feel as if living in SoCal the past seven years, in a society that is much more religiously diverse and pluralistic, has created in me a stronger urge and desire to explore my Christian faith. As I think about the impact of living in different environments it seems to me that there is a real danger in living in place where so many claim to believe in the same religion. I see the movement towards a more and more pluralistic Western nation as a positive in that it will really confront Christians to examine what and why they believe in Jesus.

Week 2, Cobb, Chapter 2

I seem to get the most out of Cobb's essays. I think his writing style flows much better than Barker or Bevans and he integrates the terminology in a way that feels organic in the readings. As I read chapter 2, I found his citation of sociologist Jane Addams to be particularly interesting. Here is a sociologist who over 100 years ago realized that young people were retreating to the theater to, "satisfy that craving for a conception of life higher than that which the actual world offers them" (Cobb, p.65). Cobb goes on to discuss hyper-reality and how we don't want life as nature but we want bigger, better, badder, more glitz and fireworks. We want Disneyland and Vegas. He draws an interesting parallel as he talks about the Amish in the city reality show. But how does this play into our relationship to culture on a theological level? It's an interesting question because if I understand Cobb correctly, doing theology is one of the last areas where we openly search for deeper truth and meaning. In his opinion, it would seem that cultural studies needs to get back to a place where we dig deeper and attempt to understand the aesthetic, theological, and moral aspirations behind culture.

Week 2, Barker Chapter 4

Making meaning out of language seems to be the key to understanding this chapter from Barker. Common sense tells us that words have a singular meaning but in the world of cultural studies we learn that words contain different meanings for different reasons. I found the ideas of Foucault to be interesting in this chapter. Particularly, how Foucault runs opposite to the Marxist perspective which views cultural studies as dependent on economic reductionism. To Foucault it seems that power becomes a key variable in studying cultural studies. The understanding of not just what is being said, the text, but understanding who can speak, when, and where.

Week 2 Monday MLK

"Dangerous unselfishness." These were the words that MLK used the night before his assassination to describe our attitude in moving forward and evoking change in the world. As I reflect on MLK and the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement it becomes clear that we certainly have moved forward in the past 50 years. However, as a nation I believe one of the most dangerous things that we can do is become so wrapped up in our culture that we forget about the act and the importance of standing up for others and those who can't stand alone. Teresa L. Fry Brown was right in chapel when she said that we as Christians are still a people in exhile. It is vanity to think that we have overcome the social ills of our country. But at the same time it seems as if our country is fatter than ever. We seemingly have all the goods, services, technology, and things that make us feel safe...but what is our true calling? It's people such as MLK that remind us to get up and make an impact. To think and act beyond ourselves. God is calling us to move out of the wilderness and join him in the Promised Land.

Week 2 Barker Chapter 3

The ideas of cultural studies and questioning of which groups are behind the maps of meaning is an interesting question with no easy answer. In reading the chapter, I don't know if I necesarily agree with some of the critics and delineate between the high-low culture by determining what's commercial and part of the culture industry. It seems as if it is an elitist view that essentially says that in a capitalistic society we create culture as a product and the masses find meaning by consuming this product blindly. Now while they're certainly is some truth to that view, especially in Southern California and the US where culture seems to be our number one export, I don't believe that you can define high low culture by figuring out what is commercial and what is non-commercial.

Week 2 Bevans Chapter 2

Reflecting on issues in contextual theology it seems apparent that the issue of a person being a participant or non-participant factors into their theological understanding of culture. I think one of the ideas that I found to be useful to further my understanding of contextual theology is the author's statement, "that the gospel can only really be faithful to the past if it is in touch with the present" (Bevan, p. 25). That to me sounds similar to C.S. Lewis great command that the modern theologian must have the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other.

Week 2 Wednesday

I thought the thrust of the lecture today was very relevant as we went beyond culture and examined the larger question of how Jesus engaged culture and what that means for us today. Our small group discussion focused on how the church both then and now runs the risk of falling into the traps of commercialization. As we think about how Jesus cleared the temple of the "den of thieves" I reflect on what that might look like in our present day context. Does the installation of restaurants, coffee houses, book stores, and other businesses create a conflict of interests? What about the pastor who engages his audience by telling them to see The Passion or the The Chronicles of Narnia and avoid seeing movies such as The Golden Compass or The Da Vinci Code? Are the latter graven images? Are we looking out for what's best for Christians? Or, are we endorsing products of culture that are strictly for us by us?

Week 2 Monday

Today I thought about what is culture. The idea of breaking up culture into groups of producers, texts, and consumers was helpful. I also found the study of Industrialization in the UK and the Manchester situation to be fascinating. It's a tragic example of how the church dropped the ball and was unable to relate to the working class. It made more sense later in the lecture in understanding that we were using England as a backdrop because industrialization and pop culture happened there first.

Week 1 Bevans, Chapter 1 Contextual Theology as a Theological Imperative

As I read chapter 1 I reflected on how contextual theology blends the past and the present. The writings of scripture are a product of the context the writers were living in. Yet, Bevans also writes that contextual theology is the receiving and appropriating scripture in our own contexts. I was challenged to think about the relationship between my own personal life experiences and the life experiences of others around me, and how that might have 1) enabled or prevented us from experiencing God in our lives and 2) informed our theology. This whole idea of contextual theology carries particular significance as I reflect on the relationships with those around me.

Week 1 Cobb, Chapter 1 Introduction

"Hitchcock used the genre of suspense to film a Nietzschean world in which God is dead or missing and the moral universe has lost its bearings" (Cobb, p. 17). Cobb writes this in his section on Scripts of Defiance. While I found Cobb's analysis of popular film and it's relationship to theology to be insightful, I strongly disagree with labeling the works of Alfred Hitchcock as Nietzschean. For starters, Cobb doesn't site any specific Hitchcock films. I think the reason why he fails to site any Hitchcock films is because Hitchcock's films do subscribe to a moral universe. As twisted and as dark as many of his pictures become, the morally good triumphs over the morally evil. Take Psycho for instance. In one of his most daring films, Hitchcock kills off his star, Janet Leigh, halfway into the film. I can see where some may find this Nietzschean in that this bleak world appears to have no moral order. Yet, lets not forget the Janet Leigh character is not completely sympathetic. In the set-up we find out that she has embezzled a case full of cash from her boss so it would seem that there is some kind of moral order when she takes her famous shower. In addition, Norman Bates may get away with murder, but in the end, he does meet his demise and justice is served. This is just one example but if we watch the canon of Hitchcock's films, as I have, it does appear that his characters live in and subscribe to a world with moral order.

Week 1 Barker, Chapter 2 Central Problems in Cultural Studies

What began to resonate most with me in this chapter was the idea of rationality and the way that plays out within culture. Barker writes on page 46 that Western culture has seen a rise in addictions...self centered behaviors....These 'diseases of meaning' stem from our reliance on rationality as we live in a post-Enlightenment culture. Barker writes that we have become emotionally unbalanced and need to develop love, empathy, care, and artistic creativity. I would agree with him that there needs to be a push back to placing less emphasis on reason and more emphasis on encountering feeling-love, empathy, care. However, I'm not so sure that I understand or agree with Barker about how artistic creativity fits into a more emotionally balanced culture. I would contend that our culture has more artistic creativity than ever before given the effects of globalization and the advancements made in technology and newfound outlets for artistic expression and distribution. Therefore, while I believe in the benefits of artistic expression whole heartedly I can't say as I agree with Barker that this should be a focus in realigning culture.

Week 1 Barker, Chapter 1 An Introduction to Cultural Studies

I found this chapter to be somewhat overwhelming as I'm rather unfamiliar with many of the important terms surrounding cultural studies. In my mind, the question becomes three fold. First, what actually is cultural studies? Second, how does cultural studies shift from a study of theories to a place of real world relevance? Third, how does cultural studies play out in regards to the spread of Christianity in culture? There seem to be many different factors according to Barker that determine culture. I think in the West our understanding and support of capitalism carries a particular weight when it comes to identifying our culture.

Week 1 Wednesday

As I listened to the stories of McGavrin and his life as a third generation missionary in India I thought about in what ways his approach to mission mirror our approach to mission here in the US. I thought about how my understanding of evangelism often gets caught up in the numbers game and "converting" people. I thought it was interesting that Bolger discussed how within 2 years of coming to faith the majority of new Christians stop witnessing to their non-Christian friends and abandon the missional attitude. My hope and prayer is that I can maintain the right balance in my own life when it comes to mission and witnessing to others.

Week 1 Monday

What stuck out in my mind today was the delineation made in class between the emerging church and the missional church. As I look around at some of the successes and struggles going on within the traditional churches around me, I wonder how the Emerging Church and the Missional Church will continue to play out in Western culture. What kind of praxis will best serve the body of Christ and how do we move forward if we are indeed living in post-Christian culture?