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Looking for Wisdom February 29, 2008

Posted by Matt in blog.
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One of the really cool things about blogging on WordPress is the ability to see the search terms that lead other people to my blog – some of them tend to be rather strange. Here are just a few of them from the last week:

Beebe, AR + Saturday flea market

“how short” is hair to 1/8 inch

Who owns my pavement?

Any positive attributes of drinking whiskey

Cindy Lauper endometriosis

Borgman Obama star wars

Obama Muslim outfit looks cute

Girl scouts and communism

Scripture as Metanarrative – pt.4 February 29, 2008

Posted by Matt in Bible, church, philosophy, postmodernism, science.
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We saw yesterday one way the Modern worldview affected the Christian faith, transforming it from one entrenched in community to one focused primarily on the individual, but that was certainly not the only influence exerted upon Christians in that time period. As we have mentioned in prior entries, the ideas espoused in modernity were based primarily in the areas of science and logic, with the scientific method and sensual observation becoming the ultimate arbiters of truth and reality. Data was compiled in lists and tables and categorized systematically in an organizational structure making concise observations of the world. This phenomena, though, was not only present within the confines of science, rather, it reached out and grasped whatever was in reach – including the Christian faith.

So, how did this affect the church? As Christians began to compile what they deemed to be essential, Christianity was reduced to just another collection of propositions.

Within The small corner of the Christian faith where I reside, the Church of Christ, this idea has run rampant over the years, turning the grand narrative of love and redemption into a series of bullet points. Looking at what was deemed to be the bottom line objective of following Jesus, getting to heaven, a plan of salvation was developed showing a step-by-step blueprint of how to receive eternal life with Christ. Lyotard called this type of action the “computerization of knowledge,” and it is through this idea that our flow chart of faith was developed.

But God’s revelation of Himself to all humanity was not given in bullet point form. It was not just some collection of facts and figures and flow charts. Instead, God chose to reveal Himself in the form of a sweeping narrative, from Genesis to Revelation, showing the rise and fall and ultimate redemption of His creation. It is a beautiful story, but one that loses its impact the more and more it gets boiled down into what is deemed “the essentials.” God didn’t choose to leave us with His celestial cliff notes. He didn’t choose to send his revelation in outline form. Rather, He chose narrative as the best means of communication. He chose to employ a format that would activate the reader’s imagination (one of the best gifts ever given to man) as they watch His grand story unfold throughout time.

So, what does this mean for the church in the postmodern world? How does it transform from the old, modern paradigm of thought and embrace a new way that displays its narrative character?
James K.A. Smith gives four characteristics of a storytelling church:
1) The role of Scripture is central – not just the text that mediates our understanding of the world, but also the Story that narrates our role in it.
2) They celebrate communion weekly – retelling the narrative of the gospel regularly as an active participant.
3) It resists the tendency of pragmatic evangelicalism, which “dumbs down” the story to make it accessible or attractive to culture. Instead, the postmodern church affirms the timelessness of the Biblical narrative and seeks to initiate listeners into it.
4) It recognizes that its primary responsibility is to live the story for the world – to faithfully play out the love of God in the church as a community of love and justice.

Comments?

A Quick Interlude… February 28, 2008

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Have no fear, tomorrow I will most likely complete my short series on metanarratives and their implications for the Christian faith, but tonight I just had to share something with you that my family and I indulged in together this evening. You see, like many people we enjoy eating out once or twice a week – mostly because Diana and I both work full time and it helps maximize the waking hours our family spends in each other’s presence. Well, this evening we visited a little chain that we knew quite well both in college and afterwards before we had children, but for one reason or another (probably the constant haze of smoke), we have refrained from visiting this establishment over the last few years. Tonight, though, we would give in and go….

Waffle House, here we come!

waffle-house.jpg

Things have changed at the old joint in recent years. The one that we dined in today was a rather new construction, but we soon discovered that this was a No Smoking facility. Of course I realize that’s for the best in terms of public health and all, and, while I don’t personally smoke nor really care to be in enclosed areas with who are, it seemed as though something were missing. Maybe its just me, but there is something oddly comforting about the constant haze and grimy, smoke-stained walls. There is a certain charm about it that I found to be lacking, even though I’m sure it was best for my kids.

My second complaint is one that may seem chauvinistic, but we actually had a male waiter! If you’ve ever frequented a Waffle House on a semi-regular basis in the past like I have, you know that Waffle House waitresses are a special breed of human being. Sure, they may fulfill all the stereotypes – missing teeth and all – but there is something refreshing about someone who never thinks twice about referring to you as “honey” or “baby,” as if you’ve known each other all your lives.

But, I can’t complain. After a few cups of coffee, a ham and egg omelet, and some hash browns (scattered, smothered, covered), I was feeling just fine, despite the unnerving sensation of serveral arteries simultaneously clogging. The juke box was still playing loud (though, I found it odd to hear some R&B rather than the normal medley of John Denver and Kenny Rogers) and the denizens seemed somewhat cleaner cut than I remember. Of course, that may be because the Waffle House usually ends up being a late-night spur of the moment trip when the only patrons are the usual assortment of truckers and vagabonds looking for one of the last places of solace left on this earth where they can enjoy a cigarette and cup of coffee in peace, but, alas, now that simple pleasure has even been taken from them.

But, if it saves the life and health of at least one Waffle House waitress, it may just be worth it…

Scripture as Metanarrative – pt.3 February 28, 2008

Posted by Matt in church, philosophy, postmodernism, religion, science.
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Again, thank you for reading and commenting. Let’s begin the third part of our look at Scripture as Metanarrative with a passage from the book of Mark:

“What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:36)

While the Enlightenment brought about great advances in across the scientific spectrum – from curing diseases to gaining a greater understanding of the world we find ourselves in – it also enacted quite a cost. The Christian faith faced relentless attacks from Modern thinkers, who branded it as little more than a fable that failed the rigorous tests put forth by a new, “enlightened” worldview. Many began to scoff at the idea of God and instead put their faith in the golden calf of progress and the myth that continual progress would lead to some utopian ideal. The world would be reinvented through technological progress and soon become a place free of war and hunger and hatred and, for that matter, religion. In the 20th century, the dream collapsed under the weight of world wars, mass killings, and an increase in worldwide poverty, leaving, by the end of the century, a pile of rubble where our Modern tower of Babel once stood.

The Christian faith suffered beneath the scourge of Modernity, which pushed it from the public sphere and, as those professing to faith began to accept the tenets of Modernism, the faith quickly moved from one entrenched in community to one unique to the individual. Where science and logic held the key to ultimate, objective truth, religion was seen as just another subjective experience that, in the grand scheme of things, meant very little.

The collapse of the Modern paradigm again brought humanity back to square one in terms of their understanding of the world. What would arise phoenix-like from the ashes and lead us to a brighter tomorrow?

There are a multitude of choices in today’s buffet line of life philosophies – you can accept any number of religions, you can bow to the nihilistic god of money and materialism, you can continue the Modern dream of science and strive for that unreachable goal of perfection.

Little is certain about what lies in the future, but those of the Christian faith can rejoice in the floundering Modern worldview – by its failure to live up to the lofty promises it proclaimed, the playing field has now been leveled, placing Christianity alongside the other metanarratives. Lyotard’s critique of metanarratives and reason has effectively relativized Modern claims of objective, universal truth, leaving an opening for the emerging Christian faith.

So, now that the Christian faith has been granted a place in the postmodern marketplace of ideas, we face the arduous task of maintaining it. First of all, Christians must be careful not to squander these openings using modern techniques that attempt to show the truth of the Christian faith using rational demonstrations and then impose them on a pluralistic culture. Rather, the postmodern apologetic will be based upon presuppositions. It will be one in which everyone will place their presuppositions on the proverbial table and then narrate their way through the Christian story, allowing others to see it in a way that makes sense through their own worldview.

Next: Becoming a Storytelling Church

Scripture as Metanarrative – pt.2 February 28, 2008

Posted by Matt in philosophy, postmodernism, religion.
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Thanks for reading my rambling thoughts yesterday and I want to encourage you to chime in, whether you agree or not, because I do thrive off your comments.

Yesterday we introduced Jean-Francois Lyotard’s claim that postmodernism can be defined as “incredulity toward metanarratives.” We defined the term metanarrative as “big story,” an overarching claim to truth based upon a conglomeration of narratives that define reality. In the postmodern world, after being burned by the utopian Enlightenment ideal of human reason, metanarratives are viewed with suspicion and even contempt. So, where does this leave the Christian faith in the postmodern, post-Christian world?

If postmodernity is defined by an “incredulity toward metanarratives,” then does it signal a rejection of the Christian faith, since it is based upon a grand story, perhaps the grandest story of all, as found in Scripture?

It cannot be denied that we live in a pluralistic society, one with thousands, or even millions, of competing narratives. The general public’s ability to access differing ideas has never, in the history of the world, been greater than it is right now. Christianity, then, has come to be recognized as just another metanarrative, alongside those of other religions and philosophies and the sciences, battling for a dominant position in the world.

So how is a Christian supposed to react to the reality that they find themselves in? Many choose to lament the situation, pining for some time in the past (most likely a past that they created in their own minds) when Christianity was dominant. They tend to lash out at others, attacking outliers with a Constantinian ferocity, while claiming themselves as the lone holders of truth.

But, for some it is a cause for great joy…

And we’ll talk about that in the next entry.

Scripture as Metanarrative February 27, 2008

Posted by Matt in Bible, philosophy, postmodernism.
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As I said last week, I am fascinated with the world of postmodern philosophy – particularly how it relates to a Christian worldview. Through a series of four short blog entries, we explored the claim of Derrida that, “there is nothing outside the text.” If you would like to review that discussion on Deconstruction and the Christian faith, here are parts 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Deconstruction showed us that we view the world through our own of interpretive lens that has been shaped by our life experiences and education, but many times there is something else, something large and encompassing, that shapes our vision and helps define our metaphor of reality. Now, that overshadowing cloud may be anything from the claims of truth as put forth by the world of science to those claims from the religions of the world. In postmodern thought, these conglomerates of claims to reality and truth are known as metanarratives.

While it may sound like the name of the bookmobile Transformer, the term metanarrative actually comes from the French idea of “grand recits,” meaning, “big stories.” Jean-Francois Lyotard, an important figure in postmodern philosophy, used this term to define the movement, saying that postmodernism is “incredulity toward metanarratives.” So, Lyotard would then say that postmodernism is a suspicion of or disbelief in these “big stories.”

Lyotard’s difficulty, though, is not in the “stories” themselves, but in the claims they make. In other words, it isn’t the stories they tell, it’s how they tell them. It is the appeal to a supposed universal reason and the claim of an absolute, universal “truth” that he finds bothersome.

In particular, Lyotard finds the somewhat pretentious claims of a scientific, rational search for an ultimate theory to everything (42?) the most troubling. For, in their endless theorizing, there will always be some underlying assumption, a foundation on which the reasoning relies. The Enlightenment of the 18th century attempted to place human reason as the cornerstone of all knowledge, but, over time, even reason has been shown to be faulty.

So, where postmodernism finds itself as incredulous to metanarratives due to their claims of overarching truth, it certainly recognizes the important role of narratives as the basis for what may be deemed as knowledge. Somewhere, below all of the facts and figures of modernity, there resides a story, a myth, which acts as the underlying principle that acts as a foundation to their notion of truth. As opposed to science and rationalism, where claims must be “proven,” narratives make no pretense to proof, but rather proclaim themselves within the context of the story. Thus, narratives become the building blocks of reality.

Thoughts? Should I be burned at the stake yet? More to come later…

My Wife the Fugitive February 26, 2008

Posted by Matt in Diana, random.
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Last month Diana and I had the opportunity to get away for a weekend at Big Cedar Lodge outside of Branson, MO. It was a great respite from our normal, harried lives in the Memphis area, but, on our way back, we learned a valuable lesson about small towns.

If you have out-of-state plates, do not exceed the speed limit.

So, we were driving along, minding our own business as we passed through several quaint little Deliverance-like towns in the beautiful Ozark mountains, when we found ourselves nearing the hamlet of Yellville. For those of you unfamiliar with the town (and I would guess that most of you are), it is a small, isolated community far from what many of us would term “civilization” (Note: I’m sure that it’s a wonderful place to live, but my perception has been forever tainted). It is known for its annual Turkey Trot festival, in which actual wild turkeys are dropped from low-flying aircraft (according to what I read about it, the city is no longer able to sponsor the event due to the issues of animal cruelty that come up when the free-falling birds hit the pavement). My sister-in-law, Nancy, has a brother who actually lives in Yellville and runs a coffee shop in the downtown area, so we had the bright idea to drop by his business and say hello.

Keeping our eyes open for our caffeine-filled destination and ears open with some sense of trepidation in the chance that we may hear “Dueling Banjos” emanating from someone’s porch (a sure sign to hit the accelerator), we entered the town.

Now, so far we had seen no speed limit signs and Diana, who was driving at the time, had maintained the 50 mph at which we had been traveling on the road outside of town. Then, seemingly as soon as we crossed that invisible line designating the bustling metropolis, the blue lights appeared. Diana noticed them first and turned her head with a look of incredulity, “I’m being pulled over.”

“What?” I answered, “How can that be possible? There’s no way we were speeding.”

Being the law-abiding citizens that we are, Diana dutifully pulled our vehicle to the side of the road and we quickly gathered the documents that the officer might ask for. Soon the policeman strutted to our car window, bent over so that he might take a look at us and matter-of-factly asked, “Ya’ll know how fast you’re goin’”

“No, sir”

“Wale, I clocked ya’ll at 50 miles per hour an’ that’s 20 miles over the spade limit.”

Diana and I looked at each other a bit confused. “Really? I didn’t realize that.”

“Wale you shore were. Ya’ll from Mississippi? Where’re ya’ll headin’?”

“We are on our way home from a trip to Branson and we wanted to stop in and visit with a friend of ours who owns a coffee shop.”

He flashed a quick grin at us, then took our identifying pieces of information and retreated to his car for a few minutes, while we waited.

Soon, he returned with ticket in hand, “Now, I mighta’ let ya’ll go, but 20 miles is a long way over the limit. The court date’ll be in three weeks, but I reckon ya’ll won’t wanna make the trip up here again for it. You can call this here number and they’ll let you know the cost and you can mail it in.”

A wave of reality suddenly crashed over us – it all made sense that we would be ticketed for speeding in a zone with a nonexistent speed limit sign. Of course he knew that we wouldn’t drive for hours across the state to fight a ticket in court. The gas money to drive so far would easily nullify any saving we might incur from having the ticket overturned.

Before walking away, he gave us a bit of sage-like advice, “Ya’ll slow down, now,” and gave us directions to the coffee shop.

I bring this up because the ticket was due to be received in the Marion County courthouse today. Diana, thinking that the postal service actually worked in her place of employment, placed the ticket and a check for $150 in the hospital mailroom.

Yesterday, she discovered that it was still there. Sitting in the exact position in which she had left it a week earlier. She called the courthouse and they told her that she had to overnight it, so that they could receive payment as soon as possible and keep her off of “America’s Most Wanted.”

Diana obediently then took the ticket and check to the post office, paid the outrageous sum, and was promptly told that, despite the fact that it was being “overnighted,” the check would most likely not be received until Wednesday. Therefore, for a few hours at least, my wife will be a fugitive.

But, there is no cause to worry, fair city of Yellville, for your payment will soon arrive.

Matt’s Meandering Mind on Monday February 25, 2008

Posted by Matt in Diana, Memphis, Rebekah, basketball, concert, family, movies, music, random, sports, vacation.
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Last night, Bekah threw up after having an upset stomach for much of the evening, so, because Diana does not have the time to take off work, I’m at home with her again. She seems to be fine so far today, so I’m guessing it was something she ate yesterday that disagreed with her. Her day care does have a policy of not allowing children within 24 hours of throwing up, thus we are at home playing all day.

I didn’t watch most of the Oscars last night, but I did tune it for the last hour or so and see my favorite moviemakers, the Coen brothers, take home both the Best Director and Best Picture prizes. No Country for Old Men was the only movie up for the biggest award that I have seen, so I was a little partial to it. I really enjoy director Paul Thomas Anderson’s previous work (Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punch-Drunk Love), so I’m looking forward to seeing his latest, There Will Be Blood.

For the past few weeks here in Memphis everything has revolved around this past Saturday’s basketball game, University of Memphis (who was ranked number 1 in the polls and was undefeated) vs. University of Tennessee (number 2 in the polls), and it did not disappoint, even though Memphis did come out on the short end. I’ll be interested to see how they fare in the postseason.

We have purchased tickets to next month’s Drive-By Truckers show and I’m pretty pumped about it. The new album, Brighter Than Creation’s Dark, is excellent – probably their best since 2003’s Decoration Day. The dark tales of southern life are among their best as they tackle everything from war to the scourge of crystal meth.

I can’t remember if I mentioned this before or not, but we have also officially decided on a family vacation this summer and have already purchased plane tickets for the June trip. We will be going to Huntington Beach, in the Los Angeles area, to stay with some of Diana’s family for a week and see the sights. Diana is very excited about going back to the West Coast and about taking the girls to Disneyland.

Looking for Wisdom February 22, 2008

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One of the really cool things about blogging on WordPress is the ability to see the search terms that lead other people to my blog – some of them tend to be rather strange. Here are just a few of them from the last week:

whiskey i drink alone song

endometriosis + marriage

slightly twisted words of wisdom

bloody mary instrumental drinking song

“I’m the first black president”

who sings the red red wine rap section

“single finger salute” dictionary

Obama belt buckle

Karl Marx peace out

Deconstructing Jesus – pt.4 February 22, 2008

Posted by Matt in Bible, church, deconstruction, god, philosophy, postmodernism.
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Again, thank you for your comments on the last three entries.

Thusfar we have briefly explored Jacques Derrida’s claim that there is “nothing outside the text,” with the idea that the “text” in question is a metaphor for our interpretations of life experiences. In this view, everyone’s text is different based upon an individual interpretive framework. In yesterday’s entry, we looked at the idea of the “undeconstructible” concept of justice in Derrida’s philosophy, which, while affirming that reality is based upon an individual construct, opens the door to an underlying “truth”, regardless of how abstract it may be in his way of thinking.

So, what does this mean for us, as Christians, in our way of reading and studying and applying the Bible?

Though the majority of Christians affirm the Bible as the Word of God, it is obvious from the plethora of churches that they do not all arrive at the same conclusions when interpreting. Modernity brought about an isolating individualism that taught us that we could interpret the Bible for ourselves and gain a total understanding if we systematically studied it and, while it did afford people the opportunity to study and learn as they never had before, it also robbed many Christians of the communal nature of Scripture that characterized the early church. Over the centuries, the Scriptures have even been used recklessly to further the agendas of various groups – legitimizing everything from slavery to genocide. So, even though there are innumerable ways to view the same passages based on your personal interpretive lens, they cannot all be good and true. That would be logically incoherent.

So, in a world full of ideas and interpretive frameworks, what is the role of Scripture and the Church?

The role of the community must first be brought back to the forefront. This community of interpreters can then establish a context through which to interpret, by consensus, what constitutes the true text. Then, communities fix contexts and contexts determine meaning, with God as the “undeconstructible” base. Thus, the Biblical text becomes the “text” through which we view the world.

So, the Deconstructive Church makes the Biblical text central for shaping its interpretation of the world, but at the same time realizes and relishes its global nature which is characterized by diversity. It embraces tradition and history, but not traditionalism and a one-size-fits-all Christian faith. Instead we celebrate our differences and work together in love to come to a better understanding of our God.

Next week we’ll explore the idea of the Christian Faith as Metanarrative.