Carl Trueman & Gay and Green

Carl Trueman is a witty and wise theologian who recently has posted thoughts on some of the uprising of the left regarding President-Elect Obama's choice of Rick Warren to take part in his inaguration and the whole issue of the media infatuation with homosexuality.  I encourage you to read some of his posts over at Reformation 21 particularly Rick Warren and the Left and Goodbye Larry King, Hello Jerry Springer!.

"Even if I were not an evangelical Christian, I'd like to think I could see which is the more important matter: stopping the international child sex trade or getting Melissa Etheridge a marriage certificate."

It is frustrating that the two kinds of "justice" the media deems most important is the temperature of the globe and the marriage of homsexuals.  A caring and compassionate individual is one who trumpets the gay and the green.  And if you aren't for the gay agenda, even being green doesn't quite make you caring and compassionate.  

HT: JT

Celebrity Snot

You can buy Scarlet Johansson's snot for thousands of dollars on Ebay.

Our culture finds value even in the sickly snot of a celebrity.  The culture itself is sick with celebrity.

In many ways this goes for Christianity too.  The church may not sell snot but it definitely sells Christian celebrity.  

What Love Does Not Mean

A really foolish line from a movie:

"Love means never having to say you're sorry."

Singles Have Kissed Dating Goodbye

NY Times columnist Charles Blow says dating is dead

Sadly, hooking up (casual sex) has replaced dating for most single people.

Blow states,

"Under the old model, you dated a few times and, if you really liked the person, you might consider having sex. Under the new model, you hook up a few times and, if you really like the person, you might consider going on a date."

The Sad Cultural Similarity of America & Rome

Niall Ferguson, a Harvard History Professor, in a 2006 article for Vanity Fair, makes the following insightful and foreboding cultural comparison between America and Rome:

"Perhaps our most perplexing vulnerability, however, is cultural. Gibbon was acute in identifying literary decline as one symptom of a more profound Roman malaise. And if his barbed allusion to the “darkened … face of learning” does not immediately strike a chord, then some of the other symptoms may. While “the corrupt and opulent nobles of Rome gratified every vice that could be collected from the mighty conflux of nations and manners,” Gibbon wrote, “the most lively and splendid amusement of the idle multitude depended on the frequent exhibition of public games and spectacles.” Orgies and circuses are not precisely the favorite pastimes of Western society today. But if you substitute pornography and NASCAR, the parallel is not so far-fetched.

Outwardly, it is true, the institutions that exist to preserve and propagate our culture are in good shape. Never has the percentage of young people attending college been higher. Never have American universities dominated higher education and academic research as they do today. Our museums and concert halls offer more exhibitions and recitals than the enthusiast can possibly hope to attend. And to enter any branch of Barnes & Noble is to be overwhelmed by the sheer number of books being published.

Yet beneath this upper crust of high culture there simmers a less appetizing stew. Few children read for pleasure. Most boys would rather fritter away their time on brutalizing video games such as Grand Theft Auto. Girls no longer play with dolls; they are themselves the dolls, dressed according to the dictates of the fashion industry. Endlessly gaming, chatting, and chilling with their iPods, the next generation already has a more tenuous connection to “Western civilization” than most parents appreciate.

Gibbon’s argument against Roman “luxury” was in part that it sapped the empire’s martial strength. Here, too, there is a striking analogy. For our culture’s sedentary character—our strong preference for watching over doing, for virtual over real action—seems closely correlated to our changing physical shape. Gibbon’s Romans became metaphorical pygmies. We, by contrast, are being transformed into actual giants. We are certainly taller on average than past generations, a consequence of improvements in nutrition. But we are also wider, since we now consume significantly more fats and carbohydrates than we actually need. According to the standard measure of obesity, the body-mass index, the percentage of Americans classified as obese nearly doubled, from 12 percent to 21 percent, between 1991 and 2001. Nearly two-thirds of all American men are officially considered overweight, and nearly three-quarters of those between 45 and 64. Only Western Samoans and Kuwaitis are fatter."

Text-Context: Jim Gilmore - Ways to Study the World/Culture

I appreciated Jim Gilmore's talks at this conference. Jim is an insightful forward-thinking businessman and has a deep care for the church of Jesus Christ. He is the co-author of The Experience Economy which worldwide has hundreds of thousands in print and recently co-wrote Authenticity: What Consumer's Really Want. Jim was deeply thankful to be apart of the conference even though he wasn't sure he belonged at a pastor's conference. All in all, I think he served pastor's well. In his second lecture he discussed 10 points on ways to study the world and culture around us, here are the 10:

1. Study the Past. In doing so it will make you clearer about the past, the present and the future.
2. Think laterally. What is this? Well, Wikipedia puts it this way in contrast with critical thinking:

"Lateral thinking is more concerned with the movement value of statements and ideas. A person would use lateral thinking when they want to move from one known idea to creating new ideas. It can also be put as, critical thinking is like a post-mortem while lateral thinking is like diagnosis."

3. Observe behavior. Both your own and others. Truly looking, seeing is a skill
4. Wield a thesaurus. Know the dominant words in culture and seek out other words. Be a word-smith.
5. Channel surf. Don't just watch one show, intentionally surf through channels to take in all that is happening on TV.
6. Walk the mall. This in my view is the least enjoyable of the 10.
7. Frequent magazine racks.
8. Watch for the new "ing". "Ing" is an experiencing word. Notice all the "ing" words in culture and advertisements.
9. Talk to your children. Why do they like what they like on the internet, TV, the mall, the toys, whatever it might be?
10. Track the hype. Don't just buy into the hype but do track it. See what the media says is hot and think through why it is.

Readers, do you have any others?

I encourage you to take a look at Mr. Gilmore's ideas further at Strategic Horizons his and co-author Joe Pine's organization. They may not endorse it, but here is a summary of the experience economy from Wikipedia.

Why So Serious?

This in the wake of Heath Ledger's death reminded me that life and death, heaven and hell, Jesus and Satan, are serious matters indeed. It also reminded me that the one's who trust Jesus should be the happiest people in the world, not 'cause their glib and frothy but because they value the most important realities in life and value every life, including their own, in the scope of eternity.

Klosterman is in my Corner

The other day I was reading and I came upon a paragraph in regards to sports that puts forth an argument that reflects the feelings I have had for quite some time but haven't found it written in print before. (Maybe thats for a reason.) Nevertheless here is mi compadre (at least on this particular issue) Chuck Klosterman:

"...I hate the idea that rooting for a team without justification somehow proves that you are traditional, loyal, and 'a true fan.' All it proves is that you're ridiculous, and that you don't really consider the motivations that drive your emotions, and that you probably care more about geography and the color of a uniform than you do about any given sport. I have a sportswriter friend who constantly attempts to paint me as a soulless hypocrite, simply because I adored the Boston Celtics in 1986 but I'm wholly ambivalent toward them today. His argument makes no sense to me. I have no idea why my feelings about an organization twenty years ago should have any effect on how I think now. The modern Celtics have different players, a different coach, a different offense, different management, different ownership, and they play in a different arena; the only similarity between these two squads is that they both wear green and they both used the same parquet floor.

I'm not rooting for flooring." (p. 257) IV, pub. 2007

Now, let's be fair dear Chuck is writing in the wider context of why he hates the Olympics (hence, the article's title: "I do not hate the Olympics"), but it made me feel good, and that's what's important. Right? Well, not really, but at least there is one person on the earth who is in my corner, and that one person is named Chuck (this has nothing to do with anything except for some reason in our culture the fact that one's name is Chuck is outdated and cool at the exact same time).

Of course, I don't think other's with the opposing view are ridiculous, but knowing Chuck (er...reading Chuck) neither does he.

An Odd and Witty Truth

Over Christmas, I came across this unbelievably true quote by the brilliant and at times profane pop culture critic Chuck Klosterman:

"...every great eighth-grade basketball player almost has a mustache."

Chuck Klosterman IV. (p. 2)

The Globe's

I definitely enjoy a good film and look forward to the nominations for movie awards. Today the Golden Globe nominees came out:

Best Drama

“American Gangster,” “Atonement,” “Eastern Promises,” “The Great Debaters,” “Michael Clayton,” “No Country for Old Men,” “There Will Be Blood.”

I've only seen two of those films, AG and MC, and I'd have to give the nod to American Gangster over Michael Clayton, but both were very good.

My wife and I are looking forward to Atonement. Sadly, its not here this Friday where we are located. That would have been my date night pick...not this week.

After reading The Road last Christmas, I spent the year enthralled with Cormac McCarthy novels, so I've been trying to fit No Country for Old Men into my schedule.

Finally, off this list I am awaiting to be stunned by the acting of Daniel Day Lewis and the directing of PTA's There Will Be Blood.

Best Actress - Drama

Cate Blanchett, “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”; Julie Christie, “Away From Her”; Jodie Foster, “The Brave One”; Angelina Jolie, “A Mighty Heart”; Keira Knightley, “Atonement.”

I have seen none of these, but I'm pulling for Keira.

Best Actor - Drama

George Clooney, “Michael Clayton”; Daniel Day-Lewis, “There Will Be Blood”; James McAvoy, “Atonement”; Viggo Mortensen, “Eastern Promises”; Denzel Washington, “American Gangster.”

Denzel is a good gangster, but he will always be my Creasy Bear (sp?). Clooney does a great job as the complex and guilty Michael Clayton. But, I'm most looking forward to Daniel Day's performance. I still can't get his portrayal of the Butcher in Gangs of New York out of my head, and the occasional Mohican echoes of "I will find you" resonating in my heart.

For the rest: here's the list.