Beck, Religion and Politics
Carl Trueman writes,
Nonetheless, in identifying the syncretism of Beck as the major problem in Beck, I think Mr Olasky misses the point. Beck is also both a function and a perpetuating cause of a wider problem in American politics: his idiom is the rhetoric of extremism and fear; he trades in Manichean cliches which see the political world as a very black and white place; he models for the wider world a form of discourse which is a million miles from anything which represents thoughtful, critical engagement with the issues and with those with whom he disagrees; he rarely puts forward a real argument (at least as I would understand an argument, with evidence, engagement with the strongest points of his opponents etc.); his attitude and tone when speaking about legally elected government are difficult to square with New Testament teaching on respect for those in authority (the Greek Apologists did a much better job, in conditions much more hostile to the faith — not to mention, of course, the Apostle Paul); and his continual inflammatory rhetoric about Marxism indicates both a basic failure to grasp what Marxism is (or, rather, what Marxisms are — Marxism these days being akin to `Christianity' as a rather vague catch-all term) and a lack of precision in handling matters that, quite frankly, need to be handled with precision. As Os Guinness indicated at a recent lecture at Westminster, the Religious Right (of which Beck is emerging as an unlikely hero) is often first past the post these days in the incivility of its discourse and of its engagement in the public sphere.
The last observation is especially apropos, sadly.
HT: Jeff Kerr
Keeping Up with the News
Over the years, I've had the pleasure of helping one of my professors back at Lindenwood, Dr. David Brown, with his various web site endeavors. I am especially excited about his new site, which went live a couple of weeks ago. Dr. Brown has repurposed a design I created for him back in 2005 and used it to finally enter the blogosphere.
Dr. Brown is surely nothing short of a genius. I was able to take four of his philosophy classes during my time at LU and they were amongst the most thought provoking classes I've ever had. (He is also the one responsible for talking me into picking up a philosophy minor.) Much of what I learned from him has been helpful in seminary. Part of what made the classes, and talking to Dr. Brown in general, so interesting is his awareness of current trends not only in philosophy, but also various related fields.
What's all of that got to do with his new blog? For as long as I have known him, Dr. Brown has scoured the web for helpful articles related to philosophy, religion, science and other fascinating topics, which he would then e-mail to some of his colleagues and students. Now, he is posting links to those articles on his blog instead of mailing them, which means anyone can benefit from his eclectic, interesting recommended reading.
I think you'll find his news gathering addictive enough that you'll want to keep following his blog.
The Art of Sarcasm
Gruber on the recent discovery of a serious security hole in Adobe Flash Player:
Flash Player for iOS is not affected.
The Wrong Message
So people went ahead and burnt the Qur'an today. What do they expect this will accomplish? Today ought to be a day in which we mourn a very real tragedy in our nation, not sow hate and discord.
I posted a piece about the whole Qur'an burning situation on OFB yesterday. Those interested in the topic may also want to check out an excellent letter Covenant Seminary sent to Terry Jones earlier this week.
Apple Goes Transparent on App Store
Apple has finally provided clear guidelines on its App Store policies, which should make writing a major iOS application feel less like a gamble. Moreover, the relaxing of restrictions on the tools used to create iOS apps ought to eliminate the biggest complaint raised over Apple's walled garden approach to app development.
Gruber has a very good analysis.
Late Night Haiku XXXIV
XCVI. Sometimes the silence
Is less fearful than the sound.
Yet it is not kept.
XCVII. The end of a thing —
Unexpected expected —
Reassesses all.
XCVIII. What of different
Views of the same time and place?
Oh, that they would match!
King of Anything
With Sara Bareilles's new album (affiliate link) coming out tomorrow, I thought I would post a link to the music video of the album's first single, “King of Anything.” If you haven't “met” this song yet, it is delightfully upbeat with a delicious splash of sarcasm. Nevertheless, more than mere fluff, it offers a truthful interaction with a real problem: people who offer advice without being willing to listen.
Below is the second stanza. Bareilles states the real problem in the last two lines of the verse. I think of conflicts I have written about on this blog and mark how well those final two lines describe the cause (or, at least, accelerant) of conflict.
The first rule of counseling is apropos: listening should be primary, opinion giving should be kept to a minimum.
You sound so innocent, all full of good intent
Swear you know best
But you expect me to jump up on board with you
And ride off into your delusional sunsetI’m not the one who’s lost with no direction
But you’ll never see
You’re so busy making maps with my name on them in all caps
You got the talking down, just not the listening
Imagine how many conflicts would never happen if we got the listening down rather than the talking.
Late Night Haiku XXXIII
XCIII. Funny how things can
Happen when you least expect.
Listen as they occur.
XCIV. The rain flows about,
Washing away dry old thoughts,
Inviting new paths.
XCV. Time now past by us,
Invites us to see present.
Let's go forth, forward.
TV Trojan
I still think that the Apple TV as it has now been unveiled is a trojan horse for the company (not of the malicious software kind, however). If this thing sells enough units — and at the new price and design, it very well could sell that mystical figure known as “enough” — one can easily see people begging for a SDK to develop apps (especially “casual” games) for it.
And, like the original iPhone, Apple can act like its arms are being twisted and then “relent” by doing what it intended to do all along. Right now, launching with an app store might be embarrassing. The current Apple TV hasn't been that successful (by Apple's own admission) and so interest could be tepid. Just look at how hard of time Apple had getting the major networks to support its new TV rental scheme (just two did). Unlike its other devices, people aren't begging to be involved on the Apple TV. Yet.
But, this device, with its Netflix streaming support and iTunes compatibility, could easily sell well. And then, in Steve Job's lingo, “boom.”
What's Your Church Personality
For one of my classes, Ministry Leadership, we had to take a “church personality” test. It is a diagnostic rather like the Myers-Briggs, but not entirely so. In the test, which I linked to on Facebook a few days ago, apparently I came out as an ICF (“Relational Church”) personality.
If you'd like to give the diagnostic a spin, you can get to it here. Dr. Douglass hired me to write the little program that works with his formulas a few years back. Needless to say, it was rather fun to then have need of taking the very same diagnostic!
In any case, apparently, Dr. Douglass developed the test to help make people aware of differing ministry styles with the goal of minimizing the potential for church conflict. Consider me intrigued.
