Tag Archives: pop culture

Unknown's avatar

American Idol, Outsanding warrants, and advice from Ice Cube

by
Last week I watched American Idol contestant Jermaine Jones get kicked off the show for having 4 (undisclosed) outstanding arrest warrants. The two Brit producers indicated that they want contestants to be honest in disclosing all the dirty details of the past. 
A few thoughts crawled around my mind and dropped here and there like the termites currently infesting my study at church. 
1.) If you have outstanding warrants, is the best place to hide, or rather run from them, a very popular nationally televised singing competition? This article explains the warrants and the reason they were issued were not of such a grave nature that authorities would actually chase Mr. Jones down. So I guess the moral of the story is that its OK-depending upon the severity of the crime-to not show up for court. Sometimes. I guess he didn’t shoot the sheriff, or the deputy (allegedly) like Bob Marley did. Good to know that if you have any outstanding warrants, that shouldn’t necessarily make you shy away from American Idol (so long as you tell them) or any other reality show. Land of the free.
2.) If you do watch the video, you feel beyond uncomfortable for this joker. The two Brits try to take the high road by telling him that they are all about giving second chances. They confess that they actually care about Jermaine, and the contestants. I’m guessing a better way of “caring” would have been to address this privately? It’s pretty fascinating, for lack of a better word, that even Christians can say (and think) we are doing something for the good of another, yet at the same time NOT be doing it for the good of another. Since this was not a public offense before an American audience, the American audience didn’t need to be privy to this. Matthew 18 is a good example of how Jesus instructs us to say the hard things necessary to offending parties, but to do so privately. The scriptures always give parameters, like “speaking truth in love” as well as structures and frameworks (Matthew 18; I Cor 5) which allow the sentiment and activity to be consistent with the gospel.
3.) I’ll never cease to be amazed by the “I’m not judging you” comments that non-Christians and unfortunately many Christians cherish hearing. Yet I shouldn’t be amazed, because it makes complete sense. The two Brits adamantly say something to the effect of “We’re kicking you off the show, because of your undisclosed arrests, but we’re not judging you.” Uhh….I think Jermaine would have rather been judged BUT kept on the show….But there is a reason why folks so often have to preface everything with “I’m not judging you,” and expect one in return: God’s righteousness or lack thereof. 
Paul writes of the Jews in Romans 10:3, he says, “They did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own.” Inevitably if you are not declared righteous by God, or actually believe you are declared righteous by God, you will seek your own and be slave to the judgments of others. You will seek a righteousness that comes by some sort of works (rather “good” or “bad”). You will. And this is case in point why unbelievers always feel such a need to say, “I’m not judging you….” They expect it in return. They need it.
But if God does declare Jesus’ record to count as your record (for the Christian), you don’t need to bothered by other’s judgments. In fact, when we are bothered by their judgments, it is because we DON”T believe like we say we believe. The problem is not with the other person judging us. The problem is our lack of belief that God doesn’t judge us. Who cares if someone judges you? I confess I do, sometimes. Ok, maybe more than I like to admit. But it is stupid and irrational, isn’t it?

Ice Cube once sang “Check yourself before you wreck yourself.” Provided the “yourself” includes a positional righteousness in Christ, I’d have to agree. If you don’t check yourself to see whether you are really resting in Christ’s righteousness, you will wreck yourself. And it will be your fault, not the fault of the “judges.” Whether on American Idol or the judge next door.

Unknown's avatar

A Dolphin Tale: Should we save Dolphins? part II

by

This is a continuation of a post on my previous post on why or why should we not take the time to save wounded dolphins.

1.) We are called to have dominion over creation. This doesn’t mean that we rule over it in the sense of ruthlessly destroying creation the way much of humanity has done when they decimate fish and animal stocks. Instead we are to cultivate the creation, and included in that creation, are God’s creatures. I remember when my buddy threw a rock at a crab after I prompted him to do so when on foreign study in Israel (at En Gedi-where David hid from Saul). Someone came up afterwards and said to him, “S$#$% you and your dominion-over-creation thinking.” That really isn’t true dominion type thinking. Neither he nor I were actually acting consistently with our belief and worldview.

2.) From a Darwinistic worldview, it does not make sense to me why you should help sick animals. Even cute ones like baby dolphins. The healthy ones are supposed to survive and produce stronger offspring. Helping sick animals only stops that process that made the dolphins what they are. Yet I would imagine many of these marine biologists are complete Darwinists, so to me, that seems a bit on the irrational side. Again, this is just how I see it from that worldview, but would welcome thoughts from someone who fully lives according to that worldview.

3.) God does seem to genuinely care about animals, aside from the general verses which speak of him providing food for ravens (Luke 12:24). In the book of Jonah, God “reasons” with Job and rhetorically asks him, “Should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?” Should I destroy the animals too? It is possible that we learn something of God’s concern for animals-though I wouldn’t build a theology around it!

4.) Difference between man/animals. I’m actually not a big dolphin fan because they have eaten way too many snook and redfish in front of me and ruined some quality fishing opportunities. But I do appreciate them and enjoy pointing them out to folks who have not grown up with them in the way that I have. There is a creator-creature distinction between us and God. Yet creation is further divided between man/woman, and under us are creatures (Psalm 8). People are more important than animals.  Many people don’t believe this, and that is consistent with a Darwinist worldview.

But the Christian worldview does not allow such equality. Sometimes our love of animals (and I do love them) can literally cross the line where animals are elevated above people. Love your dolphins, cats, and dogs, but be very careful that a good thing can become a bad thing when it replaces the ultimate command-loving God and loving other PEOPLE. If you love your pets more than you love your neighbors, then you are not having dominion over creation; in fact the reverse has become true.

Unknown's avatar

A Dolphin Tale: Should we save dolphins?

by
After the hit movie “Dolphin Tale,” the little Clearwater Marine Aquarium has instantly become a smash hit of a tourist destination. You can actually see  a webcam of Winter the dolphin-though I don’t think you can facetime or skype her yet. If you haven’t seen the movie, and I’ve only seen about half, it is the story of a dolphin washing up on shore, disabled and entangled in the rope of a crab trap. It’s tail is gangrenous and falls off (in the movie its amputated), but the animal learns to swim without it. Then they grant it a prosthetic tail which is used for training purpose (I think in the movie its a permanent appendage).
Everyone from my 3 year old to 6th grade nephews have seen the movie and wanted to visit “Winter.” Everyone. It was packed when I visited the place with my family and in-laws over the Xmas break. Packed but well worth the visit.
Our visit left me with a few thoughts, but one which my wife reminded me today: what place does animal rescue, particularly of dolphins-but more generally of sea creatures-play in a Christian worldview? Is it inconsistent with a Christian worldview, or is it inconsistent with a non-Christian worldview? Or inconsistent with both?
Only about one beached/trapped/injured dolphin in a 1000 actually survives being transferred from the wild to aquarium. And when they do, it’s a lot of work. I watched an amazing video, not of Winter, but of another dolphin called Hope. They have to actually give these baby dolphins baby formula (Winter was found as a baby, not like you see in the movie-we still can’t time travel unfortunately so you can understand that one..), blend it with herring, and teach them to drink it. They spend all hours of the day. There was footage of the workers feeding dolphins on Xmas Eve. Just  50 yards away, we could see the fruit of their effort as Hope did tricks and frolicked and jumped in his tank. And splashed my son. He still talks about it.
The story of Winter is heartwarming and inspiring for many vets who’ve paid dearly for their service in the war. So, I want to pose the question in a more general way, are such efforts to save and rehabilitate animals consistent with a Christian, or non-Christian, worldview?
In order for this post to not get too long, and to spend a little more time thinking about the question, I’ll try to break it up a bit.
Sometimes answering questions by asking other similar questions can help be of great service. Can a person be a scientist for the glory of God? Can they study physics, marine biology, astronomy? Of course. In a Reformed Christian worldview, as espoused in the Protestant Reformation, there is no distinction between secular and spiritual work.
For instance, I’m a pastor. You can be a scientist. And we can both honor Christ. One is called to be spend more time studying, preaching, teaching God’s Word. The other is called to spend more time studying God’s World. His Word points us to Jesus, and His World can point us to Jesus too. Just ask the Magi-they followed stars. 
So if scientists can study God’s World and learn how God’s World operates-and teach us who are not scientists-then why would it be outside that worldview to think they can learn and study how the world operates in order to save dolphins and other sea creatures. They are applying what they know of God’s World to help preserve God’s creatures. If I believe it is good to be a scientist for God’s glory, then I think its more than consistent-but a logical next step-to use that knowledge to preserve His creatures.
Even though that’s only one reason, I’ll stop here and try to get to a few more reasons why I think (with a few parameters) such a dolphin rescue is consistent with a Reformed Christian Worldview.
Unknown's avatar

Parenthood and family idolatry

by

One of my favorite shows these days is Parenthood. I think its fairly popular in this area, largely due to the fact that the family unit is so popular in this area. And that’s a good thing. It’s just not the ultimate thing-which is Jesus. And as Tim Keller reminds us so well that when a good thing becomes the ultimate thing, that is an idol. It blocks the gaze of our Savior (not His gaze of us, but ours of His). And we all say yeah, yeah, I know Jesus is more important than our families-at least that’s what we’re supposed to say if we read and follow the bible (Luke 14:26). But we are all vulnerable to saying one thing, and living something else-which is consequently a more accurate depiction of how well we believe.

I’ve seen episodes that actually challenge the idol of the family and demonstrate some positive ways to lead a family. But last week’s episode-which was not without commendable material-ended up leaving me fairly saddened and frustrated.

Grandfather Craig T. Nelson tries to assemble ALL his family and ALL their children to go visit his mother for her birthday. Because his daughter-in-law is skipping out on the adventure, he goes nuts. After acting like a neurotic jerk who later tells his kids, “You all suck” he seems to come to the point where he is almost repentant. And then his true savior, who has let him down (as all min-saviors do) is expressed verbally: “All there is in life, when it all comes down to it, is family.”

Before his family arrives, the daughter-in-law praises the overbearing father-in-law for “creating” this family. Idol affirmed. Now this man is not without worthy qualities, though over all, he makes me thankful that my father and father-in-law are NOTHING like him.

Then his family shows up, and of course, they seem apologetic and everyone seems OK.

Here are a few thoughts.

1.) An idol will always let you down. And when your idol is being threatened, you will bite, claw, kick, and fight to preserve that idol. That’s what he did the whole show. We all do this. When you idol is removed, you feel there is nothing else to live for. All is lost. If you want to locate your idols, look at your attitudes and actions. Its foolish to think that our families don’t become our idols. When kids or parents don’t behave or fulfill us they way we demand of them, we get nasty. So we need to be careful that the idol of family is not just a non-Christian problem…Its ours as well.

2.) Is life only about family? What about those who have crappy families? Are they then doomed? At the end of the day it is not about how much money you make, how nice of a car or house you have. Most people can eventually get past those things when housing market crashes or when they have cancer. But most folks still miss Jesus because, in the end, its all about family. However, in the end, its all about being included in His family. I remember a lass in my college days telling me this when her father had been in a terrible accident. Such a blessing when you’re family lets you down and vice versa. Or when you move, or have to move, etc….

3) At the end of the show, Craig T Nelson finally got what he had so eagerly sought: his mother’s approval. His whole life, he had loved his kids and told them that he loved them. And though his character is overbearing, and clearly at times “needs” more than love his kids/grand-kids, he does care. And he expresses that care verbally with an “I love you.” But his whole life he worked for her approval and it didn’t come. Until this episode.

It shows the importance of expressing the words, “I love you” to our families. But some people will never hear that from their deadbeat fathers or mothers. They really won’t. While that verbal affirmation is important, it is not essential for the child to break free from the bondage of parental failure. I know folks who have. And its beautiful. It demonstrates that while they may not have heard it from a father or a mother, they face each day with the promise of “I love you and I love who you are becoming” from their Heavenly Father. That promise is something we inherit from our elder brother Jesus. The joy and delight God has over His son (Matt 3:17) is now shared with us as part of our inheritance. And the fact that he didn’t spare His son, but gave him up for us all (Rom 8:32), is not just a spoken “I love you,” but truly sacrificial “I love you” still evidenced by his scars (John 20:27).

Unknown's avatar

Annual Bono Christmas Eve reflection

by

One of my, or at least my blog’s Christmas traditions, is to post and reflect on this quote from U2 frontman Bono. It never gets old. Just like the Christmas story. Every part of it seems counter-intuitive to me: God in flesh, the use of shepherds (sketchy fellows), magi (also sketchy), that Jesus was laid in a manger. How crazy is that? Where dirty animals feed. The king of the universe laid where animals feed. I hope we never fail to realize how crazy that is. Blaise Paschal hit it on the nose in his Pensees  when he said it is not that God has hidden this message so high so that folks can’t understand it, but so low, as many will look over it.

This reflection on Christmas occurred after Bono had just returned home, to Dublin, from a long tour with U2. On Christmas Eve Bono went to the famous St. Patrick’s Cathedral, where Jonathan Swift was dean. Apparently he was given a really poor seat, one obstructed by a pillar, making it even more difficult for him to keep his eyes open…but it was there that Christmas story struck him like never before. He writes:

Here’s Bono’s quote:

“The idea that God, if there is a force of Logic and Love in the universe, that it would seek to explain itself is amazing enough. That it would seek to explain itself and describe itself by becoming a child born in straw poverty, in s#@% and straw…a child… I just thought: “Wow!” Just the poetry … Unknowable love, unknowable power, describes itself as the most vulnerable. There it was. I was sitting there, and it’s not that it hadn’t struck me before, but tears came streaming down my face, and I saw the genius of this, utter genius of picking a particular point in time and deciding to turn on this.”

Excerpt taken from Bono: in conversation (New York: Riverhead Books, 2005), 124-5.

Unknown's avatar

Godly Masculinity in Parenthood

by
Last night my wife and I watched the most recent Parenthood episode, and as usual, thoroughly enjoyed it. One scene near the end stuck out as particularly powerful, and a great example of how a man can lead his family.
If you’re unfamiliar with the show, “Coach” Craig T Nelson is the patriarch and somewhat overbearing grandfather. He has four grown kids, two boys and two girls, who also have children. One of his daughters decides she wants to support her alcoholic ex-husband through rehab. He expresses extreme disapproval. His other daughter and son-in-law express their intentions to adopt a co-worker’s baby. And that is also met with such disapproval that the daughter begins to re-think the whole process. Then at the dinner table, it comes out that his oldest daughter has requested money from his younger daughter and son-in-law to pay for her ex-husband’s rehab. “Coach” just loses it.
Then the son-in-law, who is normally behind the scenes, steps up to intercede for his wife and sister-in-law. He’s not normally “manly” in the sense we tend to think of men. While he’s good with his hands, he is not the primary breadwinner. He is better with their daughter, and can regularly be seen packing her lunch and making dinner.
Yet, despite the cultural masculine image he doesn’t portray, he nevertheless acts, and leads like a man (Eph 5:25), sacrificing his own comfort, reputation, approval to defend his wife and sister-in-law at the hands of this overbearing patriarch.
He commends his sister-in-law’s willingness to be hurt and disappointed (which could happen in rehab with such a perennial loser ex-husband) and is happy to support such a cause. Then he explains that HE and HIS wife will adopt who ever they want, “And you need to be okay with that Zeke.”
Out of nowhere. This passive lad decides it is time to lead. It was time to love. Absolutely beautiful. The patriarch cannot make decisions anymore for his daughters. There’s a new sheriff in town: the husband.
Everyone seems to have a picture of masculinity they purport to be truly masculine. Miler Lite does this with humorous commercials of men acting like women and being called out. On the other end, some Christian folks have tried to redefine masculinity (as though that were one of Jesus’ goals) and end up just creating an image of man based upon themselves, their personalities, and their picture of Jesus (which is never big enough when you hyper-emphasize one part of his character-like godly anger to the neglect of his gentleness and compassion). Jesus is more of a “punch you in the gut” kind of guy, a well respected leader claims.
Yet I just don’t know that Jesus would promote such a picture of masculinity. But I can say with confidence, that this scene, depicts a laid back-not in your face kind of guy-acting like a godly man.
I think people get lost in “Am I acting like a man?” and forget about simply following Jesus wherever He puts you. In this case, the husband chose to defend his wife at the risk of being rejected by his father-in-law. And this is hard. Family is a functional god in many areas of the country, particularly my part. We often care about their approval more than Jesus’ approval. Still Jesus essentially says, “You need to love me and follow me, even when it goes against your family’s or in-law’s wishes.” (Luke 14:26). And so he does.
Yet this guy follows Jesus not by force, banging his fist, or even raising his voice; he respects his father in law. “You’re going to need to be okay with this, Zeke” He doesn’t say, “You can kiss my grits.” But he draws a line in the sand, defends himself and his wife, and commends his sister-in-law. There is no doubt who is calling the shots-not Grandpa, or P-Pa, or Gramps, etc….
If more men would lead like this, more women would want to follow them. When fear of God replaces fear of man in the home, good things will be happening there. That’s the kind of masculine expression I think Jesus cares about. Far more than who makes more money or more dinners.
Unknown's avatar

What Jon Stewart and Archibald Alexander have in common

by

I purchased a mini-subscription to the magazine Rolling Stone a few months ago for 5 dollars. I then received about 6 or 8 different issues. Some of the stuff in Rolling Stone magazine is a bit over-the-top vulgar (as I found out), but I figured the articles might help me better understand a culture who reads Rolling Stone. As it so happens, no such culture exists where I live. So it obviously didn’t help, and I was quite turned off by much of the content anyway. I didn’t renew the mini subscription. 


However, the final issue I received had a fairly telling article with “The Daily Show’s” Jon Stewart. I figured this was worth a read for a number of reasons. Many college students and young adults (and at times older adults) get their news from “The Daily Show.” Jon Stewart is viewed as an honest and reliable authority, so I finally figured I’d get my 5 dollars worth.


I think I would have, had I been able to finish the article. My three year old Connar, decided to pee all over the bathroom one day and thoroughly saturated the magazine. So needless to say, I didn’t get to finish. But I did get half way through the article, feeling as though I at least got my $ 2.50 worth.  


Stewart actually posited some information that would be helpful for the church to hear.


I would like to use exact quotes, but since I don’t have online access to the article, and the urine soaked magazine was thrown away before I had a chance to read a potentially “sun-dried” version with gloves on (my wife tossed it), I’ll have to speak with italics instead of quotes.


I try to stay away from demonizing my opponents. I mean, I realize that not everyone who is against gay marriage is homophobic. 


What a breath of fresh air! Just because someone may vote against gay marriage, does not mean that they hate gay people. Obviously. But its great to hear someone who has such a voice use it, at least this time, so correctly. 


Christians have a hard time following Stewart’s example. We tend to demonize the other side, whether it be with other Christians whom we disagree, or those of opposing political parties, religions, etc….


Tim Keller offers some helpful and godly ways to disagree and debate, that if followed, may allow you to actually be heard by your opponent. That should be our goal, not just hearing ourselves speak. In other words, we need to be careful to love our opponents, whether they be a brother/sister in Christ, a colleague outside of Christ, or a flat out enemy. 


It looks as though Jon Stewart already read the article and has applied “Alexander’s Rule.” 


1. Carson’s Rule – You don’t have to follow Matthew 18 before publishing polemics…


In short, if someone is publicly presenting theological views that are opposed to sound doctrine, and you are not in the same ecclesiastical body with this person (that is, there is no body of elders over you both, as when, for example, both of you are ministers in the same denomination,) then you may indeed publicly oppose those without going privately to the author of them…

2. Murray’s Rule – You must take full responsibility for even unwitting misrepresentation of someone’s views…
In other words, to misrepresent reality to others is always wrong. He grants, of course, that there is a great difference between a deliberate lie and unintentionally passing on erroneous information…
3. Alexander’s Rule – Never attribute an opinion to your opponent that he himself does not own…
In other words, we must not argue in such a way that it hardens opponents in their views…
The rest of the article can be found here.
Unknown's avatar

Modnik Recap-Cultural Diagnostic questions

by

This is the 2nd part of my update for our recent youth retreat on Kingdom and Culture. The first can be found here. Since these principles seemed too good to not share with parents, or much less anyone of any age, I felt compelled to put them on the blog.


In our Saturday morning session, David Grant gave us some helpful diagnostic questions to ask while watching TV, movies, or listening to music. I appreciated the fact that he did not say, “You should watch this show and shouldn’t watch that show.” He exclaimed, “What you watch is between you and your parents.” David instead challenged the youth how to watch shows. Provided they are faithful to ask these questions, as are the parents, it should open the door to stop watching certain shows which may be negatively transformational. 


Here are his five questions, and my thoughts (which may be the same as his) are in italics. He reminded the youth that they are being taught something. Movies and TV shows and music have SOMETHING to say. Figure it out or you’ll end up being taught without realizing it.


1.)  Did you enjoy it? Why did you like it or not? This is a great question for parents to ask to find out why people connect to certain shows or movies. There is a reason why so many young girls like Twilight. Consider the why if you want to begin thinking critically.


2.) What did it say about Authority? How were authority figures depicted? Parents, police, government, bosses, etc…..


3.) What did it say about Morality? What kind of morality was being promoted? Immorality? Legalism? Amorality?


4.)  What did it say about God? God may or may not by name be mentioned. But you can discern the worldview, and how God does or doesn’t fit into the characters dialog or directors arrangement.


5.)  Where can you see the “finger prints” of God? If you look hard, you can see aspects of God’s “finger prints” in movies and TV shows. Because we are all made in the image of God, we should be able to see something commendable in all movies. Sometimes it can be very clear as in the gospel illustration at the end of Gran Torino or the beautiful love a parent places on her child immediately upon birth in The Waitress.


My take on parent possibilities:


Parents have the responsibility to determine what each child can correctly and biblically filter. That filter needs developing in all of us. Middle Schoolers don’t need to watch Jersey Shore. Of course, no one probably does, but that is of course, my own opinion. 


Nevertheless since parents are ultimately responsible for training their children, watching movies and TV shows with them NOW-even ones that might not be faith based-might be the best way to train them to watch movies and TV shows when they leave your house THEN. If your kids are watching movies, watch them WITH them. At the very least, you need to be asking questions of the movies and TV shows. They won’t always have you telling them “you can or can’t watch this or that,” but if you’ve helped them develop some sort of diagnostic filter, they can turn movies, TV, and music into devotional and teaching moments for themselves and their friends. And many times, because they have such working filters, they may decide beforehand, “This movie or show isn’t worth my time.”


In some ways, the movies both reflect and shape culture. But as Christians, we can through these same movies begin to be shapers of culture, instead of simply reflectors and consumers. One person at a time.

Unknown's avatar

Eternity in Steven Tyler’s heart?

by
For the most part, it is not too difficult to find evidence of Ecclesiastes 3:11:
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.”
As far as I understand this passage, folks have some innate sense of not just their own mortality, but that there just might be something/someone greater or worse than this physical world: a sense of deity and of heaven/hell. Yet we also see from this passage, that such knowledge is somewhat limited. Assumptions about heaven or hell are often just that: assumptions based upon a self concocted view of reality rather than biblically informed world-view of Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Consummation.
In reading a Rolling Stone magazine article on current American Idol judge Steven Tyler, I came across yet another indication of “eternity” in “man’s heart.” I guess it really shouldn’t have surprised me:
  
“….I’m going to get up to heaven, and the gate’s going to open, and God’s going to go, ‘You know what, I threw Beelzebub out while were listening to one of your songs……I think I’ve been so lucky in my life that I’ll probably die in my sleep, thank you, Lord Jesus.”

Now he probably knows that Satan got tossed from heaven a long time ago, and I’m not sure what his standard is for who gets in and who doesn’t. But drugs, sex, rock-n-roll don’t seem to have suppressed the reality of a heaven. I wonder if the question of heaven or hell might be something non-Christians think about more than we think they do. We probably shouldn’t be too surprised. Even with the suppression of truth in unrighteousness in pop culture, and all sub-cultures for that matter, the “eternity” set in their “hearts” still seems to at least have a small beat.