A Song, a moon, a melody, a harp of ten strings
A poem of renaissance glory, of Pallas Athena fame.
A star in eastern skylines, a prophesy in tongues
Scrying through the crystal oceans... looking for a home.
Cutting through the mountains, wretching gashes in the earth
We are searching for a memory,
To tell us who we were.
Finding sense in insense,
Finding truth in pain,
Finding only bloodshed,
Find no water in the rain.
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Saturday, November 12, 2005
American Idolatry and the "Christian" Media
So the other day I caught part of JD's favorite show "Extreme Home Makeover" and a new thought came bubbling up to the surface.
Admittedly I don't watch alot of "Christian" Television or listen to alot of "Christian" Radio... It does not intersect with my life, I find the music and the programming poorly written and executed and lacks the quality needed to be a real influence in the world. (I also won't get into the fact that it is usually of such poor quality that it is not glorifying to God... ) However, I do know that in October 2004 TBN had their own version of American Idol called "Gifted". It was sort of a whitewashed, blander, "Christian" version of the original.
So anyway, I was watching Extreme Home Makeover and realized that in many ways what they were doing was the social justice ministry that the church, in all her various manifestations, should be doing. We should be the ones seeking out persons in need and providing new homes for them, providing scholarships for children in poverty, and renovating neighborhoods. More than that, all the persons featured on the show are usually doing some kind of mercy ministries on their own at great personal cost. The church should be coming along side those persons.
Now before you respond I do know that their are many many many many Christian persons who are doing just that... rebuilding and transforming lives... However, I thought it was interesting that when it comes to making television shows... "Christian" media seems to want to be as "cool" as everyone else by emulating American Idol and not spend the time or money the same way that that they do on Extreme Home Makeover. Instead of doing that ministry that seems natural for the church- transforming lives through mercy and justice ministries- they want to create a sanitized version of our culture.
I think that in this way "Christian" media has fallen into their own American Idolatry. The idolatry of thinking they are God's Public relations firm rather than his servants called to change the world.
Admittedly I don't watch alot of "Christian" Television or listen to alot of "Christian" Radio... It does not intersect with my life, I find the music and the programming poorly written and executed and lacks the quality needed to be a real influence in the world. (I also won't get into the fact that it is usually of such poor quality that it is not glorifying to God... ) However, I do know that in October 2004 TBN had their own version of American Idol called "Gifted". It was sort of a whitewashed, blander, "Christian" version of the original.
So anyway, I was watching Extreme Home Makeover and realized that in many ways what they were doing was the social justice ministry that the church, in all her various manifestations, should be doing. We should be the ones seeking out persons in need and providing new homes for them, providing scholarships for children in poverty, and renovating neighborhoods. More than that, all the persons featured on the show are usually doing some kind of mercy ministries on their own at great personal cost. The church should be coming along side those persons.
Now before you respond I do know that their are many many many many Christian persons who are doing just that... rebuilding and transforming lives... However, I thought it was interesting that when it comes to making television shows... "Christian" media seems to want to be as "cool" as everyone else by emulating American Idol and not spend the time or money the same way that that they do on Extreme Home Makeover. Instead of doing that ministry that seems natural for the church- transforming lives through mercy and justice ministries- they want to create a sanitized version of our culture.
I think that in this way "Christian" media has fallen into their own American Idolatry. The idolatry of thinking they are God's Public relations firm rather than his servants called to change the world.
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