"Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the Law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law) so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some."
1 Corinthians 9:19-22
I read this verse this morning and remembered my thoughts on how hard it is for the rich to help those in poverty because they don't live with them. They do not suffer the same things they suffer. They do not know their life and yet they judge it. If Christians really wanted to reach the poor with the news of the gospel...the good news....wouldn't they need to become like one of them. How are we suppose to live our lives so as to be an example to others if we never come in contact with those who are not white middle class Christians.
Are we afraid of poverty?
William James once wrote: "Among us English-speaking peoples especially do the praises of poverty need once more to be boldly sung. We have grown literally afraid to be poor. We despise anyone who elects to be poor in order to simplify and save his inner life. If he does not join the general scramble, we deem him spiritless and lacking in ambition. We have lost the power even of imagining what the ancient realization of poverty could have meant; the liberation from material attachments, the unbribed soul, the manlier indifference, the paying our way by what we are and not by what we have, the right to fling away our life at any moment irresponsibly, the more athletic trim, in short, fighting shape."
Have we as Christians told ourselves that the bible says to work hard and thus when we have plenty and more than plenty it is God's blessing. Or is it that we have bought into the American dream and just slapped the cover of "biblical truth" on it? Are we afraid of being poor? Are we afraid of becoming or entering into the lives of people "different" than us in order to live among them while retaining our own values and beliefs? Could there be a greater sense of freedom from materialism and corporate mandate in poverty, something so many people look down upon?
Comments welcome.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Where is the discussion?
I am currently apart of a bible study looking at the life of Paul. At the last session we answered questions about God's view of work. We read the passages Genesis 2:1-7, Genesis 2, and Luke 5:1-11. The questions seemed to just skim the surface and not include any trigger for a dialogue on the cultural background for why these words were written.
One question particularly troubled me. "Describe the most important elements of being successful in your work." The women gave answers such as: learn and develop the skills you need to do for your job, set goals, have a joyful patient attitude. Yes, I agree that these are all GOOD characteristics but from the passages we read from the bible the only instruction I saw was to "work hard." I wrote down things like have integrity, be honest, work efficiently, be flexible and attentive but no where in the reading did I see these attributes. I learned these attributes from my culture, from those older than me that have taught me and from my own experience. This is not to say that the bible doesn't point to having these attributes elsewhere but it did not say these things in the verses I read for this particular lesson.
This lead me to conclude that we as Christians are following the model that our culture says is a "good person" and not what the bible calls us to be or do. We are taking American cultural norms and putting them on the bible instead of looking at what the bible says and truly discussing what it has to say outside of what we think or feel. Are we trying to fit the bible into our American lives or are we letting the bible inform us on how we should live our lives? Should we look to the bible as a way to improve the lives we have already planned for ourselves or should we look at the bible to tell us what to do not how to do what we want to do?
Comments are not just welcome but sorely needed: where is the discussion? Where are the comments with reasons other than I feel... or I think... those have their place but should be backed up at least 50 percent of the time with some reason other than yourself.
One question particularly troubled me. "Describe the most important elements of being successful in your work." The women gave answers such as: learn and develop the skills you need to do for your job, set goals, have a joyful patient attitude. Yes, I agree that these are all GOOD characteristics but from the passages we read from the bible the only instruction I saw was to "work hard." I wrote down things like have integrity, be honest, work efficiently, be flexible and attentive but no where in the reading did I see these attributes. I learned these attributes from my culture, from those older than me that have taught me and from my own experience. This is not to say that the bible doesn't point to having these attributes elsewhere but it did not say these things in the verses I read for this particular lesson.
This lead me to conclude that we as Christians are following the model that our culture says is a "good person" and not what the bible calls us to be or do. We are taking American cultural norms and putting them on the bible instead of looking at what the bible says and truly discussing what it has to say outside of what we think or feel. Are we trying to fit the bible into our American lives or are we letting the bible inform us on how we should live our lives? Should we look to the bible as a way to improve the lives we have already planned for ourselves or should we look at the bible to tell us what to do not how to do what we want to do?
Comments are not just welcome but sorely needed: where is the discussion? Where are the comments with reasons other than I feel... or I think... those have their place but should be backed up at least 50 percent of the time with some reason other than yourself.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Commentary on art viewers: Helping their own image or creating images themselves?
When the camera takes over for the eye by roberta smith
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/05/arts/design/at-the-venice-biennale-art-is-a-photo-op.html?_r=1&ref=arts
Recently the majority of art viewers are taking their experience in through a small frame. Although a sculpture may stand in the observers presence the goal does not seem to be the viewing of the art in order to contemplate its meaning but instead to capture an experience, to add an cultural event notch to their belt or facebook pictures. Is this really the goal? or does the availability of cameras not only enable but encourage the viewer to filter the artists work into their own artistic interpretation. Do cameras help the viewer become an artist themselves?
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/05/arts/design/at-the-venice-biennale-art-is-a-photo-op.html?_r=1&ref=arts
Recently the majority of art viewers are taking their experience in through a small frame. Although a sculpture may stand in the observers presence the goal does not seem to be the viewing of the art in order to contemplate its meaning but instead to capture an experience, to add an cultural event notch to their belt or facebook pictures. Is this really the goal? or does the availability of cameras not only enable but encourage the viewer to filter the artists work into their own artistic interpretation. Do cameras help the viewer become an artist themselves?
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