the media elite?

Following their game on Saturday, Oklahoma State University's head football coach Mike Gundy had a bit of a tantrum at his post-game news conference (follow this link to watch). He was angry about an article printed in the Daily Oklahoman about a quarterback on his team that he had recently benched. For what its worth, the Daily Oklahoman was listed by Columbia Journalism Review as the nation's worst metro area newspaper. Coach Gundy said that the article was unfair to this young man. To say that he was angry at this paper and writer would be a gross understatement. I don't know if he was being fair. What interests me is the response of the news, particularly sports, media. So as to illustrate my point, here are links to articles from ESPN.com's Pat Forde, Fox Sports' Randy Hill, and the Sporting News' Mike Hayes (who identified him as a "loser.") It seems as though the media is jumping on him because he dared to defy them. Through their control over the electronic media, they can command the attention of just about everyone. If you listened to any talk radio, particularly sports, for the last two days, it was impossible to escape this story. Furthermore, it was impossible to escape him being criticized. I am not saying he war right. I just don't think it was the content of his complaint that was being judged. It was that he dared to call the media unfair. One defense of this writer that I heard repeatedly was that she was just doing her job. So is a drug dealer. How does that justify anything? In my pop culture class, I usually find myself in the opposite position. I usually am defending the media against the notion that they have any anti-American or family conspiracy. I do not think this is a conspiracy. I do think there seems to be a notion of brotherhood amongst writers and commentators. I have no objection to that. But when that gets in the way of objectively reporting the truth, it seems that the news media has failed to do their jobs.

eulogizing the living

this is for a friend. I hope he gets it.

"The mystery masked man was smart He got himself a Tonto'Cause Tonto did the dirty work for free But Tonto he was smarter And one day said kemo sabe Kiss my ass I bought a boat I'm going out to sea" -Lyle Lovett If I Had A Boat

You have never sausage a place!

Every year I drive I-95 South to South Carolina about 3 times. A highlight of the trip has got to be passing South of the Border. I found this video on youtube. If you have made the drive, or even worse, actually gone in, you will love it

cryptoGnosticism Part I

I am going to take the opportunity here to continue a discussion in which I was involved on the blog of my friend Jeff Cagle. Jeff has been involved with another blogger in a discussion concerning Catholicism, Calvinism, and Gnosticism. The discussion began ( I have been but a microscopic part of it) when it was suggested that Presbyterians cannot escape a Gnostic mentality if they reject the magisterial authority of Rome. I really was not involved in that larger discussion. I became involved when Jeff said that "'Gnostic mentality' is entirely out of place as a description of Presbyterians. Whatever faults we may have, Gnosticism isn't one." I generally support Jeff in the larger discussion, but I felt that this statement might not entirely be true. Whereas I don't believe that Presbyterians are gnostic in their rejection of Rome, I did suggest that there is a subconscious gnostic mentality that seems to be present in Presbyterian thought and action. Jeff, who did not grow up in the PCA, asked more about what he called "cryptoGnosticism." I said that despite having memorized many aspects of Calvinistic theology, such as TULIP or some questions from the WSC, I did not at all realize the impetus to cultural and historical involvement present in Calvinism and emphasized by the Dutch. I suggested that rather I was taught to distrust my body, the earth, and its inhabitants. Jeff asked how this inconsistency might have evolved. In particular, he asked if I thought it might be as a result of Revivalism, as a reaction against something, or another reason. I told him I would try to answer on my own blog, so here I go. I imagine that this cannot be properly answered without a more formal academic examination. I do not meant to go about answering his questions as anything close to that. Rather, I want to share primarily with him my initial thoughts on the matter in hopes of provoking some more conversation. I mean to answer this in parts. one more thought before I begin, I can only speak for the reformed Presbyterian movement, particularly the Presbyterian Church in America. I simply do not have enough exposure to other Presbyterian groups to be able to make the claims about them.

Part I will deal with the question of Revivalism. As far as Revivalism goes, I want to deal more with Finney and G.A. II and sidestep Whitefield, Edwards, and GAI. It is possible that the revivalism of Edwards and Whitefield was not as different from Finney as has been handed down. Because of its place in history though, I don't think that the 1st GA was as formative in the development of contemporary American society.

I believe that Finney as well as other preachers of the 2nd GA. had a tremendous shaping force on American thought and action. In his essay "What a Revival of Religion Is" Finney argues that the emotion must be aroused in order to elicit a conversion. He says

They must be so excited that they will break over these counteracting influences, before they will obey God... The will is, in a sense, enslaved by the carnal and worldly desires. Hence it is necessary to awaken men to a sense of guilt and danger, and thus produce an excitement of counter feeling and desire which will break the power of carnal and worldly desire and leave the will free to obey God.

This message came along at an interesting time in history (the 2nd G.A.. was approximately the first 30 years of the 19th Century). The United States was in the early stages of its own Industrial Revolution. The next century would see political freedoms and civil liberties come to a majority of Americans. The population was exploding. The end of the war of 1812 brought the US its first true sense of national unity. The presidencies of Jefferson and Jackson brought decision making closer to the common man than ever before. Needless to say, it was a very transitional time. The fact that his message was so widely received (as many as 1/3 of Americans professed a conversion during this time) at the dawn of this time period certainly left a mark. For example, the social reforms that followed the movement helped lead to the abolitionist movement which at least in part helped end slavery. I would argue that as a result of this, American Christianity was being democratized along with society.

The fact that this movement came at a crossroads with American industrialization is also noteworthy. American society was completely transformed by industrialism. Two ways in which this is true had a strong impact on American Christianity. The first is the development of the consumer-based economy in a free society. This inevitably gave rise to marketing. Christianity had to compete for people's time, money, and affections with other products and services. Churches also had to compete with one another. Whereas in the past this may have led to a church emphasizing its uniqueness, today differences are downplayed. The emergence of enormous "non-denominational" churches, as well as the benign label of "church" used by the denominationally-affiliated, are evidence of this. As attendance dropped at a church I used to attend, they hired a strategic planning firm to help chart a course for the future. I think that meant they wanted to put butts in the seats. Finney's fingerprints are all over this.

The second way is the rapid development of technology. Particularly relevant to Christianity is communications technology. This makes it possible to communicate quickly with an enormous audience. This development ties in essentially with the fast pace of contemporary American society. Now the competition for time, money, and affection is joined by that for our attention. If Finney would have had satellite t.v. and internet, it would have been that much easier for him to "awaken" and "excite." Given the methods of today's mass-marketers, his words sound almost prophetic.

So what does this have to do with Presbyterians and Gnosticism? Finneyan revivalism replaced a rational,discipled-centered conversion experience with an emotionally manipulated high. The progress of American history extended this type of sales pitch to many other social entities, such as politics and consumerism. Faith shaped marketing and marketing shaped faith. As globalized culture replaces much of regional culture, something similar is happening to Christianity. Churches need to be stream-lined and accessible if they want to survive. This does not explain how cryptoGnosticism has developed specifically within the Presbyterian movement though. That is because it is not because of Finney alone. It merely is one step in the process.

This is all very jumbled and sloppy. I feel honestly like it is academically irresponsible. I would rather sit down and write these thoughts out in a more appropriate fashion. I mostly am just trying to answer Jeff off the top of my head. In part II I will discuss how the influence of Finney and the rest of the 2nd G.A. set Presbyterians up for the development of gross inconsistencies within its ranks.

Over The Rhine - In the studio

this is Over the Rhine performing "I'm on A Roll" from their new album "Trumpet Child"

What am I doing here?

Today in Jena, LA. there was a march in support of 6 African-American high school students who are accused (actually one has been convicted) in the beating of a white student at their school. As this story has been all over news coverage today, I am choosing not to get into the details here. The reason I am bringing it up it, I wish I was there. As a history teacher, I am moved annually by several particular topics that I teach. One of these is the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950's and 60's. I have always wished I could go back and have been one a white American who demonstrated in support of the equal (or consistent) application of the Constitution to all citizens. I guess I figure that if I am who I claim to be, I would have jumped right up without the benefit of hindsight to tell me that the movement would become both successful and beneficial. It seems though that there are not many opportunities quite like that today. Hopefully that is because the country has become more consistent. Nonetheless, I would have loved to march today. The circumstances of this make me both angry and sad. I am angry that there seems to be such inequality in our nation today. I am sad because of my lack of action. I want to not just commemorate history as a teacher. I want to be active in changing it for the future. I think that opportunities for me are presented on a less substantial, though no less significant level. I got an email from a former student today that was a great picture of just such an opportunity. This young lady, a Christian, is a sophomore and voluntarily rooming with 2 Muslim women at the University of Miami (FL). It is currently Ramadan, and her roommates are expected to fast. She has made the decision to join them in fasting for the month. This involves her getting up to eat breakfast before the sunrise every morning. No doubt this is going a long way to shape what these other women think of Christians. It also will enhance her understanding of Islam and her friends. If Christians were to engage the unbelieveing world in this way...I know that opportunities such as this must be all around me. It is nice to learn from a student. It is not the first time, and I doubt it will be the last.

A Trip to Washington and a reminder of my blog's name

Sarah and I went to Washington on Saturday to visit the National Gallery of Art. It was the first time I had ever been to that particular museum. On the way to the metro, we heard on the radio that there was going to be an anti-war protest. I am not a big fan of this or any other war, so I was anxious to see what the atmosphere was like. We shared the train with many people who were heading in for the march. I don't want to assume that the entire population of the march was represented on this one train car, but I did not feel like I belonged. It seemed to me that many people were just as angry and prone to violence as those on both sides who started the war. Others seemed like spoiled rich kids who decided to put on the badge of compassion for the day to impress their friends. I overheard one kid say "If I get arrested today, I am so not going to driving school tomorrow." When we emerged from the metro station onto the National Mall, we came upon a large group of counter protesters. They seemed mostly to be defending the war by waving the flag. It seems me that if a national banner justifies a war, how could we fault those Germans who joined Hitler's cause? We then came upon a man rallying in support of the war whose only item of communication was a 10 foot tall wooden cross. At this point I was getting very frustrated. Thanks buddy. That really helps. Everywhere I turned I felt out of place. The day took a much better turn as we entered the museum. To begin with, I came across the picture at the bottom of my blog titled "Northern Landscape, Spring" by German Romantic painter Caspar David Friedrich. His art tended focus on portrayals of loneliness and desolation, and this is no exception. Like Charlie Brown when Lucy diagnosed him with Panaphobia (fear of everything) on A Peanut's Christmas, I felt like screaming "That's it!" I can't believe I never visited this fantastic collection of art. I don't know if it is because there are so many other things to do in DC, but the museum did not seem very crowded. It seemed at times as though we had paintings such as this self-portrait of Vincent Van Gogh to ourselves. What a privilege to be able to stand inches away from the canvas and gaze deep into those haunting, haunted eyes with no one to disturb us. It was as though we had a private audience with Vincent himself. I am not sure why this made me feel better. It might not even make sense. But it did help. I am not suggesting that art should replace human relationships. On this day, I found a friend on canvas when I had been feeling otherwise very alone. I am glad for this reminder of why I chose the name for this blog. I guess when I find myself in that place, it forces me to find a truer identity. I am also glad that I had my wife to enjoy and share the experience with me.

hello there

I have previously posted the writings of Byron Borger. Byron runs a terrific independent bookstore in Dallastown, PA called Hearts and Minds. He occasionally writes for the York (PA) Daily Record. Here is a recent article about Christian motivation in the work place. Thanks Byron.