Colonialization and Christianization

I read a disturbing quote today and it was this:

"Through the language of art, Christian artists can have a part in reclaiming our culture for Christ."

I believe that there is a fundamental flaw in that statement, well more than one, but it is not only theologically inaccurate, it points to the crux of why the culture at large has abandoned Christianity. Culture is not something to be claimed.

A brief history lesson (for those of who that slept through American History, or only read the version of history where Indians meant Squanto, Pocahontas and Little Big Horn)
1) The first Europeans who came to America claimed the Americas for King (or Queen) and country.
2) They established their own ways of doing things, decided that all they needed was instant riches, and mostly died.
3) The indigenous peoples met them with hostility and anger and the only reason the colonists were able to establish a stronghold was because they brought with them diseases that the natives had never encountered.
4) The seeming technological advantages were worthless. A gun in the 1600s was about as accurate as a Tim Wakefield knuckle ball when the wind is swirling.
5) The colonists would have died without continuous support from Europe and stealing practices from the natives. I'm not talking only about North American history, the entire colonization of America had the same basic story.

Intense parallels can be drawn to the reclamation of culture by Christianity.
1) We claim culture for God and country (interchangeable in some circles) or claim the country for God.
2) We established our own ways of doing things, decided that all we needed was conversion and power, and mostly failed.
3) The culture meets us with hostility and anger and we have no strongholds, only isolation.
4) The seemingly intellectual arguments with which we attack culture are worthless and do not stand up to scrutiny by children, let alone adults. The arguments that we make that do merit some success are the ones that only a sociopath would argue against.
5) Christian artists would die without continuous support of Christians and stealing practices from established artists. I'm thinking of you, Plus One. Not that the Backstreet Boys should have ever been emulated, by anyone, in any culture.

In order to influence culture, we need to be missionaries into culture. We need to enter into it, engage it in a critical manner, and create our own counterculture. Not counterculture in the sense of something in direct opposition to the current frame of mind, but counterculture in the way we see the world. Culture as a communal manifestation of the Kingdom of God.

In order to do this, we, as Christians, need to show the world that Christian culture is better than the current culture. Not better in the sense that we are right and they are wrong, but better in the sense that their version of culture is incomplete. That it is possible to have your artistic cake, eat it, and never be hungry. I cannot wait for a world in which every song is fulfilling, every artistic endeavor is successful, and every blog post goes Double Myrrh.

Que Honda Raconteur

I've sold out to pop culture. I rediscovered Guero by Beck because of Rock Band 2 and found The Raconteurs because of "It Might Get Loud." Interesting side note: Compared to Jack White and Jimmy Page, The Edge (from U2) sucks at guitar. In fact, I think Vire is better than The Edge at guitar.

I have also found that mixing myself with highly emotional people is a recipe for disaster. Apparently, my detached logical conclusions are the relational equivalent of potassium. Perfectly fine when left alone (or as part of banana) but when thrown into water, bad things happen. The only issue here is that my other half seems to attract emotional people as well as she attracts attention.

In other news, plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose. I work, a lot. I keep getting to the point where I'm doing my job well and people who apparently know me better than I do, remove me from a position of expertise and put me into a position where I'm way over my head. Sink or swim indeed. Thankfully, I'm not the only person here who is in the deep end.

Also, The Emerald Loop is good, open late, and very hard to find late at night when food and beer are needed. For future reference, it's on Wabash, which is east of State.

The Simple Man: Tom Joad

Mama told me when I was young
Come sit beside me, my only son
And listen closely to what I say.
And if you do this
It will help you some sunny day.
Take your time... dont live too fast,
Troubles will come and they will pass.
Go find a woman and you'll find love,
And dont forget son,
There is someone up above.
And be a simple kind of man.
Be something you love and understand.
Be a simple kind of man.
Won't you do this for me son,
If you can?
Forget your lust for the rich mans gold
All that you need is in your soul,
And you can do this if you try.
All that I want for you my son,
Is to be satisfied.
Boy, dont you worry... you'll find yourself
Follow you heart and nothing else
And you can do this if you try.
All I want for you my son,
Is to be satisfied.

I think my mom has been the single most important influence in my growth as a human being. My dad taught me how to throw a baseball, how to intelligently dissect my faith, and that good preaching does exist. Most of what I learned from my dad I learned outside of the house.

What I learned from my mom is how to take the ideas of my dad and put them into practice. My mom never allowed me to be content with being pretty good, she was always pushing me, in a loving way, towards a further perfection. I don't think she ever read or sang the Skynrd lyrics above, but I can remember many times hearing the underlying message: "Life sucks, a lot, but when it sucks, turn to God and to those around you for support. These are just momentary problems." I ignored the "and those around you" once and those around me paid the price. Then I learned of the unconditional love of the awesome women God put into my life.

I live a long way away from my mom now. I don't call as much as I should, not to the point of "Cats in the cradle and the silver spoon, little boy blue and the man on the moon" but enough to where I feel bad sometimes. Today is not one of those days. Today is one of those days when I remember how far God has taken me in my lifetime and where I would be without the love and support of my family.

I don't feel as if I should move back to Ohio, for a long time. God called us to the city.

Now Tom said "Mom, wherever there's a cop beatin' a guy
Wherever a hungry newborn baby cries
Where there's a fight 'gainst the blood and hatred in the air
Look for me Mom I'll be there
Wherever there's somebody fightin' for a place to stand
Or decent job or a helpin' hand
Wherever somebody's strugglin' to be free
Look in their eyes Mom you'll see me."

I miss my family sometimes but when I remember The Ghost of Tom Joad, I realize that they are not very far away. My calling is to the beaten criminals, the hungry babies, the creation of decent jobs, and the eventual Shalom of Chicago and the world. When I look into the eyes of my friend Ed the homeless man I am closer to my parents than if I lived across the street from them in Mount Vernon.

Moo Lah

Flip this capital eclipse
Tha vocal tone has got 'em sweatin' their own apocalypse
Yes, rebel of tha grains stand masterless
Tha masked ones cap one
NAFTA comin' with tha new disaster
And yes we in wit tha wind an tha plan de Ayala kin
Are comin' back around again
Tha slave driver saliva, one night power turns
Them devils mouths dry, now Mexico burns
So here they come one by one them killers of the new frontier
Occupy, causin' fear, come on
Wit the wind below

Flip this capital eclipse
They bury life wit IMF shifts, and poison lips
Yo they talk it, while slicin' our veins yo so mark it
From the FINCAS overseers, to them vultures playin' markets
She ain't got nothin' but weapon and shawl
She is Chol, Tzotzil, Tojolobal, Tzeltal
The tools are her tools, Ejidos and ovaries
She once suffocated, now through a barrel she breathes
She is the wind below

And all the shareholders gonna flex, and try ta annex the truth
While the new trust is gonna flex, and cast their image in you
Yeah all the shareholders gonna flex, and try ta annex the truth
And while the new trust tries ta flex, and cast their image in you
And GE is gonna flex and try and annex the truth
And NBC is gonna flex and cast their image in you
And Disney bought the fantasies and piles of eyes
And ABC's new thrill rides of trials and lies
And while the gut eaters strain to pull the mud from their mouths
They force our ears to go deaf to the screams in the south

- Rage Against the Machine "The Wind Below"

I am sick of the media and all the freaking out about money. We, as a country (myself included), didn't give a damn about the rest of the world or do anything about it when our policies of NAFTA, IMF, WTO, etc raped the third world. Now we are beginning to see how the global south suffered. But our suffering does not compare to theirs. Sixteen percent unemployment may be a recession, but our infrastructure is not collapsing, our children are not starving, our government has not been overthrown by a foreign puppet dictator, and the basis of our economy has not been ravaged by international policy.

I am not saying that they have a worse life than we do, what I am saying is that we as a body of believers ignored God's calling to "act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:8) I am not a global policy influencer, I am not rich, I am not a leader. What I am is a man, created in the image of God, who believes that this world is worth saving.

I am sick of the complaining because I believe that we, as Christians, have it in our heads that God owes us. God doesn't owe me anything. He gave me the only gift that matters: Grace. Everything else is just details. Look at Job. He lost everything except his relationship with the Creator God. He finally realized that it was enough. I wish the story had ended there. It doesn't matter that he got everything back twofold. I am not storing up treasures in Heaven, my treasure is the consistent and unfailing love of the God that created me.

That is not to say I do not enjoy or appreciate the extraneous gifts He has given me. I like them, a lot; but they are extraneous. The challenge for me is to continue to see everything outside of Grace as an enjoyable but unecessary experience and to share that enjoyable experience with the world around me.