Category Archives: Culture

Church, Culture, Politics

Bias, intoloerance, judgement

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For some this is old news, never-the-less, there seems to be a bias in what I see on TV.  Every show seems to want to out due the other in violence, sexual content, and even anti-Christian rhetoric. A couple of weeks ago one person on ABC stated, “It’s one thing to talk to Jesus. It’s another thing when Jesus talks to you… that’s called mental illness.”  There seems to be a tidal wave of prejudice and outright distain for conservative Christian belief.  But I contend that faith remains as the foundation to our civilization.

Prayer and listening to the urgings of God is a very large part of what makes the America which I love.  As it was for George Washington and through to our Vice President whom the “mental illness” jab was pointed. These prayers and listeners were the kind of people wo built our civilization, founded our democracies, developed our modern ideas of rights and justice, ended slavery, established universal education and now are in the forefront of the fight against poverty, prejudice and ignorance. And they are Christians.

To call yourself a Christian in our contemporary culture is to be showered by pity and a wry smile. Those who have a spiritual life are characterized as someone who needs to be re-educated or reprogramed. There is a soft-spoken, yoga posed, tolerance that looks to the next generation that will be taught the right way to think. And all the while they put bumper stickers on their Volvo with “Coexist.”

And that’s just for starters. If you are a Roman Catholic we’re accessories to child abuse, if we’re Presbyterian or Lutheran you are seen as intolerant to change and the world is predestined to be the way it is, if you are evangelicals we’re creepy obsessives who are uncomfortable with anyone enjoying anything more than decaffeinated coffee with your scone.

In a culture that prizes sophistication, non-judgmentalism, irony and detachment, it declares spiritually motivated lives as intolerant, naive, superstitious and backward.

The real story of today’s churches is a saga of millions of quiet kindnesses. They provide warmth, food, friendship and support for those who have the least to hope for.  The homeless, often in the grip of alcoholism, drugs, undiagnosed mental health problems, those whose lives have been torn apart and overwhelmed by multiple crushing blows are being helped and being helped by Christians.

Culture, Motivation, Psycolog, Ramblings

Honor

Over the last couple of months, I have tried to grasp the characteristics or inner needs that drive our actions.  Again, actions are the results or responses we decide to make as we live out our core.  Our core is part and parcel of who we are.  We do not choose to be wanted and accepted, it is a part of our core or center characteristic.  Actions based upon this core have moral consequences.  Actions are never done in isolation.  Actions are what we do in response to our innermost.  These actions require an act of the will.  An example: I have an inner desire for consumption of food, but it is an act of the will to consume good food or not so good food.  Decisions carry with it consequences.  If someone would step on my toe in a crowded elevator, I would feel pain; no decision on my part it is a part of being alive.  But if I lashed out at the perpetrator of the pain and punched him in the nose, that is a decision and has consequences. Pain is part of being how I am. Purposely inflicting pain on someone else’s nose is a decision-making process.

So far in my list of inner wants or core needs I have covered acceptance, curiosity, consumption, and family. The next on the list is probably the most problematic.  Problematic in that our society seems to display the actions that would not express this characteristic.  That characteristic is honor.

Honor as defined in the Bible as kabod in the Old Testament meaning heavy or weighty.  To honor someone is to give weight or give respect and even authority over your life, and timao in the New Testament.  It is characterized as granting honor because of respect, courtesy, and reverence.  Both words speak of acts of honor. Never-the-less, I believe there is an inner desire to acknowledge others with honor.

An example of this characteristic is when I worked for Intel Corporation.  I was asked to go on a sales call with a large customer to be a technical advisor to the discussion.  I felt that I should give the honor to the customer to dress well and be on my best behavior.  I put on a fresh shirt and a moderate tie under my suit coat and went to the meeting.  At the meeting table prior to introductions the prospective buyers constantly asked me questions and almost ignoring the sales manager to which I was there to support.  The sales manager was not wearing a tie or for that matter acted disinterested in the goings-on of the meeting.  The company staff was referring to me because of my clothes and demeanor.  To the chagrin of my sales manager, he was being ignored and I was being honored.

For the most part, most do not act rudely.  Most take care not to offend.  Most react to the honor urge in positive ways.  It is an internal attitude of that should be nurtured.  It is only when we respect, and honor others will others do the same. While the reception of honor is a positive experience, it is not to be sought ( Luke 14:7-8 ). When honor comes from others by reason of position or status, it is not to be taken for granted. The recipients should seek to merit honor through godly character.

The granting of honor to others is an essential experience in the believer’s life. Christians are to bestow honor on those for whom honor is due. The believer is to honor God, for he is the sovereign head of the universe and his character is unsurpassed. The believer is to honor those in positions of earthly authority, such as governing authorities ( Rom 13:1-7 ), masters ( 1 Tim 6:1 ), and parents ( Exod 20:12 ). As a participant in the church, the believer is also called to honor Jesus Christ, the head of the church ( John 5:23 ), fellow believers ( Rom 12:10 ), and widows ( 1 Tim 5:3 ).

Honor, now that is deep!

Comments welcomed.

Culture, Life

Be Still and Know

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I am quite taken by the changes in my lifetime.  I guess it is a part of getting old.  Please don’t call me a cynic, but I really don’t think it is much better.  My current mindset is about the society, our culture, the world itself seems to be more and more demanding of the individual to become less and the grandiose total is becoming more and more.  This attitude of public perfection is the greatest goal for man, is just taking over.  If we think like everyone else it will eliminate all conflict, pain, and want.  If the common politically demanded correctness is achieved, we will all “get along”. Every decision, act, purchase, relationship, in this new group think environment must be evaluated by the current wind of public opinion or popular cause.

Our current culture has no regulation or mandates.  All there is are options, attractions, temptations, seductions.  Duty is seen as an option, not a requirement.  Why should someone have to stand when the national anthem is played?  Don’t we have free speech? Shouldn’t it be an option?

An American philosopher Richard Rorty characterized this new society as, “Maximum material property for all, combined with an anesthetized culture of self-created individuals.”  It is a sheltered and inoculated society walking a zombie walk without worry and angst once bitten by the next big thing.  Let the next film be all that is talked about.  Let the digital death at the hand of a binary sniper remove all the queasiness of accountability.  All the great new things solve little. This beautiful promised world with its own pitfalls and dangers constantly pitch new and fulfilling choices.  And these choices are nothing more than a distraction.

From the lyrics of a song by Steven Curtis Chapman

Be still and know that He is God
Be still and know that He is holy
Be still Oh restless heart of mine
Bow before the Prince of Peace
Let the noise and clamor cease

Be still and know that He is God
Be still and know that He is faithful
Consider all that He has done
Stand in awe and be amazed
And know that He will never change

Be still

Be still and know that He is God.

Comments are welcome.

Culture, Life, Ramblings

The truth is, there is no truth.

The world, the public persona, the culture shouts to us from every screen and signboard is one of “not enough.” There is always one more improvement, always one more perfect solution, always “but wait, there’s more.”  Boiled down to a single phrase it could well be, “the truth of yesterday is not the truth today.” The truth is that there is no truth.  Our culture around us screams for the next big thing. The biggest and best of yesterday is nothing compared to the new and improved of today.  The common societal mantra goes even blatantly further with a wry smile, hinting that the best yet to come. The now is never enough. The truth of today is just a pale shadow of that new truth to come.

Technology promises a plethora of new and better.  Politics promise peace and prosperity.  Cars that can protect ourselves from our own stupidity.  Phones that will never get you lost. Better coffee, better food, better soda that tastes great with no sugar. Always a hopeful future.

Our society promises a kind of heaven on earth.  A world with stable ocean levels.  A world where all have access to clean water.  A world where everyone has free stuff.  A world where there is no money.  A world where the individual is not limited by anything.  Our culture promises a life of satiated desires and political correctness.  But this new world order has no meaning outside of the moment.  No current home will ever satisfy our personal homelessness. No current meaning of life will ever have meaning.  No hope of life now will ever be enough.  There is no joy of life in the now that is sufficient. Where is the satisfaction?

Our lives are bombarded by reality shows that nothing to do with reality.  There a talent shows that allow us to think, “that could be me.”  Commercials that proclaim the latest absolute bargain. We pay homage to the opinion of the latest celebrity for all our group-think. For the world, there is no “same yesterday, today and tomorrow.” Our culture says there is no constancy.

BUT THERE IS.  It is only when we realize that it is possible to be in the world and not be a part of it.  It is only when the constant of eternity is the foundation of our lives can there ever be true satisfaction in our nows.