Reaction to the Anthropological Model

Today's class was interesting but I am not a huge fan of group work. I like the Anthropological method and I think it is useful because it creates conversation rather inserting your beliefs into someone elses culture. It helps us to sit back and realize that we can make meaning with anything in our culture. Talking and integrating coffee, football, and the environment really hits on how many different Americans and Western culture. It helps me to know and recognize that we can create meaning out of our past times and hobbies.

Gender, Race, and Anthropology

This weeks reading were pretty good overall...

Bevans: The Anthropological Model
The Antropological Method has someone come into a new culture and try to make connections with the culture and biblical truth and revelation of God and who God is. We are adapting our Christian models with the ideas, values, and representations of the culture. I enjoyed the quote: "When we approach the man of another faith than our own it will be in spite of expectancy to find how God has been speaking to him and what new understandings of grace and love of God we may ourselves discover in this encounter" (pg. 56). I think it opens up our eyes to see how God is working in the lives of people and like Paul in Acts we can name the God who is in control of these actions.

Cobb: Images of God
I found it interesting that Cobb choose certain aspects of how culture wrestles with Christianity. I think he did a good job revealing how we invest our time and thoughts into who is God and where has God gone in our community. I think people are seeking for a gospel that helps then wrestle with concepts that our deeper and bigger than a message that was about damnation. I think we missed something about grace and communicating this concept because wouldn't we be in a different place if people could understand this concept and seek it in their life. Cobb expressed and revealed a disconnect between cultural producers and God.

Cultural Theory: Race and Ethnicity
I liked the simple definitions of race, racism, and ethnic terms. It helps propel easier understanding of the core of judgment and superiority of differences. I found it interesting that the connections between race and cultural value was found in media portrayals of their certain race or ethnic group. Issues of power and control seem to be the foundational factor in this heartbreaking issue. It seems that often times our fears get in our own way to see people as humans. If we connect with to the Bevans book it seems that American Christians have a hard time seeing the beauty of the gospel working outside of their safe zones that we all create for ourselves. What would happen if we died to ourselves and perfection ideals and sought out the transforming power of a gospel that was surrounded by Kingdom Ethics?

Sex, Subjectivity, and Representation:
I love reading and engaging Feminist thoughts and brining to light the demoralizing and oppressive nature of women. I think it's sad that a whole chapter has to be written about the nature and humanity of women but I know that this work is positive, healthy, and useful to seeing people as whole humans rather than just their gender or the previous chapters recognition of different skin tones. It's amazing that if we begin to learn about how one another process life and moments we begin to understand the beauty of life and how we live in and with it. I appreciate the beauty of my gender but how does the church reconcile their past oppression with future hope of equality and unity? And how does that then translate to the American public?

Classmate Response can be found here for Todd's post on Cobb.

Who will be the choice?

Super Tuesday seemed to just muddy things a bit. Things seem for the democrats still separated between Barack and Hillary. As I was pretty interested in what was going on I watched the returns on ABC. I don't know who said it but I heard a really interesting connection. A commentator mentioned that the 60+ age group is established with Hillary. It makes sense, it's a rational decision, it's safe, and this woman will be able to articulate and put into action established Democratic ideas.

Barack is someone who appeals to the 30 and younger crowd. These younger voters are willing to take a risk on someone who can change the way politics are played. There is a fresh voice and a fresh approach to how the White House could be run and people can be seen beyond their party affiliations. I think Barack is someone who can make a difference and change the way that the game is politics are played.

As I reflect on the candidates and this interesting population connection I realized it was because there are two distinctly different philosophical ideals in play. The philosophy of the older generation relies on modern processes of rationality and reason while the younger set is quite Post Modern with the ability to hold on to someone who is a risky choice because we are not sure how things quite can go but we need to believe in one another rather than relying heavily on a political system that shouldn't take care of all their problems.

Life is uncertain but I think it's worth the risk in believing in something beyond yourself and beyond what I just think and what I just believe. How do we listen to one another and hear one anothers needs?

Wednesday Class: Marxism and the Frankfurt School

If I was afraid of heresy I would have gone to Moody! (Todd Blackham)
( I thought that was funny)

Today's class was great. Monday I had a hard time making connections from the class. I think translation model is important but it just wasn't working for me. Today though with our discussion of Marxism and the Frankfurt school really got me thinking and processing. It is really connecting with my soul and spirit about how we make meaning with cultural artifacts and what and how we give meaning to things in our culture, how we produce in culture, and what we do with the meaning.

It reminded me that we need to be able to process through the arts as well as popular economy. The cycles of consumerism is something that needs to be discussed farther as well as the Post-Modern Marxism. I would like to know more about how we can make pratical applications to my everyday life.

I used to work with middle and high school students, especially girls, and teach media literacy. To understand and know how to decipher how our culture works is almost a foreign language to students. These kids spend so much time with these cultural artifacts yet have not a clue how to process through these media pieces. I think it is a great link with our faith to understand how culture works. Because so much of what we were talking about makes sense into the Christian faith saying believe what I believe and make sense how I make sense. I think we make make connections with Marxism but know what our Kingdom ethics make connections with life and what is worth living.

We can't be afraid to make connections with culture, it is neither evil nor bad. I think if we can change an evangelical language that takes chances and risks love it might be worth something to believe in.

Super Tuesday!

Photo from Obey


With the athletic Super Bowl being a bit shocking I am gearing up for my Super Bowl, Super Tuesday! I have enjoyed politics since I was in High School. I loved that I could register to vote and has been a privilege ever since. My politics have changed quite a bit since I was 18 years old, growing up in a suburban neighborhood with conservative parents. I feel like I have a different language now than when I was an early voter.

My love for suffragists might draw from a few locations but knowing I have the privilege and the right to vote is such a pleasure. Every time I vote I feel like I get to wink at the women who forged so mightily ahead for my rights as being an equal. I am grateful for their ability to give up so much and as a woman every time I vote it is like a thank you for their work. That being said I don't get to vote tomorrow since I am still a Michigan resident and the Democratic primaries didn't count towards the caucus votes.

I am intrigued to find out the response of who we have voted for and who the majority of the country wants to have as their respective Democratic and Republican candidate. For me I am a Barak woman myself. I was so surprised a bit because of my stance of women in office. I like Hillary but I enjoy the voice of Barak and what he is standing for and the issues he is willing to stand behind. I like that he never supported the war. I like that he has both Muslim and Christian heritage. I like that he stands for the poor and urban populations. I like his ideas towards health care that is affordable to all and I like that he is willing to take away the tax break for those companies that are overseas. The jobs in America are swindling and we need to find out a way to make that easier for people.

As a Christian my concern for the poor go quite farther than the hot button issues of homosexuality (which is a non issue to me. Let people be free in who they are and how God has created them to be) as well as abortion (we have no education that encourages people to freely become who they are and we have enough dont's about sex rather than the ability to be educated as well as making choices for the self) that I think that the poor, health care, and the Iraq war needs to be dealt with first. My ethics guide me towards Kingdom perspectives that God is here and now and that we can create life that eases the burden.

Those are my thoughts and I am proud of who I am, where I came from, and have the ability to raise my voice in this issue. I don't need to debate my ideas and I know that this is something I am completely behind. I don't really wish to argue on my stances but if you have questions why please feel free to let me know.

VOTE!!

Reflections on Week 4 Reading

Cultural Studies: Barker: Postmodernity
I really liked this weeks reading in Barker. I think this chapter was very insightful on the history of modernism with reason, rationality, and the quest for absolutes. As I was reading I realized how much I related to being a postmodern thinker. "Core to the postmodern structure of feeling is:
-- a sense of the fragmentary, ambiguous, and uncertain nature of living
--an awareness of the centrality of contingency
-- a recognition of cultural difference
--an acceleration in the pace of living (207)

With this knowledge it is hard not to recognize the importance of postmodern thought and those who helped deconstruct modernisms idealism to reveal a sense of unity within ALL people. It seems that modernism was set up for bourgeoisie western white men who could control power with absolutes, the one 'little' flaw seems to be all the others that have risen from the ashes or have been oppressed by this thinking demanding liberation. Postmodernity is not simple but it is making more and more sense to me.

Issues of Subjectivity and Identity:
LOVED this chapter. I love digging in to the "I" and wrestle with finding meaning and identity. I think this chapter was really insightful to understanding what makes up the self and what in the self we find valuable and important. I was really challenged by the concepts of agency and the subchapters of choice and determination. It's amazing to realize all that enters in the self to execute a choice. I think it's interesting that their are so many factors in the person presently but also cultural factors, past choices, and future desires. I think this is really important to assimilate our theological understanding because without wrestling with this concept what is the point of wrestling with our faith?

Theology and Pop Culture:
As the chapters progress I am having a really hard time with this book. I think it's interesting that with cultural theory a lot of understanding is based on language and the use of language. I think Cobb is having a hard time straddling the historical religious language and current postmodern thought. If we take the argument of language seriously this theological tools section could have been a chapter that gave ways to bridge the languages together. Instead I received (although valuable) a history lesson on Tilich. The problem is that we are past a point where Tillich's thoughts can set up a viable foundation for a real analysis of popular culture in 2008.

Contextual Theology:
The Translation Model seems like a viable option for translating the gospel with the least cultural damage. Granted I haven't read the other models but this model is set up simply. Experiences of the past, scripture, and tradition impact our recognition of how we should experience the present and how that works with culture, human experiences, social location, and social change. I think we bring our own values and we communicate with the location one might transition into. We must understand our own values so that when we enter into others we are able to educate ourselves on their cultural values as well.

Response to Jason's Post:
I like your thoughts on this chapter. I think you ask a great question when you as about the elements that draw us nearer to our faith as well as to God. At what point does the symbols switch from a personal spiritual experience to something that manipulates and consumes a Christian identity? To go further do these experiences begin to define the person and want this for others and if we do does this turn into a trend because others want this as well?

Thanks for your thoughts Jason. I really appreciated our after class conversation about Marxism. I think it is really important that we continue to find the beauty of our history both good and bad and wrestle with that in our own personal faith.

Thoughts on Marxism

Wednesday in class we finally started to combine our reading with the lectures. I am all about the missional/emergent church but that's not why I took this class. We had an interesting history lesson of the intent of Marxism and Communism. It's beautiful intentions of knowing the producer of the good you are intending to purchase is something that I can't stop thinking about. As an American culture we have become really disconnected between what we buy and who has taken their life to make this product come into being. I think that Marx and Communism had some beautiful intentions but how they played out in a global market place and the overthrow of dictatorship is highly unnerving.

I was trying to connect the relevance of this conversation with what is happening in today's marketplace as well as the highly anticipated elections. How does a new way, or change, come into our national economic plan? How do we take a capitalist society and make meaning with how we consume. Money and goods seemed to be a high talked about topic on Monday's State of the Union Address. Bush has allowed Americans to receive a tax break so we can buy more goods from the stamp of the USA. The problem is my clothing all has names like Malawi, China, or El Salvador. Where I am sure that they were most likely not paid same wages as Americans and Corporate Business Men will probably drive their BMW to work because I bought a pair of pants from their company.

I know that Marxism was idealistic and the beauty of unity and moving to a classless society seems valuable and something that was desirable within our nation state. I believe that Americans need to find new identity and meaning with how we purchase, what we purchase, how we work, and ultimately give meaning. What can we continue to learn from Marx? What went right? Where can we learn from the mistakes?