To much of anything is usually a bad thing. Schultze talks about gaming and it's effects on Christians. I don't think there is anything wrong with gaming in and of itself. I begin to worry when people are playing these games for hours each day, especially children.

Several major learning techniques are used in gaming: repetition, first person experience, rewards, visual, sound, etc. When all of these techniques are used at the same time the person playing internalizes what they are doing in a very deep way. When children are exposed to this intense experience of learning it would be somewhat negligent to assume that they aren't affected. 

Every time a violent act occurs you cannot blame it on the media or gaming but the effects of gaming also cannot be ignored. Gaming has taken many people away from the outdoors and from being more active and creative. Gaming does increase motor skills but can also increase individualism. 

So, in my opinion gaming is not from the devil but it should also not be abused (overused).  

Cheryl Anne Casey asks in her article, Online Religion and Finding Faith on the Web, "Is cyberspace becoming the new - or the new - sacred space?" She points out that "cyberspace is frequently taken for granted as profane space, but it is indeed a sacred space as well, as can be noted not only in specific sites, but in the non-physical - and therefore potentially spiritual - properties of cyberspace when taken as a whole." I find it somewhat difficult to agree that the internet is a sacred place just because some of it's characteristics can be paralleled to spiritual things (it is bigger than ourselves like God is bigger than ourselves). I would rather look at it as that the Internet has taken the place of spiritual things rather than it saying it is sacred.

God is supposed to be first and foremost in our lives but often things take his place. Things that might take his place are money, power, and success but that does not make money sacred. The internet is another ones of those things that takes up a lot of our time (sometimes too much of our time) and that can often take the place of time spent with God. It is another filler in our already over-busy lives. 

Online Christianity or online religion creates a completely different environment for people to grow and learn. There is a security when dealing with online community because the people you are "fellowshipping" with do not actually know you. You can be completely open and share you fears, your addictions, your struggles and things you would not even tell your best friend because what is said in these communities stays in these communities (as long as one of the members doesn't do an investigation and come hunt you down). 

Online communities or churches are places where you can get stuff off your chest, where you don't have to fear what people think of you (if they don't like you, you can go to a different group or just change your username), and where you can be yourself or someone else completely. My question is if this is a good thing or not?

I think that there are good and bad things about online Christian groups. It is not that noble the way that online communities skirt around dealing with your problems with the people around you. It seems like the easy way out to just deal with life with your online community so when you are sick of being "Christian" or don't want to deal with that area of your life you can just sign off and go do something else. It makes me wonder if people will begin to lose the art of working together, of conquering challenges and of selflessness. 

These communities can be a positive thing because they create an environment where people can share who would otherwise not open up in other situations. These communities might be the only way that some people receive encouragement or the only place where they can actually be heard. 

I have never joined a group or online church but who knows, maybe I will someday and I might find it enjoyable. Truth be told, I have a hard enough time keeping up with my non-virtual community here at college and at church so I probably wouldn't last long in a group.

I have to admit...I found Matt Taibbi's article, Jesus Made Me Puke, quite interesting and amusing. I would agree with him when he talks about the "fakeness" of Christians. I get very annoyed with it myself and often feel quite uncomfortable around Christians. This might seem somewhat strange, since I am a Christian, but sometimes I just get so sick of Christians (have I said the word "Christian" enough for you yet?)

In an attempt to seem like we have it all together, Christians often put on a fake holiness that everyone seems to accept and believe even though we know it is not true. Then, when someone attempts to be real and to take off the I'm-so-Holy facade, they are condemned for being insensitive and inappropriate.

I have been to a church where I was prayed over to speak in tongues. They seriously would not let me go until some sort of sounds, that weren't English, came out of my mouth. I eventually just forced something out to get out of the very uncomfortable and awkward situation I was in. I came up for prayer because I was going through a difficult time and I left more confused and upset than before. Not exactly how I pictured Christians helping each other to be.

I grew up in a small town church that I would often despise for its lack of professionalism and bubble mentality. But there are many things that I miss about my little church. I miss the realness. The music is not always that great. There are just ordinary people up there that make lots of mistakes, don't start together, get harmonies wrong and have messed up endings. Then after a song ends on somewhat of a terrible note, they apologize and move onto the next song, which usually goes a bit better. The pastor is a dairy farmer. He gets up and preaches in his black jeans, cowboy boots and knit sweater. Kids cry during the message and run in and out of the sanctuary. People are still showing up half way through church and no one cares. Depending on who's leading the service they might make a joke about it and everyone has a good laugh. These are all small town, simple living, down to earth people. I won't begin to try and convince you that there are no facades because there is, but you still can't help but see the realness of people through their facades in a little church like this. 

Maybe there is a lot more for me to learn from my small town church than I thought. So simple, so "unprofessional," so imperfect. Ya...I like that.

Showcase yourself

I use Facebook...Who doesn't? Although I don't spend as much time as some others I know who use up hours of time creepin' on this site. Facebook is a virtual community where people with same interests can come together, a place where you can keep in touch with friends and place to showcase yourself.

Possibly the most attractive feature of Facebook is the ability to make a page all about "you." People love to talk about themselves, to show pictures they have taken, to let people know their thoughts and ideas, and to have center stage. Facebook gives people this opportunity. People get to share everything they want about themselves and put effort into "everything about me."

This reflects our culture of individuality and self-centeredness. Facebook feeds the human desire to care mostly about oneself. As stated in the paper "The Benefits of Facebook 'Friends:' Social Capital and College Students' Use of Online Social Network," the online communities liberates people to form communities around shared interests instead of shared geography. The focus is on what interests "me" not about working together with people who might not have the exact same views or interests as "I" do.

This trend can be seen in the way that new media is going. Things like MySpace, YouTube, and Facebook all put the power in the hands of the individual. This can be a positive thing where people's voice's can be heard but it can also be negative in the sense that real, often difficult community is becoming a thing of the past. We are loosing the art of working together and helping our neighbor and gaining the ability to become specified and individualized.

Santa is an illusion?

 In "Sound Scans of the Urban Body: Cellphones, Eavesdropping and Ambient Music", the writer, John Shiga brought something new to my attention. Shiga talks about an artist, Rimbraud who scans the conversations of people, mixes it and makes it into a sort of abstract, ambient music. He draws a great deal of his material from phone call conversations. I listened to some of Rimbraud's work and it isn't really my cup of tea but it is interesting what he does. I actually found it quite stressful to listen to his "music" and was suddenly having the urge to poke my eyeball out. 

Even if you love his music and think he is an angel sent down to bless us all...He is still listening in on people's private lives! Just a little freaky. Come on, I like living every day in complete confidence that I do have my privacy when I want it and there's nothing that anyone can do about it. Privacy is my right as a Canadian...right?

On the one hand I want to scream at Rimbraud and then broadcast his most intimate, private conversations over the radio and on the other hand I think he's doing a good thing too. He is raising awareness that we really don’t have privacy. It is just an illusion. So once we realize that privacy is an illusion then it makes you wonder what else are we living out as reality that is actually just an illusion.

Maybe Santa Claus isn't real.

Nah. Just kidding. Bet I had you going there for a minute though.

The Best of Both Worlds

I'm tired of complaining. So lets take a different approach to Shultze today. In chapter 12 of his book "Understanding Evangelical Media" he talks about Christian theme parks and museums. Like everything else in this world there are good and bad sides of pretty much everything. Sure, some Christian theme parks or museums are corny and maybe over the top but there is good in them too. 

Probably if I was faced with the choice of Six Flags or a day at HLE (Holy Land Experience) I would choose Six Flags. But that doesn't mean I would never go to HLE. These them parks or museums would be a good place to take your kids where they can get a better picture of what bible times were like and a better understanding of some of the biblical stories. And heaven forbid, you could probably achieve some level of fun even if it is a Christian theme park. 

For the most part these museums and parks would not be that effective in reach the non - Christian world but would rather be focused to Christians. That is ok too. Not everything has to be evangelism focused. Maybe I want to enjoy a cheesy day with David and Goliath as I eat mannah and Silas' stew. What's so bad about that?

There is also room for improvement, as always, but lets leave that one for another day.

the ipod is no friend of mine

I would agree that the ipod is an icon but not one to be praised. Our culture is on the continual path of disconnection and individualism. The person is substituted for a thing. The person becomes less important. We close ourselves off from one another by plugging our ears with the music of our choice. That way we can deal with the things we want to deal with and the rest is blocked out. 

I would argue that it is not healthy to be able to choose only what you want and then be able to leave out what you don't like, don't care about, or that makes you feel uncomfortable. Part of being human is dealing with conflict, pain and being stretched by things that are unfamiliar or uncomfortable. When we block everything out except what suits us we miss out on life, community, growth and meaningful love.

I never have and I never will own an ipod. I don't want to miss out on a chance to be changed by someone or something that tells me what I want to hear as well as what I don't.

preach it brotha

"Artists uninterested in worship music should go mainstream, elevating their skills to compete. If they are good enough, they can sing about God there." 

Couldn't have said it better myself Paul Creasman...in Understanding Evangelical Media, page 121 (always site your sources). Yes, Paul raises an interesting point: why should Christians get to take the easy road by signing under a Christian record label? This is just not fair!  Believe you me, in all honesty a good amount of CCM artists would not be making it with their music if they were competing in the mainstream music scene. Christians should be steppin' it up, competing in the mainstream media and showing the world their talents. Doesn't everybody deserve a chance to hear Christians' music? Instead it seems like Christian artists are being stuffed into this itty-bitty little box called "my way or the highway" aka "Contemporary Christian Music." Then their once gigantic dreams of reaching the world with their music has been dwindled to reaching the already-Christians who listen to CCM to feel warm and fuzzy inside (Steve). Good old Paul says it well, "Mainstream society should have all the good music. It ought to have a chance to hear high-quality music crafted by gifted Christian artists. it's not going to tune into today's copycat CCM" (page 121). 

So, to all my fellow brother and sister artists out there...make your music...sing your songs and take the noble road. Don't use a Christian label as a marketing tool! Don't conform to the CCM itty-bitty box! Get out there, wow the world with your lyrical sonnets and let em know that, bigolly, Christians Got Talent, too.

Movies and Christianity have an intense past; discrimination, hate, controversy, and judgement. For many years Christians kept their distance from movie theaters... or at least they went in secret.  Christians have always battled with the grey area of right and wrong when it comes to film. To deal with the uncertainties of right and wrong Christians have drawn a bold line that, I would argue, is too far on the rated-G side of things. 

Just because a movie has nudity, violence, sex, etc. doesn't mean that it should be banned to the depths of Hell automatically. It is one thing when these elements are used simply to entertain or to draw in viewers but it is completely different when they are used to serve the purpose of something greater. Take Schindler's List for example. This movie was very well done and opened the eyes of a lot of people as to what happened during the Holocaust. It brought to mind the issues of racism and discrimination that existed then as well as challenging many to look into themselves and contemplate their views of marginalized peoples. BUT this movie was very graphic and had nudity in it. So should we write it off as sinful, never watch it, and condemn others who do watch it? I don't think so.

A movie, a piece of art, a song or a play do not have to be created by a Christian to be Christian. Many works by non-Christians have nobel messages of morality, messages that explore the human condition and that challenge people to live nobler lives. God does not care whether you are a Christian or not, He will accomplish His purpose through you. It is very snobish of Christians to think God only works through them because we are all created in His image. 

There are definitely many movies out there that are not worth $8 and two hours of your time to go and watch, but there are many that are. As a Christian I can go and see a "Christian" film and leave completely unaffected as well as go to a mainstream movie and leave deeply impacted. I think that the hatred Christians have towards movies is fading and we are learning to appreciate good films. I would even dare to say that you can learn something from almost any film you watch if you watch it with a critical eye but it is important to use discernment as to how much we take in the non-beneficial entertainment the film industry often puts out. 

Virtual is to community as paper is to samon

Oh the good old days... when I used to talk to my friends face to face and then go play in puddles together. Yes, the days when families got together and actually were all physically present in the same room. The days when you could have an hour long conversation with someone without being interrupted by the latest Britney jingle. Those days are quickly fading. We are now is the era of virtual communication.

I make a conscious effort to have at least two people over to my place once a week for a meal. When I ask people to come over it is interesting to see their reactions. People are often surprised or caught off guard and then eventually agree with somewhat amusing replies: "I, uh, well, ghee, ugh, umm...okay, sure, why not." It seems that our culture is slowly loosing the art of tangible community. Instead of going and visiting my sister I send her a quick email to let her know that I care and to see how she's doing. You may argue that you are just too busy and that there is not enough time to meet face to face with people. Well, if you didn't have to keep in contact with all your friends at all times, or you gave up creeping on Facebook for an evening or two you might be surprised how your schedule opens up.

Our attempt to be in touch with all people at all times is encouraging the breakdown of real, solid, unpixilated relationships. If you are having a deep conversation with a friend, co-worker, or whoever and your cell rings, suddenly the person that is right in front of you becomes, somehow, of lesser importance. I would argue that email, Facebooking, and texting have become mini gods that people build their relationships, their time and their lives around. "All this technology is great because I can keep in touch with so many more people! I have 250 friends on Facebook. How about you?" It goes to show that capitalism has deeply penetrated our culture: quantity is far better than quality. 

cover thee eyes!

In many cases Christian parents do whatever is in their power to shield their child from the dangers "out there." The child is only allowed to watch Christian cartoons, read Christian story books and listen to Christian songs. It is important to raise a child in safe surroundings because their first years are when they are shaped most profoundly as a human. One of the problems of overprotecting a child is that they will not know how to cope with the world outside of mommy, daddy, and Veggie Tales.

As a child grows it is important to expose them slowly to the good, and yes the bad of this world. The key is that the parent should come along side the child and explain to them what they are seeing/hearing and how to deal with it. David Bedsole raises the issue in Understanding Evangelical Media that if we protect young people and condemn the media for it's "secular" content then the bible could just as easily be condemned. Take the story of David and Goliath...what a lovely children's story. Young David confronts the giant, kills him with one stone to the forehead, and then saws off his head. According to the regulations Christians have put on media this story should be rated R and no God-fearing Christian would go to an R-rated movie.

So what is my point? My point is that it is unhealthy to keep the difficult, sometimes disturbing, real issues-media away from children and young people. It is so common to see young Christian people leave home after graduating high school and fall flat on their face. They don't know how to cope...they have never been taught how. The better method is to expose children, adolescents, etc, to the real issues of this world as they are cognitively ready and teach them how to understand, how to process and how to react to what they are seeing/hearing.

But what can I say...I am only 22 and most definitely not a parent, so I probably still need to work a lot on my theory. 

WWJD: Periodicals

Michael Smith asks the question ,"What would Jesus do?" in his article in Understanding Evangelical Media (P 79). He discusses how Jesus would run a newspaper today. First of all, I have become very annoyed with the question, "What would Jesus do?" as if He is not "doing" already. The question is not "What would Jesus do?" but "What is Jesus doing?" 

Michael asked whether Jesus would "provoke social reform by telling well crafted, engaging stories that make readers think and lead them to servant-action? Or would He preach sermons?" My answer is that He is doing both. Jesus is here and working. It isn't like He is sitting up there looking down us thinking, "If I were down there I would do that totally different." Christians are Jesus to this world and Jesus is working in uncountable ways in all the corners of the earth. 

Jesus does not just use his foot (media) or his hand (preaching) or his eyes (social action), but He uses his whole body. It is not fair to ask if Jesus would preach, teach, work among the homeless, be in politics, own a magazine or be a televangelist, as if we can say one way of reaching others is better than the other. All parts are needed whether they appeal to us as individuals or not. 

Evangelical Radio

I have to admit that I don’t really listen to Christian radio. Christian radio stations that I have listened to in the past often annoy me with cliché catch phrases that are empty and shallow. In-between advertising for the local bible college and a Christian bookstore they rattle off a phrase like, “Pray, and see the hand of God move in your life.” What the heck does that mean? Why can’t we delve into subject matter that is real, that you can grab onto and that makes you think instead of brushing off the reality of this world with an “easy-way-out” one-liner?

 

Evangelical radio stations play music that I would enjoy singing in church but not that I would really want to listen to for enjoyment. I find the same thing with a lot of contemporary Christian music: It is void of thought provoking, stimulating, intellectual material. Not to mention that the music itself is not that great in my opinion.

 

I like the concept of what The Hub is doing as mentioned in “Understanding Evangelical Media” by Schultze and Woods, which I believe is also the way that God Talk operates in Winnipeg. The message, topics, and discussions are not always overtly Christian. They discuss issues and play music that appeals to a greater audience. I wouldn’t be too interested in listening to a panel of Christians discussing popular culture, but I would be interested in listening to a Christian, a Muslim, a Jew, and an Atheist talk about it.

 

I don’t believe that God only works through Christians and Christian media to reach His world and to accomplish His plan. God can use a secular song, a Buddhist Monk, or a radio talk show that originated in a bar too to impact people’s lives for His purpose.