Week 3 response to Randy’s Blog

In this consumer culture meaning and identity does indeed come from the things we possess or don’t possess.  Those who have no material possessions to boast of at all are just as much defined by their lack of possessions as the rich are by their abundance of possessions.  I hate to do this but I must quote Kanye West, lol.  In one song he said something incredibly brilliant that is relevant in this discussion.  He says, “having money isn’t everything, but NOT having it is.”  In other words, in the culture that consumerism has created, money and material possessions rather than God somehow seems to find a way to compose one’s identity.  Money certainly isn’t the most important thing in life, but when you don’t have it, it sure can feel like it.

Barker chapter 6

The spread of westernization through globalization as a new world disorder is a bold statement that conjures up images of McWorld.  Has westernization and liberal democracy conquered all ideologies for good?  Are we indeed at the “end of history”?  I can’t presume to think that things will simply continue as they are, guided by technology and popular culture.  Somewhere lurking in the mind of a ten year old girl or boy is an ideology that could possibly change everything as we know it.

Barker chapter 5

It is quite interesting that Barker highlights most of the problems of wester culture as psychological distress.  I would like to have seen him qualify this statement however by identifying exactly who in western culture he was speaking of.  There are many in southern california whose main problems are indeed material deprivation.  He does say that the two can go hand in hand, however, I would have liked to have seen him parse this matter more carefully.

Cobb Chapter 3

Theology and Culture seems to be an age old debate within the Church.  How much should culture be engaged?  Should culture inform our theology?  I must align myself more closely with the thinking of Augustine on this issue.  God and some of his attributes can be seen in other places besides the Christian faith.  We cannot assume that every other culture or mode of expression concerning God is totally and completely false.  As Christians we must engage culture in order to bring the revelation of Christ to a dying world.  Yes, Jesus is the only true revelation of God, however there are some important starting points that can be used to fuel evangelism in the cultures of those who haven’t even heard of the name of Jesus.

Bevans chapter 3

The definition of what a model is was incredibly insightful.  Bevans is exactly right, models are not mirrors of actual reality but are simply ideals.  In popular culture however, models are consumed as if they were mirrors of a reality, and consumers by products and conform their lives to align to a model that is no more real than a fairy tale.  Bevans does a great job with this definition, as he points out, even atoms don’t look the way we’ve constructed them.

week 2 response to classmate

In response to Jason H’s reflection on Martin Luther King I indeed say Amen.  What is lost sometimes is that King possessed a dream that was fueled by his passion and devotion to the Lord.  He proclaimed this message when it was uncomfortable and dangerous.  He proclaimed this message until it cost him his life.  We must indeed proclaim the name of the Lord.  What does that mean for us in our present context?  It doesn’t mean that we have to be the next Martin Luther King, no one could ever do that.  What it means is that just as he pursued and acted on his belief and trust in God’s redemptive and reconciling ability, so to must we.

Barker 3 and 4

This chapter, and this book overall, has been very helpful in providing a broad overview of exactly what is cultural studies.  These chapters gave a breakdown of many of the players that are in the game, and that have contributed to the genre.  What Barker also highlights through his mention of cultural coding, are many things that are cultural that one would never appropriate as such.  Culture indeed “works like a language”, and cultural objects do “convey meaning.”  There is a different meaning between a T-shirt and a polo shirt, besides how they look.

Bevans Chapter 2

Bevans introduces a somewhat radical thought on doing theology.  He proposes that theology isn’t simply done through philosophical discussions and scholarly articles.  Dance can be theology, sermons can be theology, a song can be theology.  Also, the individuals doing theology are not just the scholarly or academic.  Theology is a conversation among the everyday people.  To this many theologians might cringe.  Can “everyday people” really do theology responsibly?  However when looking at history, most heresies don’t come from the “everyday people”, they come from the theologians.

Cobb Chapter 2

Cobb in this chapter highlights something that I was previously unaware of.  When speaking about culture, the conversation or area of study often does turn into an issue of “power and knowledge.”  Much of what we discussed in class on Wednesday was about the power of popular culture to shape and direct the lives of the masses.  Being that we are studying culture from an informed theological perspective certainly gives us different insights however.

MLK Reflection

One doesn’t normally associate cross cultural studies with Martin Luther King.  When thinking about the two however, it is clear that in the span of American history, perhaps no single individual possessed a message and a sphere of influence that crossed cultures like Martin Luther King.  His legacy is one of racial reconciliation, hope, and love.  His genius was that he was able to fight for the betterment of his own people, while simultaneously not excluding the very people that were oppressing them.  In the context of this class, Martin Luther King was the epitome of what it meant to be cross cultural.  No barriers existed to him.  His message of equality and freedom, didn’t have as its foundation issues of black and white, it’s  foundation was the very soul and spirit of humanity.  To that message, anyone in any language, could say Amen.