Sola Scriptura

Piggy backing off of my previous post on VanHoozer's idea of creative fidelity, I thought that I might add to the conversation by connecting it to his quote on the reformers classic Sola Scriptura... VanHoozer writes...

"Sola Scriptura returns, then, not by positing the Bible as a textbook filled with propositional information but by viewing the Bible as a script that calls for faithful yet creative performance."

How can we continue to push away from this modern understanding of Scripture only as propositional truth, found in information posted within the text (otherwise known as the enlightenment textbook)? VanHoozer brings us along in this quote, calling us away from only practicing thought through the lens of Sola Scriptura, and more into action. And again, he calls us to creative fidelity within our action. Thus Sola Scriptura no longer means that absolute Truth in thought is ONLY found in the words of the Bible (the script), but is also connected to creative and faithful action from letting the Truth of the Word seep through our pores. While overall conservative in his approach, even writing upon the often left behind idea of Sola Scriptura, VanHoozer reconnects us with the past and pushes us into the present. A beautiful balance!

Inge

Poor Brandon Inge is upset... The Tigers third baseman in 2007 is upset because there is no spot for him to play in the Tigers lineup this year. Quoting him from an article posted on ESPN...

"I just want to play every single day. I love this organization and the Detroit Tigers are in my blood, but there's not a starting role for me. I will never be a cancer around this team and I don't plan to be a distraction."

Without even dissecting the words of the article, we can see that there is something not quite right about the combination of all those words... The article was filled with such jargon. You can check it out at...

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/spring2008/news/story?id=3248553

The bottom line, Inge thought that he had "arrived" with his 6 year 24 million dollar deal. He thought that he was on the "in" with the Tigers. However, when one's numbers are .236 with 14 homers and 71 RBIs in a lineup full of fantasy first rounders, there is not going to be much space for "Mike Heath-like" statistics. And oh yeah, Inge also asked the Tigers to trade him and they didn't (But the TIgers are in his blood!). Hmmmm... I wonder if it isn't so much that the Tigers didn't trade Inge, and it was more like they couldn't. I would imagine that other teams would want a little more out of 6 million a year.

Prosperity Gospel and Jason Hepner

My fellow intern Jason shared this metaphor with me the morning during our intern meeting with our mentor Craig Hall. We were talking about prosperity gospel and sharing our reflections upon the disaster of it.

Farty Preacher

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American Teen

Whitney and I ventured to see American Teen last night in Pasadena. It was a preview movie, meaning that it has not yet been released and the creators of the film are looking for feedback from audiences. It was, however, released at Sundance a couple of weeks ago and got raving reviews.

Essentially the film follows the lives of 4 "cliche" high school students through their senior year in a small midwestern town in Indiana. While all will undoubtably find their story and the stories of others within the stories of the four whom the film focuses upon, something else stood out to me in the film. It was the most hidden and disheartening part of the overall story.

There were no adults in the lives of the students.

Well, there were adults... But they were hardly "in" the lives of the students. In a best case scenario, the adults were peering into the lives of the students from a safe distance. Sometimes they casted their "wisdom", which was more similiar to casting heavy stones, upon the fragile students, but they were essentially void from the lives of these beautiful people working through numerous layers of personality in pursuit of wholeness. The climax of this hidden theme comes through Hannah's mother. Hannah is the free spirit in the film. The student longing to leave Indiana for California. Hannah's mother is mentally unstable and when dealing with Hannah's decision making process to move to California tells her that she is not special.

"You are not special!"

I encourage everyone to support the film. Let it sink into your soul. How can we continue to help fix this problem?


This you tube is from the creator of the film... Nanette Burstein.

The Biggest Small Day

No... The title does not imply Valentine's Day... Instead today is the biggest small day of the year because it marks the day that pitchers and catchers report to spring training. I love this day. Watching video of this day brings sensory explosion. The first glance at green grass (which was more powerful when I lived in Michigan!), the sound of the crack of the catcher's glove, and the mysterious smell of pine tar, dirt, sweat, ben gay and Kodiac. I can almost feel the seams of a baseball in my hand as I ponder the senses of the first day of spring training. This year is especially exciting as many are predicting that the Tigers will go 162-0. That is, if their bullpen holds up. It the bullpen stinks then they might only be looking at 150-12.

VanHoozering

Here is another from VanHoozer. This quote seems to be a perfect bridge in helping people to understand the connection between modernity and post-modernity.

"The turn to performance in postmodernity-toward the idea of an incomplete, fluid work in progress- is simultaneously a turn away form the idea of the finished, complete work in itself."

As many have said many times before, this postmodern generation is more attuned to a right sense of action (or performance) than a right sense of thought. This performance is recognized as ongoing, rather than as complete... A right sense of thought can easily feel complete. A right sense of performance will not feel complete as there is always more to do. This movement (from a complete sense of thought to an ongoing action/performance), however, in itself is a finished work. Vanhoozer provides us with a spiralized connection between two ever distancing cultures, while maintaining the integrity of the current postmodern mindset. These sorts of uniting quotes will be increasingly important as the divisions between modernity and postmodernity grow ever wider.

Michael Stipe with Coldplay

Last week I had a Hebrew midterm to take early on a Monday morning... Unfortunately at 10 PM on Sunday night, a crucial time to be studying, Coldplay appeared live on PBS at the Austin Music Festival. It was well worth putting studies aside to take in this live Coldplay concert. A special surprise appeared in the form of Michael Stipe (REM) singing a song from his epic satire Saved. I have hunted this song for a while and to finally have this song, sang by Coldplay and Michael Stipe, has been a gift. I'll post the lyrics below the Youtube.



I picture you in the sun wondering what went wrong
And falling down on your knees asking for sympathy
And being caught in between all you wish for and all you seen
And trying to find anything you can feel that you can believe in

May gods love be with you
Always
May gods love be with you

I know I would apologize if I could see your eyes
cause when you showed me myself I became someone else
But I was caught in between all you wish for and all you need
I picture you fast asleep
A nightmare comes
You cant keep awake

May gods love be with you
Always
May gods love be with you

cause if I find
If I find my own way
How much will I find
If I find
If I find my own way
How much will I find
You

I dont know anymore
What its for
Im not even sure
If there is anyone who is in the sun
Will you help me to understand
cause I been caught in between all I wish for and all I need
Maybe youre not even sure what its for
Any more than me

May gods love be with you
Always
May gods love be with you

Creative Fidelity and Bliss

Kevin Vanhoozer has created what may be the first systematic theology for a post-modern generation. I know, I know... To even pair the word systematic with post-modern is "sinful" in many circles, but I promise, Vanhoozer's book won't bite. In fact, it may be very helpful to many who plan on moving forward with the Gospel in the post-Christian West. The book is called The Drama of Doctrine: A Canonical Liguistic Approach to Christian Theology, and is filled with tasty morsels of truth, I mean Truth, no truth... whatever. The book is filled with mmmmmmm.

I hope to be filling this blog with quotes over the next weeks from Vanhoozer's book. I have wanted to post quotes from his book for a while, but have not yet received an opportunity.... Until now. This simple line was from my reading this afternoon.

"The process of translating the gospel into different cultures displays both constancy and creativity: in short, creative fidelity- passing on the gospel."

So many lean in one direction or the other. CreativitY OR FidelitY. How does a balance of both manifest today in America? This may be one of the most important questions as we move deeper into the depths of humanity and God's dream for it.




By the way... The reason that I have not been able to post as often as I would like over the past month has been because of Hebrew... Yeah, the language. I am in a ten week intensive right now with the original language of the Old Testament. It is so overwhelming that it had me out of bed this morning at 5:30 in the AM, working through the different verb paradigms and strange suffixes for an 8 AM quiz! I took a picture of my bliss for your entertainment.