Yesterday Barack Obama sold out. He knows it. His pastor knows it. And most importantly, the Democratic Superdelegates know it. If he wasn’t already, Obama is now officially a politician.
If you didn’t catch it, yesterday Obama officially and completely denounced his pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. This comes after Wright - a pillar in the world of Black Liberation Theology, a liberal “Christian” movement that focuses more on social justice issues than the gospel of Jesus Christ - had made a series of completely racist, ignorant speeches over the last few days. You’ll recall that just last month Barack took major heat due to clips of Wright’s sermons making the rounds on cable news wherein he “damned America” among many other things.
So yesterday, needing to protect his run toward the Presidency, Barack did what a ‘good’ politician must do. He threw his pastor, their relationship, and likely, their future under the bus.
As one born in the 1980’s I am proud member of the video game generation. I have never known a world without video games. And while some struggle to see the value they add to society, I have always been quick to come to their defense. Video games provide great escape, they engage the mind, they can be great learning devices, and not to mention the fact that they’re just plain fun. Did I mention that they are fun?
Today marks the release of the newest installment of one of the most popular game franchises of all time: Grand Theft Auto. When the first edition arrived on the scene it was a completely harmless, almost laughable game where one ran around stole cars and tried to outrun the police. Okay, so that sounds bad, but trust me - this thing was so disconnected from reality that it could hardly inspire anyone to do anything other than smile.
But this game has advanced. Over the last few years it has evolved into a highly realistic, first-person game where one can do everything from steal a car to murder a prostitute, run from a drug deal gone bad, or engage in a shootout with federal authorities. Yeah, really nice. Needless to say the thing is surrounded by contraversy.
I know that many of you have been waking up every day for the past two weeks hoping, “Perhaps today will be the day when Matt returns to the blog!”
Well alas, the day has arrived. I apologize for pressing “pause” on the blog for the last several days. Life has simply been hectic. But no fears, we’re back at it and hopefully such breaks in the blog will be few and far between. Thanks, guys!
I think I’ve figured it out. I think I’ve finally been able to put my finger on what it is that makes our current culture tick. Are you ready? [Pause] Facebook. Yup. That’s it. Actually, it’s not Facebook per se, but all that it stands for: the desire to be known.
If you don’t believe me, just take a look at the landscape of current pop-culture to prove it. Pop-culture has always been the place where those who shape culture the most (15-25 year-olds with expendible income) go to express their values and have fun with what they feel is important. Therefore, it’s really the best place to do a little self relflection.
Social networking sites (MySpace, Facebook, etc) have been insanely popular for almost 4 years now. They thrive on the idea of gathering friends, sharing information, and making as many connnections as possible. You also have the entire genre of reality television, which has expanded to literally hundreds of shows and thousands of opportunities for one to grab their 15 minutes of fame. It’s no wonder that so many teens equate success with celebrity.
So, I’m not one to get all insane about tech stuff. But with this new gadget - the Flip Video Camcorder - I couldn’t resist. This little thing is the top selling camcorder in the country and for good reason. It is incredibly simple to use and records near HD video that is ready to be transferred to your PC and burned on a DVD or posted on the web to share with Grandma and Grandpa.
With this, there is no messing with cables or junk coming from your giant tape based camcorder trying to drop things onto your computer or trying to use grainy, low-res video from your digital camera. This thing is a perfect replacement for both. Plus it looks cool.
Click here to check it out and click below to see it in action. Okay, nerd commercial done.
A wise man once said that you know that culture has gone off the deep end when we start to call good things evil and evil things good.
For example, as a culture we have long since sold out to the idea that abortion is a prized part of american female freedom. In doing so we have labeled a good thing - unbornlife - as evil and an evil thing - murder - as good. See what I mean?
The other day Planned Parenthood released its business report for the 2006-2007 fiscal year, in it trumpeting the idea that the numbers prove that they are reaching their goal of fighting for the “freedom of men, women, children, and families.”
Some of the most common questions I get asked is about the sermon writing process. For whatever reason people seem very intrigued by it. I usually tell them, “Think about having to write a term paper every week for the rest of your life.” That’s kind of what it’s like - except the papers are always about Jesus, which makes it fun.
So, having just wrapped up this week’s message I thought I would do something completely pointless and publish my prep notes on the blog. So for that one person who finds this kind of thing interesting, you can check it out and smile. For the rest of you, check back next week for something pithy and related to pop-culture.
Okay, so I’m usually not one to put out the “Lutheran” billboard. But alas, I can’t escape the fact that I am proudly a memeber of the LCMS - and apparently, I’m not alone. Just for grins, I thought you’d like to see a list of a few celebrities that also like to have potluck dinners and drink German beer. And by the looks of things, apparently the LCMS has a firm hold on the entertainment news division of Hollywood.
Click HERE to take a look at this offering from TheOnion. They were in the mock news business back in the day when Jon Stewart was still making bad movies. But, you know how it goes: start making fun of Republicans and soon enough you’ll be hosting the Oscars. But that is beside the point.
While funny, the video hits on a major cultural issue: What should you do with the kids when both parents feel the need to leave the house every day to go make money? Do you pay someone else to watch them? Do you get the retired relatives involved?
What I find even more interesting is that a good deal of the young couples I encounter on a daily basis, the majority of whom are just starting their families, have never even considered the option of one parent forgoing work outside of the home in order to focus on nurturing and encouraging their little ones for a few years before the kids have to leave the house for their formal education. What I have found is that a two-income home, with children in some form of third party childcare, is simply looked at as a given.
Now please, I have no intention of starting a firestorm of debate on this issue but I do think that followers of Jesus and students of the Bible are called to question such cultural assumptions and seek to lay them before the feet of God and ask, “Okay, what is your design? What’s best for building my family around you?”
A few days ago a friend and I were having a conversation about Easter. We were comparing it to Christmas and taking note that while Easter is technically the highest of Christian Holy Days, it tends to lack the sense of excitement and anticipation that comes so naturally to our birthday parties for Jesus.
While there are likely a lot of factors that contribute to this attitude in our churches and in our culture - (that’s assuming you agree that Easter gets treated like the ugly second-cousin to Christmas) - my guess is that it stems from a general ignorance as to ”why” Easter is such a big deal. In other words, other than Jesus pulling the greatest party trick of all time by showing up alive, people have very little grasp of the historical, theological, and personal impact of Easter.
Christmas however is different. Even a die-hard pagan can tell you that Christmas has something to with Jesus being born to save the world. But Easter? Not so much. Ask your buddy at work why Easter matters and chances are he’ll stare at you like you’re Britney Spears fresh out of rehab.
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