Category Archives: Popular Culture

Popular Culture, Theology

Is Praising Lance Armstrong the Unforgivable Sin?

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Apparently for some, it is.

In the circles I travel in, a curious reaction has been occurring over the last few weeks. Unless you live in a cave you are well aware that the Tour de France, a grueling three-week bicycle race across France, has just concluded. The winner was, again, Lance Armstrong. This was the seventh consecutive win for this Texan, an accomplishment that no other man has achieved. Not only has Armstrong achieved this great victory but he also triumphed over testicular cancer (a fact he gleefully shamed Vince Vaughn with in the movie “Dodgeball”). Whenever the subject of Lance Armstrong comes up that is when this curious reaction rears its ugly head.

Here are two examples of this curious reaction to Lance Armstrong that my fellow Christians have been displaying these last few weeks:

Me: “Hey, is Lance Armstrong still in first?”
Christian #1: “It really doesn’t matter. He doesn’t believe in God.”

Me: “Wow, seven wins!”
Christian #2: “Too bad he hasn’t given God the credit for his wins or for curing him of cancer.”

I have even seen someone react with anger at the mention of Armstrong’s win.

I feel like singing the Debbie Downer theme song to these people. Yes, apparently Lance Armstrong is not a card carrying disciple of Jesus Christ but the real problem lies at the heart of our reaction to his life and to the lives of every single person living on this blue sphere we call Earth. When someone is not part of our little circle how do we treat him or her? Are they met with derision or open arms? Are their accomplishments written off because they do not recognize God? Have we effectively told them that they do not matter?

Because Lance Armstrong is not a Christian, guess what, I do not expect him to go around thanking God for everything! I am more concerned with Christians acting like Christians. When we react with anger, disappointment, and disgust at someone who is not a part of our faith we effectivly tell that person that we never want them to be a part of our faith. We, in essense, write them off as a failure and not worthy of the hope we so strongly “profess.” Get with the program people. It’s not about you.

Lance, great job! Congratulations on your win!

Popular Culture, Rants

Craptacular Evangelism Strategy

I’m talking about Church Signs.


One of the things that makes me want to vomit is glib church signs that make the blue hairs all warm inside but confuse those outside our little circles. The 2 churches near my house are regular offenders. That is why I have enjoyed reading the terrible collection of bad church signs found at Crummy Church Signs. The best part is the color commentary and snide retorts written underneath these real church sign sayings submitted by users. Here are a handfull of my new favorites: (Sign in bold; User comments italics)

“God loves you whether you like it or not.”
So is this a threat? Do you DARE me to not like it?!?!

“Faith in yourself has won many a race….never quit trying.”
Yes, folks, the cornerstone of the universal church, as established by God Himself, since time eternal: “Faith in Yourself”.

“The dyslexic atheist believes there is no Dog.”
And the dyslexic church sign reviewer says this sign is a big “elip of parc.”

“Try Jesus….If you don’t like Him, the devil will always take you back”
(Just a note here: I am not at all making this sign up. I saw this on a real sign in front of a real church). There is nowhere to begin on this one.

And finally, my personal favorite:

“Road Rage: How would Jesus Drive?”
On a donkey.

Via

Books, Popular Culture

Engage

Well, it is Christmas at Hogwarts and Harry is spending his vacation with the Weasleys. Or at least that is where I left them last night.

Unless you have been in a coma or under a rock, you now know that the sixth book in the Harry Potter series was released over the weekend. I am a little over halfway into Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and I am enjoying every page.

The controversy that surrounds this little boy is at times laughable. That was why I was a little unnerved when I saw an email entitled Worried About Buying the New Harry Potter Book? in my inbox. I was thankful that the article wasn’t some fundamentalist whack-job on how Harry Potter drinks blood and dances in the nude before the full moon. The article was an intelligent call for Christians to engage with this cultural phenomenom not to thow stones at it. The article, Harry Potter and His Critics, was written by Jerram Barrs and can be found at The Discerning Reader.

If you have time check it out. If not, here is a highlight:

I see the books as valuable because they consistently include the three fundamental themes that can be found as a subtext in almost all good literature: the beauty of creation, the appalling reality of evil, and the universal human longing for redemption — for a better world. These themes touch the way the world truly is, the way God has made it. J.K. Rowling does not profess to be a Christian, as far as I am aware, but she has insight into the themes that are at the very heart of what Christians understand to be true about the nature of the universe in which we live.

Self-sacrifice in these books is the primary means by which evil is defeated. Now that of course is the very heart of what Christianity says about the nature of the world. We come from God’s hand as those who have been made glorious. Life is beautiful as God has given it to us, yet it is appallingly twisted and broken by the reality of evil in our lives, and God Himself has made the ultimate selfsacrifice in the person of Jesus Christ to bring about the destruction of evil in the supreme act of love. He gave Himself to death to save the lives of others — to bring protection, renewal, transformation, strengthening, and redemption to us. Recognizing that this theme of self-sacrifice is running all through the series, it is extraordinary to me that there has been such a violent and negative response by Christians. One has to hope that it is the minority response rather than the response of large numbers of believers. I think this negative response is a tragedy for all sorts of reasons.

It is a tragedy in that there are many people who have failed to read the books with an open mind. The Word of God challenges us to be prepared to celebrate anything that is good and true, wherever it is found. Sadly, I think there are many people who are unable to see the good qualities that there are, either in the Harry Potter books, or in much else in popular Culture. Many of those who have criticized the books to me personally have not even read them.

Additionally, when these sorts of criticisms are made about books without a proper basis it causes an appalled and dismissive reaction to Christians in general and the Christian faith itself. That is a tragedy. Often Christians are indeed guilty of responding in fear to our Culture — criticizing, condemning, and cutting themselves off from it as much as possible. Anything that is popular becomes suspicious. And this is a very serious problem in the life of the Church. It is not that we should accept everything our Culture presents. But Christians should be prepared to celebrate what is good and cultivate Biblical discernment in the midst of our Culture. This is what any Christian should do in regard to the Harry Potter books or anything else. You will have to decide for yourself if the Harry Potter books are good for you or your children, but please do so in a way that is thoughtful and discerning according to the Biblical picture of truth, beauty, and goodness, not in a way that is suspicious of anything popular in our culture, or that is untruthful and unkind.

Some 450 years ago John Calvin encouraged people to read books by the ancient writers from Greece and Rome. He wrote instructions for the teachers in the school system he designed in Geneva, Switzerland, asking that they have the students read the great classics of Greece and Rome that were pagan and non-Christian. And he asked that they not criticize them, but rather encourage the students to celebrate what is good in them, and to learn from the truth that they could find in them. Calvin said on another occasion that it is a blasphemy against the Holy Spirit to deny that pagan writers like Plato wrote many things that are true and helpful. We must be prepared to act similarly in our day when it comes to the Harry Potter series or any other product of our culture.

News, Popular Culture, Rants

Sorry Rachel Perry

According to VH1, both VH1 and MTV will re-play this past weekend’s Live8 concerts commercial free and sans all that babble from on air V-Jays. Well done Viacom. Good on ya.

Your parents might not listen, your teachers might not listen, but MTV, apparently, listens.

Responding to viewers and critics, MTV Networks has announced that it will broadcast 10 hours of Live 8 performance footage — including sets from Jay-Z, U2, Paul McCartney and others — commercial-free on MTV and VH1.

MTV and VH1 will each offer five hours of uninterrupted performance footage with differing artist lineups on Saturday. VH1 will air its Live 8 highlights from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, while MTV’s batch of highlights will roll out from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.

“At MTV and VH1, we’re in a constant and candid dialogue with our audience, and in the wake of the live events last Saturday, our viewers have resoundingly told us online they want to see full-set performances from their favorite artists,” MTV Networks Music Group President Van Toffler said of the move. “As a result of viewer demand and thanks to the Live 8 organizers and performers, MTV and VH1 will air 10 consecutive hours from one of the most important musical events of our time.”

MTV has also announced plans to roll out a half-hour special on the issues behind the Live 8 event on Friday at 9 p.m. “Live 8: Next Steps” will re-air at 8 p.m. on Saturday immediately following the Live 8 highlights.

General, Popular Culture

Latest ONE Email

Here is the latest from ONE

In only three days, Live 8will rock the world with ten concerts from Philadelphia to London to Johannesburg.Millions will gather in person and on the web, sending President Bush and other world leaders to the G8 on a wave of support for doing more to fight global AIDS and extreme poverty.

The next 24 hours are going to be critical. Tomorrow, President Bush is expected to announce America’s plan for the G8 summit in Scotland next week. Today, we’re telling you three ways you can take action NOW and make your voice heard.

First, sign on to the ONE letter to President Bush,and show him you support making poverty history at the G8. Second, ask three friends and familyto sign on with you. Third, you can host a Live 8 watch partyat your home and invite friends to join you in experiencing these amazing worldwide concerts.Live 8 will be watching as eight world leaders will be presented with a workable plan to double aid, drop the debt and make trade laws fair – and an historic opportunity to end poverty and save millions of lives.

You can download a kit to help you host your Live 8 party, and also visit ONE.ORG for a guide to how you can take action and influence the G8 from your own community.Whether you ask others to sign the ONE Declaration, write a letter to your local newspaper or email friends to tell them about ONE, there’s so much you can do to add your voice.

Over 280,000 Americans have signed the letter to President Bush and close to one million Americans have joined the ONE network.We can breakone million by Live 8 if you join together with us as ONE and take action today.

Thanks,

The ONE Team

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General, Popular Culture

Live8 Is Coming

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We are just a few days away from a defining moment in this generation. is almost here. On July 6, the eight most powerful men in the world will meet to discuss the future of the world. We want Africa to be a part of that meeting. Every day, the poorest of the poor are being forgotten and lost in the fog. G8 could take a giant step to turn that around this weekend.

So, before Saturday, please do the following actions:

Visit ONE.org, watch the video and then sign the declaration.

Visit Live 8 and get caught up on the events this summer.

Visit any of the links I have placed all over the site.

Read what others are saying on their blogs. Follow the Technorati: Live 8 link.

Check back here for more details as Saturday approaches.

Technorati Link:

Popular Culture

2, 8, 11, 19, 42 and so on

2 Comments

AFI has just released their latest top 100 list of films. This time the subject is top 100 movie quotes. While I was disapponted that lines like “Shampoo is better!” and “Did you eat alot of paint chips as a kid?” and “And the flowers are still standing!” were tragically overlooked there were some great cinematic gems on the list. One of my personal favorites from 1964’s Dr. Strangelove was no. 64:

“Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here! This is the War Room!”

Check out the full list from Yahoo! News.

Link

Popular Culture

The Bat-Man

In a matter of minutes I will unshakle myself from this desk, jump in the car with my wife, and drive to the local multi-plex to experience Batman Begins. Batman is, by far and away, my favorite superhero and I am looking forward to Chris Nolan’s interpretation of the Dark Knight.

In 1992, a CNN camera crew caught yours truly waiting in line for Batman Returns in the hot, humid Texas sun. (It was the first movie I went to without a parent.) I doubt CNN or FoxNews or even MSNBC will be there today to document this screening.

For more Bat-info, check out Movies.com’s 40 Things You Must Know About Batman. There are alot of interesting tidbits including #24:

Batman almosts: Mel Gibson, Alec Baldwin, Pierce Brosnan and Charlie Sheen were Michael Keaton’s rivals for the titular role in Batman; Tom Hanks was the studio’s first choice to replace Keaton in Batman Forever

I can’t imagine Tom Hanks as Batman. Can you?

40 Things You Must Know About Batman

Popular Culture

The Last Hour

Here is what has been playing in my office over the last hour. You gotta love shuffle!

Gimme Shelter :: The Rolling Stones (Forty Licks)
Spies :: Coldplay (Parachutes)
King Nothing :: Metallica (Load)
Lemon (Serious Def Dub) :: U2 (Lemon Remixes)
Yahweh :: U2 (HTDAAB)
Man of the Hour :: Pearl Jam (Rearveiwmirror: Down)
I Will Hold My Head High :: Third Day (Wire)
You Wreck Me :: Tom Petty (Wildflowers)
Rain King :: Counting Crows (August and Everything After)
Pride (In the Name of Love) :: U2 (The Unforgettable Fire)
Who Am I :: Zoe Worship (Desperate)
Magic Carpet Ride :: Steppenwolf (Easy Rider OMPS)
This Road :: Jars of Clay (Furthermore)
Poetically Correct :: TobyMac (Diverse City)
Let It Be :: The Beatles (1)
Lord, Raise Me Up :: Matisyahu (Live at Stubb’s)