Looking for new contributors, inquire within.

At the start of the new year, I want to revamp subversivechurch.  Chris and Dan have contributed some interesting and thought-provoking posts and I hope they continue to do so, but I would like to maybe find one or two more voices to contribute as well.

My goal is to bring this blog back into focus by choosing a new format, links, creating clearly defined catagories, and possibly even starting with a new name.

If you are interested, drop me an email at mike@subversivechurch.com

-mike

 

just a snippet of… Reason, Faith, and Revolution by Terry Eagleton

I found these excerpts on PhilosophicalSociety.com while researching for a completely different topic.

Why I might pick this book up:  Apparently Dr. Eagleton is defending Christianity against Richard Dawkins and other atheists, but has some pretty honest (some might say brutally honest) critiques of Christianity thrown in as well.

Now on to the snippets:

Apart from the signal instance of Stalinism, it’s hard to think of a historical movement which has more squalidly betrayed its own revolutionary origins [than Christianity].

Christianity long ago shifted from the side of the poor and dispossessed to that of the rich and aggressive. The liberal establishment really has nothing whatsoever to fear from it and everything to gain. For the most part, it’s become the creed of the suburban well-to-do, not the astonishing promise offered to the rifraff and undercover anti-colonial militants with whom Jesus himself hung out. The suburbanite response to the anawim, a term which can be roughly translated into American English as ‘loser,’ is for the most part to flush them off the streets.

This brand of piety is horrified by the sight of the female breast, but considerably less appalled by the obscene inequalities between rich and poor. It laments the death of a fetus, but is apparently undisturbed by the burning to death of children in Iraq or Afghanistan in the name of U.S. global dominion.

I am talking, then, about the distinction between what seems to me a scriptural and an ideological kind of Christian faith — a distinction which can never simply be assumed but must be interminably argued. One name for this thankless exercise is what Nietzsche, who held that churches were the tombs and sepulchres of God, called in Kierkegaardian phrase saving Christianity from Christendom.  Any preaching of the Gospel which fails to constitute a scandal and affront to the political state is in my view effectively worthless.

I know I rail against western evangelical Christianity on here a lot, but I do so to hopefully jar people into thinking for themselves a bit.  Of all of the complacency I saw while sitting in traditional services, I know that many of the people are wanting to be a part of something that is right and just.  The church’s consumeristic mindset that has pervaded the leadership in most churches negates any challenge that could be issued from the pulpit.  There is a lack of leadership for the people and that means our affluence is squandered instead of being put to good use.

Sure there are bright spots out there, some groups of people striving to correct the injustices of the world, but they are in the minority.  Maybe they always will be, but if we can prod a few more people into action by what is posted on this blog, then the kingdom of God has infiltrated the kingdom of man just a little more.

- mike

 

Princess Haya says, “Let them eat cake?”

I was sent an interesting link from Huffington Post yesterday.  In her article, Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein brings to light the UN “fat map” in response to the growing hunger taking over the world.  Her article makes many good points and is worth reading, especially as those of us in the U.S. prepare to gorge ourselves on Thanksgiving Day.

While the U.S. and Australia look like they are going to explode, their land mass hides the bloated size of Europe, Japan, and several Middle East countries.

I have read The Omnivore’s Dilemma, I have seen Food, Inc., Blue Gold, and King Corn, and I recommend that all of us who live in these lands of affluence do the same.  If not for our own health, for the sake of others.  To be sure, the book and documentaries are not fool-proof, but they are vital to our understanding of our food systems and their ramifications.  Hopefully they will also get people to thinking about where they fit into this globalized world of ours.

I think when people consider buying non-processed and non-industrial food, they will see their financial position is further down the ol’ totem pole than they thought.

But what I find most interesting about the Princess’ article is the princess herself.  She resides in Dubai, one of the most unsustainable habitats on this planet.  From indoor ski slopes, to multi-million dollar islands, to a hidden slave population that keeps building it ever higher, Dubai consumes and pollutes in its effort to become “a Shangri-La in the Middle East” says Johann Hari in his long but eye-opening article in The Independent.

Dubai is not just a city living beyond its financial means; it is living beyond its ecological means. You stand on a manicured Dubai lawn and watch the sprinklers spray water all around you. You see tourists flocking to swim with dolphins. You wander into a mountain-sized freezer where they have built a ski slope with real snow. And a voice at the back of your head squeaks: this is the desert. This is the most water-stressed place on the planet. How can this be happening? How is it possible? The very earth is trying to repel Dubai, to dry it up and blow it away. The new Tiger Woods Gold Course needs four million gallons of water to be pumped on to its grounds every day, or it would simply shrivel and disappear on the winds.

So how does a princess, a recipient of the wealth being dumped into Dubai, tell the world it needs to cut its calorie consumption and expect to be taken seriously?

She doesn’t, and neither do the politicians driveling on in speech after speech about the moral imperative we have to feed the starving people of the world.  With massive conglomerate corporations lining the pockets of politicians, nothing will change.

After watching the documentaries and doing a little research into the subsidies given to farmers who dump food into world markets and destroy local economies exacerbating the hunger crisis, you might feel a little overwhelmed and think the problem is too big for us.

May I suggest another movie?

-mike

 

Grace does not allow for Scapegoats

I had the pleasure recently to watch a modern psalmist and his minstrels perform via youtube. They played and sang and my ears and spirit were opened to a new song that I have listened to for the last 18 years. A favorite song of mine that I truly had no clue what it was about. It was during the performance, just before the song, that Bono began to shout Judas, and I wondered what was he insinuating, and then he sang the words that portrayed a beautiful conversation between Jesus of Nazareth and Judas Iscariot.

Haven’t seen you in quite a while
I was down the hold just passing time
Last time we met was a low-lit room
We were as close together as a bride and groom
We ate the food, we drank the wine
Everybody having a good time
Except you
You were talking about the end of the world

I took the money
I spiked your drink
You miss too much these days if you stop to think
You lead me on with those innocent eyes
You know I love the element of surprise
In the garden I was playing the tart
I kissed your lips and broke your heart
You
You were acting like it was the end of the world

Love…

In my dream I was drowning my sorrows
But my sorrows, they learned to swim
Surrounding me
Going down on me
Spilling over the brim
Waves of regret and waves of joy
I reached out for the one I tried to destroy
You
You said you’d wait
Till the end of the world

It brought me back to a conversation I had with a Pastor who adamantly believed that Judas was the ultimate traitor, and that his destination was hell. Ever since this conversation I questioned that passage, the thought process, and the true power of a graceful king. 

I have read many articles and some books regarding the scenario and times regarding the betrayal of Judas and many are inconclusive, like many passages in the Bible. Some believe he took his own life (I lean in the direction of this account), after he had betrayed the Christ with a kiss in exchange for money.

When you look at this story, many factors play a role, but the basics are what have me compelled to believe that Judas accepted the grace that was offered before his earthly demise. 

I cannot believe that Judas could have known cause and effects of his actions. He was a broken man, and perhaps infected with the sin of monetary greed, as scriptures state. Jesus chose him, in all his discernment and prayerful decisions; he concluded that Judas was to be closer to him than a brother, alongside the other eleven. He knew of his flaws, and still embraced and loved him. 

According to Canonical scripture and New Testament accounts, Judas betrayed the Christ and then he had that moment of perfect clarity, revelation perhaps, to the extent and magnitude of what he had set in to motion, “the end of the world”.  

Mathew 27:3-4 states,

When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.

Is this not repentance, a confession of sin and remorse for his actions. Some believe that Judas then went a hung himself at some point after the infraction. Could this also symbolize a form of remorse and being stricken with such grief that he could not continue living?  Isn’t the salvation formula greater than: traitor + sin = damnation?

In our world we need the scapegoat, to compare all our sins to as a way to validate our lifelong short comings and evil.  Yet I believe the Christ created a new ethic, and in his world he teaches us to seek out, embrace, and choose the scapegoat out of love and grace. The final scapegoat being the Christ himself. 

It alarms me at times that I find a deeper understanding of grace through a musician than through the leader of a church congregation.

-Dan

 

 

profiting from swine flu?

10/26/2009 Update:  I’m not sure how many people are hearing about this CBS report on swine flu cases being overestimated, but it is worth reading.  Here is a snippet:

In late July, the CDC abruptly advised states to stop testing for H1N1 flu, and stopped counting individual cases.

I can’t encourage people enough to read this article.  Now on to your regularly scheduled post.

What to do about the swine flu and its just as questionable vaccine?  The amount of information (and disinformation) out there is growing every day, so now is definitely NOT the time to over-react or just do as we are told.  Now is the time to think and research, so here is some information to ponder.

CNN ended an August article about the swine flu with the following:

“More than 1,490 people around the world have died from the virus since it emerged this spring, a WHO official said last week.”

This line leaves the story ending on an ominous note instead of a more reasoned and level tone.  With the mere changing of one word and the adjustment of the number by ten people and we have a completely different note on which to end:

Less than 1500 people around the world have died from the virus since it emerged this spring, a WHO official said last week.

So now that we are in the height of the H1N1 season, is all the hype playing out?  So far, no.  Sure a lot of schools are closing, but what about the massive death tolls?  So far it seems that the swine flu is just a nasty flu.  But just because the deaths haven’t happened yet, doesn’t mean they won’t, so we should all be smart and try to inform ourselves as much as possible.  Not just from the swine flu, but also from the vaccine.

Now I know Louis Farrakhan called the vaccine a government plot to kill an unsustainable population, but I don’t want to go down that crazy path.  People either cling to crazy or dismiss it altogether, neither is a smart option.

Here are my concerns about the vaccine:

H1N1 vaccines are being produced under EUAs.  What is an EUA?  According to the CDC website:

An Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) may be issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to allow either the use of an unapproved medical product or an unapproved use of an approved medical product during certain types of emergencies with specified agents.

 Basically, based on scientific knowledge, the government can fast track certain drugs to stop an emergency.  This measure is a double-edged sword.  It can be potentially life-saving, but without adequate testing, the unknown side effects could be potentially deadly as well.  So this can leave a person at a crossroads about what to do medically.  Since the first rule of medicine is “do no harm,” we tend to trust the doctors in our lives.  And many times, if not most, they are right.  But what if the information they are basing their advice on is wrong at worst or incomplete at best?  If you take that advice, is it the doctor’s fault or the source of the information?

It doesn’t matter, because you have no recourse if the fast-tracked drug kills a loved one thanks to the PREP Act:

The PREP Act authorizes the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (“Secretary”) to issue a declaration (“PREP Act declaration”) that provides immunity from tort liability (except for willful misconduct) for claims of loss caused, arising out of, relating to, or resulting from administration or use of countermeasures to diseases, threats and conditions determined by the Secretary…

Basically, even if the government mandates that people get vaccinated, and that vaccine goes terribly wrong, because it was deemed an emergency situation, you have no recourse for the damage done.  There is supposed fund to cover such problems, but it unfunded.

So far there are five (5) EUAs in effect for H1N1: 3M’s N95 respirator, 2 types of test kits, as well as Tamiflu and Relenza.

Here is why I grow concerned about the vaccine.  One of the EUAs went to Quest Diagnostics for their swine flu test kits. 

While the term Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) sounds urgent, the products being authorized have been in development for some time, usually at a significant cost and the government has been in contact with the company about the EUA.

 So when the press release is more focused on the product being “first to market” and having a monopoly of the U.S. market, some red flags go up for me.  Here are some snippets:

 …the only company in the U.S. to offer test kits for detecting the pandemic 2009 H1N1 virus that the FDA has authorized for emergency use by CLIA high-complexity labs, which include certain hospital and regional labs.

The new test offering is one outgrowth of an exclusive global distribution agreement formed between Focus Diagnostics and 3M…

Quest Diagnostics’ Focus Diagnostics has a track record of being first to market with new laboratory testing services for emerging infectious diseases.

Of course this isn’t all bad, the test ”provides results in 30-75 minutes” in conjunction with a 3M machine “and can process up to 96 samples per run.”  So there is a hugely faster turn around time.  And if I thought I had the swine flu, I would want to know as soon as possible.

But take a look at Quest’s financials.  Just two days ago they upped their profit outlook, right on the heels of the newest EUA.  Coincidence?  I don’t know.

All of this just for the test.  Now consider that instead of a one dose vaccine, the government and companies say that we need a two-part vaccine.  Could be construed as double profit?  I don’t know.

This isn’t a conspiracy theory, but just some musings and questions.  These are difficult times, not because much has changed, but because we went from having little information getting out to the public to information overload.  Who to believe or trust is almost impossible.

What are your thoughts?

-mike

 

mental inoculation

I picked up a copy of George Orwell’s The Road to Wigan Pier at a used bookstore the other day.  While 1984 and Animal Farm may be more widely known for their commentary on the future intrusiveness of government and the human condition, Wigan Pier is Orwell’s eye-witness account of the squalid conditions of Northern England in the 1930s and a critical view of socialism in England at the time.  While I am still reading it and cannot comment fully, a passage  from early in the book got me to thinking about a brief exchange on post I wrote about war photos being released for public consumption.  In this excerpt, Orwell is speaking about a poor, filthy couple, the Brookers, who ran a bit of a boarding house:

But it is of no use saying that people like the Brookers are just disgusting and trying to put them out of mind.  For they exist in tens and hundreds of thousands; they are one of the characteristic by-products of the modern world.  You cannot disregard them if you accept the civilisation that produced them.  For this is part at least of what industrialism has done for us.  …[A]nd this is where it all led – to labyrinthine slums and dark black kitchens with sickly, ageing people creeping round and round them like blackbeetles. 

It is a kind of duty to see and smell such places now and again, especially smell them, lest you forget that they exist; though perhaps it is better not to stay there too long.

In the war photo post, I asked if graphic but truthful photos of American soldiers injured/dying/dead on the battlefield should be shown to the American public.  AnnaK said she wasn’t going to go out of her way to find them, but that yes, they should be shown, but in measured doses so to keep us aware of what is going on in the world.  Orwell seems to think along the same lines as well.  And if the goal is to keep such things as the reality of war or poverty merely on the radar of the general public, then I too agree that such things could be taken in small doses.

But I have to wonder if the point of exposing the American population to various harsh realities is merely to get them to remember.  Or is the hope to get them to respond, to act is some way to such harsh realities?  Is it to get them to feel once again?

I fear that small doses of reality over time, such as the picture of a disfigured, dying soldier or the account of living conditions in 1930s England, only serve to inoculate the population from taking any action.  Consider the vaccines we all have received over the years.  When was the last time you worried about Measles or Mumps, or Rubella?  We don’t because we were inoculated.  We were inoculated so we could go about our business without worrying about a nasty disease.  The same is true for being made aware of the tragedies that go on around the world.

 A case in point: even though the ban put in place back in 1991 was lifted finally, we do not see photos of flag-draped coffins coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan.  I recommend reading this piece by Byron York at The Washington Examiner.  And this one from The Edmonton Sun’s Andrew Hanon.

- mike

 

Is the media pro-war?

Liberal or Conservative, War Made Easy is a must see film; especially in our culture of 5 minute attention spans.  History matters, no matter how inconvenient it may be.

During World War I, 10% of all casualties were civilian.

During World War II, the number of civilian deaths rose to 50%.

During the Vietnam War, 70% of all casualties were civilians.

In the war in Iraq, civilians account for 90% of all deaths.

 

 

-mike

 

Organic Lemming Suicide

 

Recently this year, my wife had started to study about the necessity to eat /”>organic foods. It’s good to marry a smart person as you can reap their added knowledge. Obviously you can live off of non-organic food, but there are many unanswered questions in regards to what non-organic foods would and could do to the human body.

As Chris Rock eloquently put, he wasn’t worried about eating “red eat”, it was the “green meat” that seemed problematic.

After reading and learning, I too agree that organic food is a safer and healthier way to go, as it lends to a more natural digestion for our bodies. It’s good for us, it feels right (something inside us wants natural organic things), and we believe it will help our lives down the road.

Along these lines, I have heard much about the Organic Church, or how a church must be organic to grow healthy, etc. So to compare organic food and organic church, you have to look at what is truly organic. I mean organic labeled food is still planted in a very systematic way, the end result being a consumable product. Truly organic food probably looks more like a random apple tree growing in the wilderness in the Adirondacks; I stumble upon it as I am trailblazing, pick and eat. You can pick and eat this apple because there aren’t pesticides or wax all over it, but there may be a worm lurking inside. 

So an organic church may be systematically placed, or planted using books, such as Neil Cole’s Organic Church or Frank Viola’s Finding Organic Church, or by using a home or house church model. These books have good insight and information but by reading them and using techniques and tools to create an organic church, you may in fact be creating an organic labeled church. It still may be healthy, very good for you but in fact not truly organic. It may become less relevant in time, and as you peel away the layers, it might just be less organic than the label led you to believe. 

Organic seems to be the church lemming at this point, I believing the Emerging/ Emergent lemming has jumped already. The House Church Lemming may be lumped in with the Organic, but it may have jumped as well. Church marketing plays heavily on what is in vogue with our community and culture, and therefore the hot button topic, word or phrase becomes the next lemming which many begin to follow, not knowing that ultimately it is headed for the same cliff as the others before.

The church needs to stop. Stop trying to be cool, relevant, be-all-end-all fix for everyone’s needs for love, acceptance, forgiveness, and brokenness. This is Christ’s job. The church is people, spanning over time and space, we are linked through this one belief that we love God and that we love everyone else too. We join together in saying the Lord’s Prayer and singing our redemption songs with all believers past and present, and when we sing and pray together, God hears us as one united voice, undivided by names, places, theological or liturgical differences. He hears the body working as one organic body.

My advice is to not seek out organic food or churches without doing your research. Understand what you may be getting yourself into, and realize that you may be disappointed with the taste. I recently created a beautiful salad with organic lettuce, only to realize that there were tons of small bugs in the depths of the romaine. It wasn’t bad or rotten; in fact it was truly organic as there were no pesticides to keep these little bugs away from my pure lettuce. When we go organic, maybe we have to be open to the bugs and flavors that we are not used to, and to beware of the lemmings that run through our gardens on the way to the cliff.  

Recently this year, my wife had started to study about the necessity to eat organic foods. It’s good to marry a smart person as you can reap their added knowledge. Obviously you can live off of non-organic food, but there are many unanswered questions in regards to what non-organic foods would and could do to the human body.

As Chris Rock eloquently put, he wasn’t worried about eating “red eat”, it was the “green meat” that seemed problematic.

After reading and learning, I too agree that organic food is a safer and healthier way to go, as it lends to a more natural digestion for our bodies, and as we have eaten this way I do feel healthier and have lost some weight.  It’s good for us, it feels right (something inside us wants natural organic things), and we believe it will help our lives down the road.

Along these lines, I have heard much about the Organic Church, or how a church must be organic to grow healthy, etc. So to compare organic food and organic church, you have to look at what is truly organic. I mean organic labeled food is still planted in a very systematic way, the end result being a consumable product. Truly organic food probably looks more like a random apple tree growing in the wilderness in the Adirondacks; I stumble upon it as I am trailblazing, pick and eat. You can pick and eat this apple because there aren’t pesticides or wax all over it, but there may be a worm lurking inside. 

So an organic church may be systematically placed, or planted using books, such as Neil Cole’s Organic Church or Frank Viola’s Finding Organic Church, or by using a home or house church model. These books have good insight and information but by reading them and using techniques and tools to create an organic church, you may in fact be creating an organic labeled church. It still may be healthy, very good for you but in fact not truly organic. It may become less relevant in time, and as you peel away the layers, it might just be less organic than the label led you to believe. 

Organic seems to be the church lemming at this point, I believing the Emerging/ Emergent lemming has jumped already. The House Church Lemming may be lumped in with the Organic, but it may have jumped as well. Church marketing plays heavily on what is in vogue with our community and culture, and therefore the hot button topic, word or phrase becomes the next lemming which many begin to follow, not knowing that ultimately it is headed for the same cliff as the others before.

The church needs to stop. Stop trying to be cool, relevant, be-all-end-all fix for everyone’s needs for love, acceptance, forgiveness, and brokenness. This is Christ’s job. The church is people, spanning over time and space, we are linked through this one belief that we love God and that we love everyone else too. We join together in saying the Lord’s Prayer and singing our redemption songs with all believers past and present, and when we sing and pray together, God hears us as one united voice, undivided by names, places, theological or liturgical differences. He hears the body working as one organic body.

My advice is to not seek out organic food or churches without doing your research. Understand what you may be getting yourself into, and realize that you may be disappointed with the taste. I recently created a beautiful salad with organic lettuce, only to realize that there were tons of small bugs in the depths of the romaine. It wasn’t bad or rotten; in fact it was truly organic as there were no pesticides to keep these little bugs away from my pure lettuce. When we go organic, maybe we have to be open to the bugs and flavors that we are not used to, and to beware of the lemmings that run through our gardens on the way to the cliff. 

Disclaimer: Disney made up a big lie documentary and pushed lemmings of the cliff, I guess they don’t commit suicide, thanks Walt you inhumane liar.

-Dan

 

indoctrinated zombie children

As millions of kids go to public school to be indoctrinated by their teachers everyday, some from the more conservative slant decided to keep their kids home for fear of the dreaded Obama speech.  

Yes, that’s right folks, in less than 20 minutes Barack Obama was going to turn your kids in mindless, communist, socialist, marxist, godless zombies.

Look out, it's the indoctrination disease!

(Thanks to Carolita Johnson for drawing such a great cartoon.)

Now I’m not saying public school is bad, but kids do spend more time with their teachers during the waking hours of a day than they do with their parents.  And the fact is indoctrination takes place all the time.  From advertisers to church to school to family interaction, there is a certain prescribed way of doing things.  And if those things are questioned, the questioner is forced back into line.

Yet we know of many who bucked such indoctrination and changed the course of history, for both good and bad.

So here’s a real question for those people who yanked their kids out of school so they wouldn’t have to hear Obama’s speech or bitched so loud that the speech wasn’t shown in their schools:

What does it say about your parenting skills that you dump your kid off for almost 15 years into a system where you have little to no control as to what is being taught, but are afraid of a 20 minute speech?

Not to put too fine a point on it though.

-mike

 

should conflict casualty pictures be banned?

As I sat down earlier on Friday to scan a few news sites before heading off to a dinner, I came across a headline in the New York Times about a Marine’s picture.  Not just any picture, but one showing his mortal injuries sustained during combat in Afghanistan.  Lance Cpl. Joshua Bernard was hit by a rocket propelled grenade severing one leg and almost the other.  He later died of his injuries.  This all took place on the 15th of August.

An embedded Associated Press journalist, Julie Jacobson, was with Bernard’s unit when it was ambushed and while under fire snapped a somewhat blurred photo of Bernard after sustaining his injuries and being tended to by two Marines.  The AP decided to release the photo today, though in her journal written at the time of the attack, Jacobson doubted that the photo would ever “see the light of day.”

I shot images that day well aware that those images could very possibly never see the light of day. In fact I was sure of it. But I still found myself recording them.

I as read through the comments section there were people arguing for freedom of the press and those arguing for to honor the wishes of the parents to withhold the picture from the public.  Ostensibly, Defense Secretary Robert Gates came down on the side of withholding the photo to prevent more anguish for the family.  But since we first invaded Iraq, pictures of dead American soldiers (flag-draped caskets or otherwise) has been kept to a minimum because our politicians have learned the hard political lessons from Vietnam.

Enough gruesome photos will eventually cut through the fog of obliviousness that most Americans live in, so the spin becomes that the AP is callous and looking for exposure.  And what gets lost in that spin is the fact that war is brutal and costly, not only to Americans, but to the people of the land we are currently invading.  And we in America do not like to be bothered by such unpleasantries.

So my question is this:

Should photos of American war casualties be allowed to be published to make the American public aware of the reality around them or should the American population be shielded from such realities?

-mike