This one was on the Gruen Transfer, but I’ve been saving it for a rainy day.
Category: Christianity
Bad Christian Music Week: Day 4
Production values. That’s what Christian music is all about.
Bad Christian Music Week: Day 3
Nothing says “I love Jesus” like some young boys in colourful t-shirts rapping.
Bad Christian Music Week: Day 2
I’m not related to monkeys. Really. I’m not.
YouTube Tuesday: Some Mumford
A bit of Mumford and Sons singing a hymn for your edification. From Ali.
Bad Christian Music: Day 1
Now with Tamborine.
Bad Christian Music Week
While my blog is on autopilot for a little while I thought I’d post this string of horrible pieces of Christian Cultural expression.
I trust you’ll enjoy it. Comment here with any suggestions I may have missed.
Bad Christian Music Week: Day 6
Who let the dogs out?
Reading some O’Donovan
Robyn and I are the proud owners of one of the new Amazon Kindles. It is going to keep us company on the plane for our trip. It’s also given me the chance to tackle some Oliver O’Donovan (just so I can be better equipped to argue with Stuart and Mark). The Kindle is exciting and should make blogging book reviews a breeze. You should check out the continuing discussion with Mark on a Christian approach to ethics, politics and gay marriage. We’ve almost written a book.
In the meantime, here are a couple of quotes to ponder from an essay by O’Donovan.
“Democracy and human rights are not identical things, so it is necessary to ask whether they can coexist. It seems that the answer depends on two contingent factors: how the democratic societies conduct themselves, and what rights human beings assert. You cannot champion “democracy and human rights” without quite quickly having to decide which takes precedence between them; and since either of those terms, and not just one of them, may from time to time be used as a cloak for self–interest and tyranny, there is no universally correct answer. That is the underlying problem of coherence in contemporary Western ideology.”
“The legal tradition needs correction. The obligation of the courts to maintain self–consistency makes them reluctant to innovate. But innovation may be required, and that for two causes: first, where tradition has deviated from natural right; secondly, where it is ill–adapted to the practical possibilities within society. These two concerns are often confused, yet they are in principle quite different, moving, as it were, in opposite directions: bringing law closer to the moral norm on the one hand, further from it on the other. Some reforms are idealistic, attempting to correct our vices; some are compromises, making some kind of settlement with them. Either kind of reform may be necessary at one or another juncture, since acts of judgment have to be both truthful and effective. Every change in law aims to squeeze out, as it were, the maximum yield of public truthfulness available within the practical constraints of the times. Sometimes it does it by attempting more, sometimes by attempting less.”
How to host a water fight
This is:
a) a really cool film clip concept.
b) the world’s biggest water fight.
c) a cool idea for an event for a church/university group to run.
d) a catchy, happy song.
e) all of the above.
You gotta love this city…
The Whitlams were on to something. I don’t think they were thinking about ministry when they wrote Love This City. But I think it’s a great idea for churches. It’s Biblical too (see Jeremiah 29).
This is one thing I think the Mars Hill/Acts 29 movement does really well. And when they speak about it, I listen.
So check out this post. Four ways to know your city.
Here’s one way:
“Ask your neighbors and fellow citizens lots of questions. Don’t interrogate them but show sincere, intentional interest in them and the information they possess. Anecdotal information about your city and fellow citizens is unbeatable.
Ask them the What, How, and Why questions: What do you think is broken in our neighborhood or city? What gets you excited about life? What do you think should be done about economic decline in our city? Anything you would like to change about your neighborhood?
Are you fulfilled in what you are doing in life? Why do you drive across town to do X? Why do you dislike traditional Christianity?”
The last question is based on a startling assumption. Maybe they don’t dislike traditional Christianity.
The Porpoise Driven Life
Years ago my friend Phil and I produced a range of parody Christian book covers, including, but not limited to, the Porpoise Driven Life. Here’s a TV commercial. Not made by us. But brilliant.
A Christian George Michael?
Why? Why? Why?
Why don’t we see more thrones hanging on our church walls?
A while back I sparked a minor outrage in the Australian evangelical corner of the blogosphere when I suggested that if we were going to be the type of people who wore icons we should wear empty tombs rather than crosses.1 I’m wondering if instead of empty tombs we should wear thrones. If we really want to celebrate where Jesus is at now… actually, lets not make it a dichotomy, or a trichotomy. Lets do all three. Maybe a charm necklace with a cross, an empty tomb and a throne. If there’s one thing Christian culture likes its a bracelet to remind them of significant truths. This may not be a four letter acronym wristband (FLAW), but it could have better production values. You could make them out of appropriate precious stones, with cheaper versions so as not to be exclusive, in fact, in a “last being first, first being last” manner you could sell the cheap material for more. They would sell millions. Does anybody want to help me sell them?
We could do it Ezekiel style (chapter 1):
“26And above the expanse over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness with a human appearance. 27And upward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were gleaming metal, like the appearance of fire enclosed all around. And downward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness around him.”
Or Revelation style (chapter 4).
2At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. 3And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. 4Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. 5From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. 6Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.
1 I reckon I would’ve gotten away with the basic idea of the post had I said “best symbol of our hope” rather than “best symbol of the atonement”…