As I stumbled my way toward the microphone to address the hundreds of Karen students who had gathered in this seemingly unlikely place– a refugee camp bible college in the middle of a war zone on the Thai/Burma border– I struggled to sort out my thoughts in the brief moment that occurred between my approach to the podium and the opening of my mouth, which was accentuated by the amplification of that initial breath that everyone takes before they speak.
Here I was: an American, educated, privileged Christian, coming to share the “rich insights of my faith” with an oppressed people, a people who had already taught me so much as they faced their daily circumstances– situations that are unimaginably horrific to most of us– with a hope and determination that baffled my coddled Western sensibilities. What could I really offer? Did I really believe that the gospel was good news, even in this context of violence and despair? (more…)
It was about four years ago when I first heard the prophetic voice of Dr. Cornel West (on NPR). Sure, I had come across his stuff in my reading, but it wasn’t until I heard his literal voice that I actually started to really hear him. I’ve since heard West on a number of occasions in different venues, and so I almost didn’t go to tonight’s event- especially since I knew it would be crowded at the consumer babylon that is U-Village.
What do these Cornels have in common? Not much besides Jonas' middle name... for now. Once Jonas figures out how to get more sauce in his mouth than on his face- watch out, Princeton!
But thankfully, I decided to go, and it was more than worth it. West brought his usual brilliance: passionate in his delivery, piercing in his clarity, prophetic in his cultural analysis… but I also heard something new this evening- humility. Maybe I just hadn’t noticed it before, or maybe it’s because the new book he’s promoting is biographical- whatever it is, I deeply appreciated this side of West. He repeatedly referred to himself as a “broken vessel” (which could be a reference to either Psalm 31, 2 Cor. 4, or both), one who is only who he is because of those who invested in him- his family, pastor, colleagues- and he also continually emphasized that he stands in a particular tradition, and hence on the shoulders of others who have gone before. (more…)
This weekend’s Skin Deep conference at Quest was great; lots of different thoughts and perspectives on faith & race were shared, and many challenges were issued. And while it was good to be reminded of several of the massive demographic shifts that are changing the cultural landscape of the U.S. (and hence its religious composition as well), one statistic in particular stood out to me. I had heard it before, but for some reason it grabbed my attention with a greater urgency this time around. Here it is (noted in this August 2008 U.S. Census press release): by 2023, the majority of children in the U.S. will be people of color. That is to say that within roughly 13 years, over half of the country’s population under the age of 18 will be non-white. For some, this is cause to celebrate; but for others, there is great uncertainty and fear behind that near future. (more…)
I finally got around to watching this “mock-umentary” a few weeks ago, and while there were a handful of amusing moments, on the whole, I found its tone, posture, and premise to be much more ridiculous than the “religious simpletons” that Bill Maher makes into easy targets.
The fundamental mistake that Maher makes is genre. He mixes equal parts satire, documentary, and ardent agnosticism into this film, and what comes out of this haphazard concoction is an aimless, preachy attempt at social commentary that in the end shows Bill to be the ass that he is. (more…)
With the Deadly Viper controversy now in full swing (and a public statement from the authors/publisher forthcoming), I’ve been both encouraged and frustrated by the “dialogue” that is happening on numerous sites, blogs, forums, and so forth. On one hand, if there’s anything I’ve learned from numerous encounters of the digital kind, it’s that genuine communication is very difficult through web media; it’s inherent limitations can be debilitating (not to mention all the weird posturing that happens through online anonymity). But on the other hand, the technology exists and is certainly being used, so why not make the best of it and hope for actual exchanges that could cumulatively work towards engaging in civil discourse? (more…)
Maybe I’ve just had a long day, or perhaps I’ve had one too many race conversations in the last week, but whatever it is, I’m really not feeling the love for Zondervan right now, and I’m especially perturbed by this ridiculous book that shamelessly exploits pseudo-Asian “kung-fu-karate-ninja-chinaman” stereotypes to push a marketing agenda- and it’s all Christian, of course!
Now in fairness to the authors (ignorant as they appear to be of the offensive nature of the book), I realize this exploitation is not intentional (oh, it hardly ever is), and that there’s surely good intentions in the content of the book. But you know what they say about good intentions (how can this be put delicately?)- the path to hell is paved with them. (more…)
Even though we didn’t let him eat any of the candy, Jonas really enjoyed his first Halloween trick-or-treating experience. How often do you get to wear a turtle suit and walk around collecting free candy?
Chris is both mom and Mandarin tutor, and here she’s going through Jonas’ growing vocabulary, which mostly includes family members, animals, and vehicles at this point. You know, just the important stuff. (more…)
