So much has changed since then, some I’m good with, much I’m not.  My life in no way resembles where I thought I would be at this point, in any area. It’s easy to dwell on that, lose myself in melancholy, and cling to the past.  But the past few years have taught me that doing so only stretches wide old wounds and magnifies pain.

I’d like this year to be different.  Not in the sense that I try to rush to some lofty, external goal, but that I be who I want to be, with out compromise to anyone save Christ.  I begin the year with some of Paul’s words that have stuck in my mind, especially when read in context:

…for I have learned to be content with whatever I have.  I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty of and being in need.  I can do all things through him who strengthens me. – Philippians 4:11-13

No More attempting to play catch-up, or running to or from old expectations.  Now, only an assured, better way forward.

For the first hour of Terrence Malick’s newest film, The Tree of Life, I literally didn’t move one inch. It’s so visually and emotionally arresting and haunting that calling it a “religious experience” doesn’t quite do it justice. The majority of the film centers on a simple coming-of-age story about a little boy and his family growing up in Waco, TX in the 1950s. Intercut with this thread is this same family learning that one of their sons has died at the age of 19, the boy now grown and wrestling with the meaning of life and the past death of his brother, and oh yeah–the Big Bang and the beginnings of life on Earth. The latter is used mostly in the beginning of the film, creating a sense of where these characters (and humanity itself) fit into such a big picture. A film has never made me feel so small. It prepares us for what follows–a film yearning to understand the point of it all.

Malick’s universe is one giant cathedral filled with slices of our lives where God moves and lives. Every now and then, a small beam of swirling, misty light appears on screen and the camera dwells on it as we hear characters from the film quietly whisper prayers to it–to God. And that’s what this film basically is–a prayer to God from humanity itself. For example, when the son talks about the memory of his mother to God–”You spoke to me through her before I believed in You.” And like a prayer, the film frees itself from an obvious narrative–flowing memories, images, orchestral music, whispers, visions, and dreams collide as the film composes a meditation on what life is and humanity’s relationship to God and to ourselves. Epic sounding? You’re damn right.

It is, by far, the most spiritually honest and vibrant film I’ve ever seen. God is in every single frame, even as humanity wrestles with the tough questions about God. The mother and father in the film present two different ways of parenting and how this one sons sees himself through them as he whispers, “Father. Mother. Always you wrestle inside me.” Early on in the film, the mother is teaching her children that there are two roads to take in life, “the way of nature or the way of grace.” Their father represents “the way of nature”–commanding, domineering, obsessed with rules, and a betterment of oneself. The mother represents “the way of grace”–loving, compassionate, merciful, selfless. Both parents love their children more than life itself, but it’s the way they show that love that is so conflicting. The parents seem to represent God as the child represents humanity. At one point in the film, the son demands from his father, “Why should I be good when you’re not?” Those hard questions again. And I wonder if part of what the film is asking is–Which of these two parents is the way we, personally, see God? Is God strict and rules-obsessed like the father or is God loving and full of mercy like the mother? Is there a possibility that the two sides can exist together within God?

Many people will hate this film and that’s okay–It wasn’t made for them. Some people just want entertainment in their movies. Again–that’s fine. But for those of us who yearn for our films to mean something as well, to invoke the biggest questions in our souls, to reach into our hearts and pull out longings we may have never even known where there–then The Tree of Life is one of the biggest gifts we could receive. It’s an awe-inspiring piece of art that these silly words typed out on a keyboard don’t even begin to represent well. It’s a film that takes the weight of the world upon its shoulders as it wrestles with God and the meaning of life. It refuses to proclaim an answer which is the most truthful thing it can do. Because the answer is not the point, the wrestling is the point.

Engagement in life and its many hardships and struggles along with its joys and beauty is what makes us human. It’s what brings us closer to God and to each other. We mean something. God means something. And that’s the biggest life lesson of all. But still only a starting point…

From Abba’s Child by Brennan Manning…

“‘But what should the Christian posture be toward the gay community?’ one evangelical demanded of me. ‘In one of Jesus’ parables,’ I replied, ‘He enjoined us to let the wheat and the weeds grow together. Paul caught this spirit when he wrote in 1 Corinthians, ‘Stop passing judgment and wait upon the Lord’s return.’ The sons and daughters of Abba are the most nonjudgmental people. They get along famously with sinners. Remember the passage in Matthew where Jesus says, ‘Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect?’ In Luke, the same verse is translated, ‘Be compassionate as your heavenly Father is compassionate.’ Biblical scholars say that the two words, perfect and compassionate, can be reduced to the same reality. Conclusion: To follow Jesus in His ministry of compassion precisely defines the biblical meaning of being perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect.’”

This passage resonates with me as I look around and see a nation where Christians refuse to allow gay people to have the same marriage rights as they do because of the believed “sanctity” held within those bonds while these same people just give a flippant eye role to Kim Kardashian’s latest mockery of it. Saying that you love a person and then denying them the rights that you enjoy doesn’t work. It doesn’t even make sense. It’s like saying a slaveholder is okay as long as he says he loves his slaves.

The debate over whether homosexuality itself is a sin or not has grown tiresome and gotten no one anywhere. Perhaps because it’s a strange argument to have–sinners who sin debating sinners who sin on whether or not sinners who sin are, in fact, sinning. The answer is yes. Homosexuals are sinners. As are heterosexuals, bisexuals, transexuals, and metrosexuals. We’re all sinners. Jesus is the Great Equalizer. We are forced to each meet each other exactly where the other is in life. One thing I think we can all agree on as we page through the Gospels is that Jesus cared much less about what sinners were doing and more about how “the religious” (also sinners) treated their fellow sinners. So perhaps we’re asking the wrong questions to the wrong people. Should we be asking if homosexuals are denying Christ by being gay or should we be asking ourselves if we’re denying Christ by how we respond to the homosexual community?

Who is more in danger of not following Christ?

The British and American versions of The Office are compared, we ask “what’s the weirdest thing you ever eaten?”, the most obscure joke ever is issued, a recent Twitter war is recounted, Peter Weir’s Fearless is re-visited, 9/11 is remembered, and the beginnings of the new TV season are reviewed…

The Talkaboutable – Episode 32 – Two and a Half Mad Men

Last week I sat down to watch the GOP debate. I was curious to see what all the media frenzy surrounding the debate was all about. I had seen Perry in the spotlight for weeks. Interviews leading up to his day of prayer ― “The Response” ― that drew over 20,000 Christians/Evangelicals from all over the nation. The Response. Subsequent television news appearances. And finally, last week’s debate.

I sat on my sofa, listening to each GOP candidate as they spoke about homeland security, the environment and social security. But it was their discussion of capital punishment that really caught my interest. Perry began talking about his track record in Texas ― the 234 death row inmates that have been executed, the “ultimate justice.” At this, the audience expressed their approval with the loudest applause of the night.

I can’t really explain my confusion or disgust at that moment. How chilling and unsettling it was to hear. All I could think of was 234 people dead and a room full of people cheering. Cheering. For murder.

Now, before you get all into whether you are pro or anti capital punishment, let’s just concentrate on what is coming out of Perry’s mouth. For the purpose of my writing, the point is not whether a candidate is for or against the death penalty. It is that Perry has gone to great lengths to place himself in the Christian limelight, and America is watching as he proudly presents the tally of his state’s executions. Does anyone else find that unsettling?

Perry has found his niche as the quintessential Evangelical candidate, hasn’t he? The host of an enormous prayer event. A self-professed man of God. But does it scare anyone else that the number of executions during his tenure as the Governor of Texas incited long-lasting applause from the audience?

I don’t think that Jesus would have been cheering in that audience. In fact, I think it would grieve him to see people taking joy in the death of another person (let alone 234), no matter what that person had done in his/her life. Jesus refused to meet hate with hate and violence with violence. And he certainly did not invest human representatives with the power to torture and kill.

I know we could have the grandest back and forth of Bible verses in the comments section of this post. There are Bible verses that can be interpreted as for the death penalty and Bible verses that can be interpreted as against. However, when it comes to people that say they love Jesus, but move forward with their own version of human justice, it just hits me funny in the gut.

I am open to hearing what you think, because I just don’t get it. When a “Godly” man receives applause because he has executed “more [inmates] than any other governor in modern times,” it just seems wrong and really makes me wonder. Does it make you wonder?

Follow Melia on Twitter…

Chris buys a house, Apocalypse Now is revisited and leads into a discussion about King Ralph, and a crap is taken on the lawn of the political landscape.

The Talkaboutable – Episode 31 – Homeless Ghost Raccoon

And we play this exact same game with God.

“Orthodoxy” has recently become a shining, triumphant word for many while others have come to see it as a dirty word. I think both views tend to be correct at one time or another. On the negative side of things, orthodoxy has become this false idol of ideas worshipped and defended by intellectuals who have lost sight of the dynamic personhood of God, for fear of their own orthodoxy falling down around them. Orthodoxy is a fine thing, we all have our own set of beliefs. But that’s all they are–beliefs. Beliefs about something, by our own admission, so much bigger than ourselves. But I think something crucial has gotten lost as we’ve all taken up armaments against any who dare to challenge our already-set and held beliefs. We live so defensively toward others for fear that they might (gasp!) bring a new idea into the mix. And when we live like this, not only do we “protect” ourselves from our brothers and sisters, who we should be learning from and inviting to challenge us (iron sharpens iron), but we also end up defending ourselves from God.

Kenneth Leech says orthodoxy “is about being consumed by glory: the word means not ‘right belief’ (as dictionaries tell us) but right doxa, right glory. To be orthodox is to be set alight by the fire of God.” So many of us have replaced the living, breathing, dangerous God with a list of rules and facts. Do we love God? Or do we love regulations? Do we love Christ? Or do we love propositions? You have to admit, one is much easier to love than the other. Our Western upbringing doesn’t much care for devoting oneself to something so abstract as the idea of God, but if there are lists of organized thought and ideals, why that’s much easier to worship.

We are all brought up in a specific culture. We are taught things from an early age. One thing I always wrestled with in high school was if I really believed in God or not. Because it occurred to me, I’ve been told to believe in God my whole life, been shown the historical evidence of the stories in the Bible, had Christian apologetics hammered into me again and again–Did I really and truly believe God existed or was I just taught to believe God existed? I was taught many other cultural things as well concerning politics, my own nation, homosexuality–you know, all the hot button issues. And how convenient it was that God backed up those beliefs. God fit right into my little cultural bubble just as easy as that one last puzzle piece.

I don’t believe I truly began an honest relationship with God until I started letting God define and augment my own culture as opposed to letting my culture define who God is. At first, it was frightening. My whole life seemed to be coming unglued because I started seeing the hypocrisies in so many of my firm beliefs. There are things Christ said numerous times that I just flat-out ignored because it didn’t fit my own paradigm, my own orthodoxy. But I slowly grasped the freedom of Christ and the relationship (or wrestling match) God always yearned to have with me. I went from living defensively to living freely. Sure, if we live defensively we’ll definitely be blocking out “wrong” thinking, but the kicker is we’re also blocking out God in our fear to let go of our own “right thinking.” I even believe there were times in college where God purposefully led me to believe something I now believe to be theologically false only to bring me out of it with a different understanding–ready for a little bit closer to Truth.

Because it’s not about right thinking, it’s not about rules, it’s not about regulations, it’s not about propositions. It’s about God. Period. Just like we have to let go of other things in our life to make room for God, we have to let go of our human beliefs. This isn’t to say we shouldn’t have beliefs. Beliefs are natural and you’ll find the more you wrestle with God, the more that will slowly begin to mold in your mind. I am saying that God is always bigger than those beliefs. So when we live in defense of those beliefs, we’re putting those beliefs above God. If we’re to have an orthodoxy, it must be a fluid one open to what God wants to teach us on a daily basis. An ever-changing belief system that slowly gets closer and closer to who God is, not a stagnant, rigid, defensible position that we have locked up in a room deep inside our hearts never to be touched. It’s the difference between knowing the “little g” and daily wrestling and seeking to understand the “Big G.” Because there is never going to be a point in your life where God isn’t bigger than everything in your life.

C.S. Lewis wrote many books about God, but he always understood that even his own brilliant analytical mind could never completely grasp or understand the vastness and the bigness of God. He understood the kind of reverence and humbleness that was vital to anyone’s own orthodoxy, that God is bigger than even our own language we use to debate about God with. Here is one of my favorite Lewis poems called “A Footnote to All Prayers…”

      “He whom I bow to only knows to whom I bow
When I attempt the ineffable Name, murmuring Thou,
And dream of Pheidian fancies and embrace in heart
Symbols (I know) which cannot be the thing Thou art.
Thus always, taken at their word, all prayers blaspheme
Worshipping with frail images a folk-lore dream,
And all men in their praying, self-deceived, address
The coinage of their own unquiet thoughts, unless
Thou in magnetic mercy to Thyself divert
Our arrows, aimed unskillfully, beyond desert;
And all men are idolators, crying unheard
To a deaf idol, if Thou take them at their word.

Take not, O Lord, our literal sense.  Lord, in thy great
Unbroken speech our limping metaphor translate.”

Chris has a birthday, Sean explains babyarms, Barry recounts the plot to THIS IS SPINAL TAP, Chris revisits bad past memories at Hurricane Harbor, and Michael breaks his coccyx bone at Six Flags and has an eventful night out in Dallas.

The Talkaboutable – Episode 30 – Babjärm

A very haphazard review of Quentin Tarantino’s KILL BILL is attempted, Barry’s hairless face freaks everybody out, it’s asked whether or not Donald Trump is commencing a period of idiocracy, our reactions to the death of Osama Bin Laden are discussed, and the most over-the-top Facebook reactions are read–all the while, accidentally saying “Obama” instead of “Osama.”

The Talkaboutable – Episode 29 – Barry, the Drug Mule

In the pages of the Gospels, Christ presents some amazing commands that are difficult to rectify with our own lives–things like the love of your enemies. And remember, this was not a time where when Jesus said “enemies,” he meant that neighbor you can’t stand who turns his music up way too loud at night. No, in that time period, your enemies were the men who wanted to kill you, wanted to rip you limb from limb, and spit on your dead corpse. Jesus commanded us to love these people. Like many things Christ said, it was an astounding thing to even propose. Thankfully, Christ truly believed in the power of love, grace, and mercy as he hung from a cross and bled out for every single human being to have ever and will ever live–Each of us full to the brim with sin. No man more pure than another. All living in absolute and complete depravity due to their own selfishness.

As I logged onto Facebook last night after the announcement from President Obama about the killing of Osama Bin Laden, I was astounded at what I saw. So many followers of Christ rejoicing in cavalier, sometimes downright sadistic, ways at the death of another human being. Yes, this human being had become a monster and had gallons of blood on his hands. But nothing Osama Bin Laden did in life makes him any more unloved by God. Thankfully for all of us, God’s love is unconditional and even a man so sadistic and violent as Bin Laden falls under that category. But the truth of the matter is, compared to the glory of God as shown through Christ, none of us can stand before the throne and claim to be better than Osama Bin Laden. All are guilty. All have fallen short of the glory of God. When our deaths come, even we deserve people streaming into the streets with celebration.

What I saw last night from many Christians was pure and unadulterated hate, a glaringly obvious bloodlust flowing through cavalier jokes and joyful glee at one of God’s lost sheep. So many Christians had an opportunity to show what Christ is all about–through love, mercy, and grace. But so many missed that opportunity, instead showing that even Christians can take joy in death and their own hatred. Thankfully, there were also many Christians reacting to the bloodlust with words of peace, hope, and the unabashed love of all of God’s creations. But, of course, these people were quickly put in their place by others. I witnessed some amazing high schoolers speak to the Jesus they know last night, a God of love and grace, only to be slapped down in their “idealistic thinking” by others–some even Sunday school teachers.

I can’t help but think that every time we sacrifice an opportunity to love for the god of Hate, we are participating in the crucifixion. Almost as if every waking moment of every day is an opportunity to participate in one of two things–crucifixion or resurrection. When we denounce love and embrace hate in moments like last night, we truly become no better than those who killed the embodiment of love up on that hill. That night, they rejected love and embraced hate. When we participate in those kinds of activities, we waste what Christ died for so we could have the gift of life–not just our souls saved, but our lives saved from having to participate in hate and death. We now have the ability to participate in the resurrection. We now have the opportunity to tap into that love that embodied Christ because it now embodies us. But last night, so many of us betrayed our own salvation for the god of Hate and Fear.

I completely understand the yearning for justice. I completely understand that this was Osama Bin Laden’s deathbed that he made for himself a long time ago. I don’t seek to denounce those who are glad that horrible, horrible man can no longer hurt people. Of course that’s something to be glad about. But with any kind of violent justice also comes a price. And I don’t think many of us rightly understood that price last night. Perhaps when necessary justice is done, it’s not a time for celebration, but for mourning. Mourning of a world in which we live that strives on the currency of hate, fear, and violence. Sadness at the inevitability of having to participate in such a world while clinging to the opposite things that Christ was. Many are throwing that word, “justice,” around today. Some claim they understand it’s true meaning, while others are wrestling with what that word means and how it should be approached in such a bloodthirsty world. How do we reconcile our want of justice with the peace of Christ? Like Nicholas Knisely said last night, “Emotions are what they are. They’re not moral or immoral.  They come from deep inside us. Morality hangs on what you do with them.”

This is a hard thing to do. And I think a lot of us chose the wrong thing to do with our emotions last night. I, for one, was incredibly conflicted with how to feel. After seeing the hatefulness on Facebook, I literally didn’t move for a good half hour, my jaw never leaving its dropped position. And I began to pray without really knowing the proper words to convey what I was feeling as I saw more and more brothers and sisters of the same embodiment of love speak joyful words of hate. The feeling was something akin to being betrayed by your own family. And I began to cry. Not for Osama Bin Laden, but for another death–The death of a great opportunity to show what our God is all about. My entire body ached as I wept at the realization that I can’t force people to see the love and grace and peace of my savior. It doesn’t work that way. My only refuge was to think about the last prayer Jesus prayed as he was hung on a cross to die, the God of Love joyfully murdered for our god of Hate–”Forgive them, Father. For they know not what they do.”

Some honorable mentions … (in alphabetical order)

Buried – Filmed entirely in a casket six feet under the ground, it’s one of the most unrelenting and best thrillers of the year.

The Crazies - A different take on the zombie flick that has a lot of fun with a dark sense of humor.

Cyrus - One of the best subdued comedies of the year. John C. Reilly and Jonah Hill bring it.

Dogtooth – Greek film that deconstructs modern society and language itself while making you laugh uneasily and creeping you out as well.

Easy A - Emma Stone is a freaking delight in one of my favorite female performances of the year.

Enter the Void – Definitely the most unsettling film of the year. Haunting in every aspect. Stanley Kubrick would be proud.

The Fighter – The best character-driven boxing movie since Rocky.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – The Swedish flick that kicked off a great trilogy. One of the best classic mystery films of the last thirty years.

I Am Love – Italian love story that shifts gears again and again, keeping you on your toes, and teaching that you can’t love someone else until you start loving yourself.

Kick-Ass – Two words: Hit Girl.

The Kids Are All Right – Great family drama that doesn’t force anything in your face. Genuine people with genuine problems.

Let Me In – Finally, a remake of a spectacular foreign film that is actually just as good as the original.

Mother – A Korean Hitchcock film that twists and turns until you simply don’t know what to expect anymore.

Never Let Me Go - A bleak, melancholy drama that flirts with science fiction and speaks of what it is to be human and the importance of both life and death.

Predators - A love letter to the die-hard fans of the classic original.

Restrepo – Mind-blowing documentary following a platoon set up in one of the most dangerous outposts in Afghanistan.

The Town – Ben Affleck proves for a second time that he’s a filmmaker to be reckoned with and is quickly becoming one of the best voices in contemporary crime films we have.

True Grit – The Coen Brothers deliver a straight-away damn good Western with a deeper meaning about losing one’s innocence in a place where innocence is never rewarded.

Winter’s Bone – Backwoods Appalachian neo-noir film populated with genuine characters and amazing performances.

Youth in Revolt - Off-kilter teen comedy with one of the best performances by Michael Cera yet.

And the top ten are…

10. Catfish – There may not have been another film this year that I wasn’t more wrapped up in. Without giving anything away, it’s a perfect film for this generation and the sadness that comes with how easy it is to not have to reconcile ourselves with our own identities. It’s a documentary that is funny, creepy, mysterious, jaw-dropping, heartbreaking, and ultimately heartwarming.

09. Shutter Island – I’m with Gareth Higgins and David Dark when it comes to the brilliance of this movie and what it’s trying to say. On the surface, Scorcese is expertly revisiting his love of Hitchcock but under the surface is a much more serious indictment of something America is finding itself more and more apart of–lying to oneself about truth in order to feel better about our own selfishness.

08. Exit Through the Gift Shop – Whether this documentary is entirely genuine or not is missing the point. What begins as the story of the cultural phenomenon of street-art ends up a commentary on art itself, taking satirical jabs at art collectors, hipster lemmings, and even the exact kind of personas that Banksy himself typifies. Like a lot of art, it’s an abstract documentary that can mean a lot of different things at once.

07. Black Swan – Darren Aronofsky delivers a lesson in building intensity. From the get-go, this film builds to a release without the need for action scenes or explosions. And it’s all entirely in someone’s own psyche. The visceral way in which he depicts the fragmentation of a mind are expertly done with an amazing assist by Natalie Portman who has never been better.

06. Toy Story 3 – Pixar does it again with another hilarious and fun film that is subversively about something much more adult. The subject of death and loss is all over this film. The scene in the incinerator, where death is met not with kicking and screaming but with a solemn acceptance is one of the most beautiful and human things I’ve seen in a film in a long time–And it’s a freaking cartoon!

05. The King’s Speech – Classy filmmaking all around. Everyone does such a great job here, it reminds you why the English invented this stuff. It’s one of those timeless flicks that doesn’t need any kind of gimmick to make things work. It’s simply strong filmmaking. And for all you Bible nerds out there who also couldn’t not think of Moses the entire film–I salute you.

04. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World – Edgar Wright’s movies are so much fun they should be illegal. Most films that are qualified as “witty” are usually deemed so because of their screenplays. But Wright’s films are soaked in wit from the visual references to the editing. The flick is like if Lloyd Dobler had lived in some fantasy world constructed from comic books, video games, and eighties action flicks where his Diane Court is a punk-rock chick who constantly changes her hair color.

03. 127 Hours – What begins as just a fascinating true story becomes so much more as Danny Boyle starts to incorporate both appropriate film techniques to the building psychosis as well as a deeper meaning. Aaron Ralston is depicted as a loner who doesn’t need people in his life. And even after doing something to free himself, he still needs the assistance of others. It’s a simple but profoundly executed idea that rings so beautifully in a theological context–We can’t save ourselves.

02. Inception – Christopher Nolan continues to craft films that are a lot of fun while still having big ideas to wrestle with. The film deals with interpersonal manipulation and self deception but also has another even deeper meta-level to it about the filmmaking process itself as each character takes on a role from a movie set. But perhaps the most impressive thing about the film is that it is a wholly original piece of science fiction. (And yes, the top was about to fall.)

01. The Social Network – This is the kind of film that defines a generation and it does it so brilliantly that it can’t not be at the top of my list. David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin take the biggest phenomenon of this generation and not only tell its story, but comment on the impact of said phenomenon within the story itself. This film’s version of Mark Zuckerberg is a representation of all of us who can’t remember a time where we didn’t have online identities and we weren’t wrestling with being genuine in such a fame-obsessed world. It’s a masterful work of social commentary.

The assfaces and bastard people of WAITING FOR GUFFMAN are reviewed, Michael and Barry report on Kevin Smith’s new film, RED STATE, and the Rob Bell/LOVE WINS discussion is put to rest now that it’s actually been read.

The Talkaboutable – Episode 28 – God Is a Penguin

Generally speaking, most people fall into a similar pattern.  When we are very little we know only what comes into our tiny world.  We don’t have the means or ability to get beyond that, and as such we typically believe whatever our parents believe, and our ideals line up with theirs.  If our parents are republican, then so are we.  If our parents are very conservative , then so are we.  I remember one time during the 1992 presidential campaign.  I was 8 years old, and I was listening to some adults in my family discuss the candidates.  At one point during the discussion, Ross Perot’s name came up and I decided to interject this hot political opinion, “Ross Perot doesn’t have a shot in the world!”, at which point everyone turned to stare at me blankly and then they went right back into their more informed discussion.  Now, my HPO (hot political opinion) turned out to be correct, but at the time I had no idea why, nor could I back the opinion up with any facts or data.  I was only regurgitating something I had heard my parents say at a previous occasion.

Then as people get older they get their driver’s license, they get a car, and they start to venture outside their sphere of influences.  As this occurs, those same little ones who used to believe only what their parents believed, start to develop opinions of their own.  For me, as with most, this started happening when I was in college.  Coincidentally, this all happened around the same time I began to read a lot more.  Go figure!  My eyes were becoming opened to the world.  I began forming my own ideals and beliefs.  We are young in this stage of life, right?  We believe that anything is possible, and we want to make the world a better place.  So, we unassumingly develop what some might refer to as “liberal” opinions.  For a shining example of this, see the youth of the 1960′s.  Free love!  All you need is love!  War is over if you want it!  But then those same free-spirited youth became parents, our parents, and they began to drift to the right, if you will.  They entered the last phase of life.  A phase of security, logic, and reason.  There are things to think about, like kids, jobs, healthcare, 401k’s, status.  There’s no time for big grandiose dreams.  There’s no time for naiveté’.  But what would have happened if the teens of the 60′s kept that “All you need is love” spirit?

One complaint that the older generations seem too always have against us youth is that we’re naive.  I’ve heard many times that I just don’t understand.  I’m told that one day, when I’ve lived a few more years, I’ll realize how the world really works.  I say that love can conquer hate.  They say that one day I’ll learn that there’s too much hate and it can only be conquered with more intimidation and fear.  I say that grace should abound and should be extended to everyone.  They say that one day I’ll learn that some people are beyond grace.  What happens?  Why is it that as some people get older they lose their sense of wonderment?  Why is it that as some people get older their fear grows and their hope dies away.

Please don’t misunderstand me.  I know that I’ve spoken in very broad generalities, so please forgive me.  I don’t mean to pit left vs. right, liberal vs. conservative, or even old vs. young.  I should also note that as I’ve gotten older that my mother is way smarter than I gave her credit when I was younger.  And maybe I am naive.  Maybe I don’t understand.  But I do wonder what would happen if there were a generation of wide-eyed optimistic youth who didn’t let the harshness of life drown their hope as they got older.  Where would we be if “all you need is love” had continued and grown from the 60′s until now.  Is it possible that war really could be over?  Is it possible that we really could have ended hunger and poverty?  Is it possible that grace and love really could be extended to everyone?  Maybe!  May we all continue to be at least a little naive and continue to have faith like children until we are well into our 90′s.

May God bless you with discomfort
At easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships
So that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger
At injustice, oppression and exploitation of people,
So that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless you with tears
To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war,
So that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and
To turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness
To believe that you can make a difference in the world,
So that you can do what others claim cannot be done
To bring justice and kindness to all God’s children and the poor.

Amen.

I lifted my head up the other day and discovered I was in a battlefield. Bullets were whizzing by, faster and faster, and suddenly any step I might take could lead to injury. The strange thing about the fight was that both sides were hurling ammunation at each other in the name of love. Some from love of themselves, others for the love of Jesus, and some for the love of others. Then the lights came up, and I was confused. Had I just survived a screening of Kevin Smith’s Red State? I had, but it left me with an open, festering wound.

The tagline on Red State‘s poster is “Fear God.” It is the message of the film’s antagonist, though in truth most of the characters are shades of gray, rather than simply black and white. I do not want to give too much of the film away. It is an experience from start to finish, and spoilers would diminish that. I will say that the film is a meditation on how one views God, how firm those beliefs are, and what a person is willing to do to hold on to those beliefs. It is a film of visceral urgency, and anyone that pushes past the entertainment of it to the deeper levels cannot help but be left unsettled.

Love Wins is similar in theme, but with less of an in-your-face style execution. Rob Bell has written a book of questions: How do you view God, What is His purpose, and what do you do with that in your own life? It leaves the reader with choices. Not one big, eternity altering choice, but a multitude of choices that begin in each moment and proceed outward toward eternity. It takes Christ and asks what you would do with Him in each frame of life. Do you believe in Him, and if so, what are you creating in His name, Heaven or Hell?

Red State is hell, plain and simple. It shows people fighting, not for Christ, but for a radical interpretion of salvation and God’s will for their lives. Think of the Phelps family having a lovechild with the Branch Dividians, and this is what you would get. They portray God as angry, desiring appeasement through the actions of His followers, and these actions, witnessed throughout the film, lead to salvation.

The church has spent the past month in a firefight, and both sides, full of good and sincere people, are fighting out of fear. One side found its long held, firmly established doctrine challenged and immediately jumped to defend it. The other side, many of whom probably feel as though they have escaped from their foes at some point in the past, feel them once again creeping in, attempting to control lives through doctrine. It has been a bloodbath, from pastors on one side yelling systematic theology over and over again, as though volume makes them right, to those on the other side being glib and smug over having incited the former to do so, bragging about lost readership, as though losing the fellowship of brothers and sisters in Christ, no matter their doctrine, is a good thing.

The book is tited Love Wins for a reason. I’m not sure how many even remember that at this point. I feel like we’re all holding rifles in our hands, while love lies bleeding on the floor.

The day the blurb of Rob Bell’s new book, Love Wins, was released, many Christians came to the defense of the Lion. At least, that’s how they saw it. One could make an argument that what they were really coming to the defense of was their own biblical interpretation which they suddenly felt being challenged despite having not read a single word of Bell’s book yet. In fact, the blurb released was simply a few questions with no direct statements. But since when has Truth been afraid of questions? This has always been Bell’s modus operandi–He teaches by asking questions. Like Christ did. In fact, I would even make the case that Bell is more direct than Christ was. When I read the Gospels, I see Christ telling story after story that the disciples don’t get. But that’s okay. Christ wants engagement, not control. He spoke in abstracts and wouldn’t answer yes-or-no questions because he wants us to think for ourselves. Jesus Christ, the son of God, the alpha and omega, actually trusts us.

The immediate negative reaction from good men and good pastors show something rather transparent in today’s religious climate. We aren’t to be trusted. We’re to be controlled. We can’t let “unorthodox” thought into the conversation for fear of what? What man might do with it or what God might do with it? Bell is saying nothing new in the book. In fact, there isn’t one idea in it that has never been echoed or presented by Evangelicalism’s favorite author, C.S. Lewis. There are just certain non-mainstream interpretations of the scriptures that for whatever reason, many mainstream pastors and leaders have felt the need to defend their congregations from. Again–is it because they don’t trust us? I don’t mean to imply some nefarious scheme on their behalves. But I do think there is something going on deep down that reveals an insecurity not only in their own rigid beliefs but in the Holy Spirit as well. It’s as if the headway made by Luther during the Protestant Reformation has somehow come back and circled around. We used to proclaim “priesthood of the believer” but now the new medieval Catholic Church has just become the modern day Christian.

Now please don’t get me wrong, not all pastors have reacted in this way to Bell’s book but many have. My point is–we don’t trust our fellow man to be able to wrestle with different ideas than our own because we are all enslaved by the idea that we are always right. We want control and we’re afraid to give it over to the Holy Spirit. We’re afraid to ask ourselves certain questions for fear of “going off the deep end” or falling down that “slippery slope.” We worship control. For ourselves and for others. This is what the Pharisees did. In fact, they often used the Greek idea of Hades (or Hell) as a means of control. Then Christ came to muck it up with all his darn questions and actually trusting those he encountered to have the ability to see God themselves.

Rob Bell is first and foremost a communicator of the Gospel. He is not a theologian and the theology in Love Wins is nothing new or different. But the way in which he presents the Gospel as an opportunity to daily choose heaven or hell and the way in which he shows it to be a daily relevant force in our lives is awe-inspiring. Bell asks questions that have been asked for thousands of years–questions that reveal to us our own beliefs about the character of the God we serve and the God we love. He’s not reading the Bible as a constitution-like document with rules, propositions, caveats, and loopholes. He reads it like the invitation that it is. He’s inviting us to think for ourselves. He’s being Christ-like.

Now–Is Rob Bell a Universalist? The answer is no. Anyone who would read the book and still proclaim him one has a weak grasp on theology. But a better question is this–What does it matter to you if Rob Bell is a Universalist or not? Why does it scare us to think that somebody might have a different opinion than us? Why do we react the way we do by getting defensive instead of trusting the Holy Spirit to work in our hearts for the betterment of our souls? Why do we fear information more than we trust God?

“This is the covenant I will make
with the house of Israel
after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
No longer will a man teach his neighbor,
or a man his brother, saying,
“Know the Lord,”
because they will all know me
from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the Lord.
“For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”
~ Jeremiah 31:31-34

As I’ve blogged about before in my series on the future of Christianity, I believe the Holy Spirit has a massive part to play in the coming generations. This whole fiasco with Rob Bell has shown a lot of the kinds of issues that might arise. If we believe in the Trinity. If we believe God the Father, Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one–Yet we trust our own human interpretations of the Bible more than we trust the Holy Spirit working in our hearts, we are in trouble. We are worshipping a book. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great book. It’s a foundational book. But it’s not God. It didn’t create the universe. It’s not Jesus. It didn’t die for our sins. And it’s not the Holy Spirit. It’s not the law written on our hearts. We’ve fashioned a book about story and meaning and ideas to grapple with into a book about rules and regulations and propositions. We take the life out of it when we make it as authoritative as God.

All this to say… Just read Rob Bell’s damn book. It’s not going to hurt you. In fact, I encourage you to read anything that frightens you at first. Talk to someone who you know doesn’t believe the things you do. Because you’re only going to be made better for it. Trust the Holy Spirit to be able to work in your heart. Trust it to show you the character of the God whom we have a relationship with–not through a book, but through our lives, our hearts, our oneness. If we refuse to challenge ourselves, we ignore the fact that God is a Lion. He’s dangerous. He’s a risk. And living the Gospel is not a safe path. With the Holy Spirit on our side, don’t you dare fear that “deep end” or that “slippery slope.”

Trust God. Because God trusts you.

Rob Bell’s new book Love Wins has stirred up quite a bit of controversy. If you follow evangelical news at all, listen to our podcast The Talkaboutable, or follow our twitter feeds and facebook status updates then this is probably not news to you. There have been so many knee-jerk reactions on both sides of the perceived universalism issue surrounding the book that I finally found it time to comment. I’m not going to talk about the book, however. We thoroughly discussed it pre-release on the last episode of the podcast, and I’m sure that we’ll discuss it again now that we’re on the other side of things, having finally read it. Instead I simply want to make a quick point and step away from the issue.

I was reading a bit of Romans this morning and came across the following verses:

For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man […] They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. (Romans 1:21-23a, 25 NASB)

These drew me back to the issue at hand, though Paul was originally speaking of idol worship, religion, and its effect on a person’s way of life. The quick defense of ideologies and theologies, whether they be liberal, conservative, or somewhere in-between reminded me that we have built fortified walls around our views Jesus, and that we are quick to defend that fortress, lest it be attacked or challenged in any way. We have in many ways traded the living, dynamic God who actively loves us and created all we know for a God on paper, defined in sermons and essays by the writers and speakers we choose to identify with, and our words and actions tend to reflect this two-dimensional deity.

I love theology and talking about God, trying to discern who He is and what having faith in Him truly means for the church both as individuals and a community. Too often, I think, we are all guilty of viewing Him unconsciously through a filter we have compiled from the John Pipers and Rob Bells of the theological community, only to discover how tangible that filter really is when it comes into crisis. We then are startled by such a challenge, and sadly look to a stack of teachings rather than communing with God to know even the slightest fraction of His infinite character. This way is less certain, requiring trust and faith rather than the certainty of black and white print, but through it we know more of God and ourselves. And even more, perhaps we will learn a better way to strive forward as a community of faith, integrating the varying and unique glimpses of God given to each of us.

The biblical allusions in P.T. Anderson’s Magnolia are reviewed, Michael attends a Randy Travis concert, and the Rob Bell/Universalism controversy surrounding his new book is discussed.

The Talkaboutable – Episode 27 – Bound and Gagged and Taken to Randy Travis

The term “Hipster” was coined in the 40s, but made resurgence in the 90s and the aughts.  I believe, however, that the Hipster resurgence will be short-lived due to specific circumstances causing their extinction.

Some circumstances will result in rapid extinction…

1)  News sites and blogs will begin to report an outbreak of snapped vertebrae due to people violently flinging their hair back.
2)  They will become so apathetic that they will simply die from extreme inactivity.
3)  They will attempt to become so esoteric that they will literally fade away.

While some circumstances may take an entire generation to come to fruition.

4)  A fascination with “skinny jeans” will eventually cause the entire hipster generation to become sterile.
5)  They will make a conscious decision to abstain from procreation because humanity is not obscure enough to be cool.
6)  Those that do make the effort to procreate will choose not to climax in an attempt to be ironic.

So as you read your New York Times app, or check out the trending topics on Twitter, remember to keep an eye out for unnatural phenomena.  These phenomena might include the closing of indie movie theaters, sudden disinterest in vintage watches, and plummeting Pabst Blue Ribbon sales.

Don’t be a statistic.  It’s not too late to admit that Coldplay is a good band.

Dear Worship Leaders of America,

Hi!  How are you doing?  That’s great!  I’m fine too.  Well, I know that tomorrow is Sunday and you are busy getting ready for your one day of work this week, so I won’t keep you real long.  Plus, I know that you’ve got to get to Chick-fil-A tonight since they’ll be closed tomorrow and you’ll have to go a whole day without eating.  Now, as you may know, I too used to be a worship leader, just like yourself.  I, like many of you, started out leading the praise band for the high school youth group at my home church.  Remember playing “In The Secret” and “Ancient of Days”?  Yeah, those are classics!  Well, as a former worship leader, I thought I’d give you some constructive criticism from someone who used to be one of your peers.  Consider it some perspective from someone on the outside, who used to be on the inside.  So, here we go:

1. Please stop telling your electric guitar players to play in the style of U2 or Coldplay.  This does not make you sound “fresh” or “current”, even if you include Muse in that list.

2. Please tell your girlfriend or your wife, or whoever is singing the background vocals, that singing a 3rd above every note you sing is not how you sing harmony.  They still have stay in the chords.

3. If your band does not sound good with just guitar, bass, and drums, then adding lead guitar, percussion, piano, keyboard, violin, viola, 4 background vocalists, a 2nd electric guitar, a 2nd keyboard, and a choir will not make it sound better.  It’ll only make it sound worse.  Remember, sometimes less is more.

4. Maybe play a few songs written by worship leaders other than Chris Tomlin.  As an aside, Chris Tomlin used to wear leather pants sometimes when leading worship.  Leather pants!  This is a fact.  I’ve seen it.  Not that it matters, I just thought that you should know.

5. Please take your craft seriously.  Just because you know how to play guitar, sort of, does not automatically make you qualified to lead people in worship through music.

6. If you’re going to consider yourself a musician, then learn a little music theory and learn how to proficiently play your instrument.

7. There are other keys besides G and E.

8. Just because whatever chord you think you’ve just invented “sounds good” does not mean that it’s the right chord.

9. If you fancy yourself a songwriter, then great!  But learn what a cliché rhyme is and stop using them.  We’ve rhymed “grace” and “face”, and “cross” and “lost” far too many times.  Also, don’t ever let me hear the phrase “Jesus’s per minute” come out of your mouth.  I think God is smart enough to figure out when we’re singing to him.  You can stop trying to shoehorn his name as much as possible into every song.

10. Despite what you may have seen or heard from your fellow worship leaders, it’s ok to not like Starbucks, or coffee in general for that matter.

11. Please stop wearing your in-ear monitors out in public, hoping that people will notice.

12. We know that you’re a Mac.  You don’t have to pull out your MacBook every time you’re at Starbucks.  Guess what? A lot of people are Macs.  You’re not the only one.

13. Listening to Damien Rice does not make you “progressive”.  The same goes for listening to Mumford & Sons.

14. Quit trying to trick up your worship times with strobe lights, lasers, and fog machines.

15. Remember, music is a powerful tool.  Your job is not to bring the congregation to tears every Sunday.  Emotion does not equal worship.  Your job is to lead people to a Holy God through the gift of music.  Take what you do seriously and reverently.  What you do is important!  But remember also, music is not the only way to worship God.

Well there you go.  Just a few tips from me to you, as someone who has been there.  I hope this has been helpful.  Sleep tight.  You’ve got another big day tomorrow.

Best Regards,
Chris J Norwood

P.S. I love you.