Post modernism, as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary, is “a style and concept in the arts characterized by distrust of theories and ideologies and by the drawing of attention to conventions.” I will define postmodernism as the idea of “everything is relative” and “you make your own meaning.” I feel these phrases that we have all heard sums up postmodernism pretty well.

I want to draw our attention to this by two contemporary examples. The time in parenthesis is the part I want you to pay special attention to.

Bon Iver – Flume (3:10 – 3:45)

I have no clue what they are doing in 3:10 – 3: 45. They all seem to be randomly hitting their instruments at random times to produce a random sound. For what reason? I don’t know.

Beck – Sunday Sun (4:19 – 4:43)

It does not take much to realize the guitar in 4:19 – 4:43 does not really go with the rest of the song. It sounds like he is hitting all the possible wrong notes.

Another example but one that I could not upload was Sufjan Stevens – Carlyle Lake (2:10 – 2:52). This is unfortunate because I think this best depicts what I am talking about.

Some people will say that the artists should be allowed to do whatever he wants to with his or her songs. I agree completely but that does not mean they can do things that don’t even make sense. Music has boundaries; progressions and chords that work together and others that do not. If you take these away then you have absolutely nothing to gauge music with except maybe personal taste.

And you cannot tell me that personal taste does not already have those boundaries in mind. When someone writes a hit you can be sure of two things: it is going to sound great and it is going to be catchy. If it sounds like garbage then no one is going to listen (usually).

All of this to say that I think we should be more weary of the things we listen to and the message it projects. Maybe I have thought too much on this (which is always possible) but I think that if people are going to say that they hate postmodernism then it should not exclude music. Otherwise I find that somewhat hypocritical.

I Dream of Jeanie With The Light Brown Hair (1854)

1.    I still kept up with everyone that I wanted to keep up with. I had no problem keeping up with people without facebook. I made more phone calls than usual but it did not take up any more time than I would have spent on facebook anyway.
2.    People that wanted to keep up with me did. What was interesting is that the people that have maintained a relationship with me over the years still called just as much as they did before. Nothing really changed.

So what good does facebook really serve? Convenience perhaps might be the only thing. Do not get me wrong, I like facebook just as much as the next guy (except facebook chat) but I think I would still be able to maintain friendships if I didn’t have it. I am afraid that some people could not. The most common response I got when I told people I was without a facebook was, “Man, I wish I could do that.” It is as if they were saying that their lives were so intertwined with this website that they could not take it off even for a short time.

This is not a call for everyone to get rid of facebook for all time but it is a call to rethink why you are actually using it. Maybe it would be a good idea to delete you account for a month and see what happens. Contrary to popular belief, it does not actually delete your account. As soon as you sign back in again your facebook comes up like it never happened.

So this is my challenge: take it off for a month and spend the time you would have spent on facebook calling people that you consider to be friends. Also, see who still tries to talk to you. If we are going to spend this much time on a web site I think we should know why we do.

“My Lord God,

I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.”

I hope this is something we can all pray and actually mean.

But God did some amazing things. I will mention just one because I hope this will encourage you as much as it did me.

The worship leader for this weekend was Matt Papa and I must say that he is probably the best I have heard in a long time. Not only was the quality of his music great (a big deal for me) but his songs were saturated with scripture which made it even better. The things Matt had to say were some of the most profound words spoken that weekend.

All this to say that you need to check him out: http://www.mattpapa.com/

For those that know me music is no small thing so trust me when I say that his newest CD “Your Kingdom Come” is worth your money.

1. There is no way in the world I can devote the time or the effort into a full scale argument on this issue.  Therefore I will merely state some thoughts that I have had.

2. I would like to express my reason for writing the blog once again. I fear that Christians are not equipping themselves for the potential conversations that they may encounter with non-believers. So it is my hope that this blog will get people to at least start thinking about these issues before they are confronted with them. I am not an expert in this area nor do I claim to be. If this topic or subject interests you, I would highly suggest looking to other sources for information.

So lets have it…

One argument that I have seen that could be deemed credible in the secular world would be that gay marriage does not aid or help to further the human race in any way. It is our natural responsibility to continue the race, because of course if we do not, then there will be no humans left. A gay marriage does not aid society in this way because it is found outside of the natural order.

An issue that one can see with this issue is that, if you take this to the extreme then you exclude some heterosexual couples as well. Elderly couples and couples that have medical issues not enabling them to have children would be two groups. They cannot procreate, so am I saying that they should not be allowed to marry either? No, and here is why. I think the problem with this argument is that one turns to the obscure minority in the natural order to defend the unnatural order. Regardless if these groups cannot have children, that does not rightly explain homosexual couples. I cannot flesh this out completely without making this a larger blog. I honestly think this debate comes down to the definition of marriage, which I will try to explain in the next blog.

This post is meant to provoke thought and not to necessarily answer your questions if you have any. If you see that you are not well equipped to debate this issue there are many resources to help:

http://pjtibayan.wordpress.com/2008/10/28/589/ – This link has four parts and I would recommend reading all of them.

http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=83 – Another helpful link that will at least get your mind turning.

But in order to accommodate for those that will still see it as taking to long I have decided a bit of a strategy for the next few posts I put up. I am going to post in a series of two posts. They will go as follows:

The first will be my attempt on a secular argument against gay marriage.

The second will be a more general religious argument on the definition of marriage. Dont worry, I will explain later.

Well there you have it. It will come in short bursts rather than one long, drawn out paragraph. Now maybe some of you will actually read it. I cannot promise when this will be written, but I hope it will be soon.

In one sense, I disagree with gay marriage because I think it is clear in Scripture that homosexuality is wrong.

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters,  nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

- 1 Corinthians 6: 9-11

1 Timothy 1 says something similar. It is pretty hard not to see that homosexuality is wrong from a biblical standpoint. But this is not the concern of this blog.

In another sense, I reluctantly say I agree with gay marriage. Here is why. As our country becomes more pluralistic (having a plethora of differing views and beliefs) it makes it extremely hard for Christians to continue to insist that gay marriage be banned. Let’s face it, even if our country was founded on Christian principles, we do not follow them any more. Our country has gone away from the core of our beliefs enough to say that we are no longer a Christian nation. So can we honestly say, on these grounds, that we continue to refuse the ability for gay couples to marry? Many Christians will say yes because it changes the definition of marriage. If you ask them in what way, they might say that gay marriage is not what God originally intended. Marriage is between two people who love each other and are able to have children. Well first, to say that gay marriage is not what God originally intended is fine if you are talking to people who actually believe in the God of the Bible. If they are not then you have a problem using that argument. It would be like an American trying to force an American law on someone while in Cambodia. It just wouldn’t work. Also, if one of the definitions of marriage is procreation then this excludes infertile or elderly couples who cannot have children. “Well, they can adopt” they might say. Gay couples can adopt too.

I can anticipate that some might see this is an unbiblical way of dealing with this issue. But I think we see Paul in Acts 17 do something similar. In this chapter he dialogues with some of the stoics and philosophers. He meets them where they are, commenting on their idols and even quoting some of their poets. From this he formulates an argument and then incorporates the gospel into it. I think this is something we need to take note of.

We are living in a secular society and there is no way around it. So what then do Christians do? I do not think that we admit defeat. The reason I wrote this blog, is because I am tired of Christians not having any argument other than “because the bible says so.” That will not work. It does not work for people who could care less about the bible, which means a good percentage of our nations population. It is time for Christians to be intelligent about the way we argue. Now here me out, I do not mean that we lose our biblical foundation. This is crucial. What I do mean is that we stop flaunting verses to people who do not care and fight on secular societies terms.  This will make things a tad bit more difficult but I think it can be done and done in a way that is respectable.

So this is my encouragement to those who might read this…think about such issues from a secular perspective and see what you come up with. Formulate some arguments. It was not the purpose of this blog to defend a Christian view of marriage, so dont worry. I was merely trying to address an issue. Plus, I am in no way wise enough, nor smart enough to cover all the bases of this issue. This blog was intended to get you to think. If you are looking for answers when it comes to this stuff, don’t look to me because I will be honest and say that I do not have the credentials for the job. I am merely trying to think through the more prevalent issues of our day, and in doing so, hopefully getting others to do the same. In a later blog I will try to link you to some things that I have found helpful for me in this discussion.

But as always, my religious convictions outweigh my secular ones. I try in everything I do to bring honor and glory to Christ. It is my hope that in thinking through this issue and others like it that Christians will be better prepared to address the issues at hand in a more successful way.

I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life! To put to none all that was not life…And not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived…-Henry David Thoreau

This idea is the premise of one of my favorite movies of all time…Dead Poet Society. In it Mr. Keating (played by Robin Williams) is a teacher who’s goal becomes to spark his class into a group free thinkers. In one of the most important scenes of the movie, Keating takes his class to a foyer of old school memorabilia and past students. They read a line from a poem: “gather ye rose buds while ye may; old time is still a flying and this same flower that smiles today tomorrow will be dying.” This thought is best described by a Latin phrase carpe diem which means seize the day. The point that was trying to be made was that life is short and it should be lived with the utmost vigor. What is the point of wasting our time with frivolous things and not making the most of every opportunity? As Keating mentions later, “We are food for worms.” Once we are dead, that is it. There is no going back to make things better. I know this is obvious but then why do we not live like it?

It is typical of the “Christian” life not to reflect this type of anticipation in the present life. In fact, we tend to think of this much at all. This idea is not foreign to the bible: “Come now, you who say, ‘today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make profit’ – yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes (Jas 4:13-14).” Have you ever thought that you are not guaranteed tomorrow? I know I might be deemed as morbid or that I am thinking to much about my own death but is this such bad thing? I know that you can go too far on anything. Therefore I do not think that it would be very profitable that you think about your death constantly. But I do not think it would hurt us to realize that are days are short, possibly much shorter than we think.

So what do we do?

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil (Eph 5:15-16).”

This part is up to you. A  smart individual knows what profits him and what doesn’t. It is the mark of a wise individual who rids himself of the things that are unprofitable and distracting.  Things deemed as “good things” can even become distractions. Movie’s, for instance, can be a good thing but if movie watching infects your time when you should be doing something else…I think you have a problem. The day is only so long, and if most of it involves watching a screen (Movie’s, TV, Internet, etc.) then you are probably not being very profitable, not just for yourself but for others. Another way your time can be wasted is with the people you hang out with. It might be helpful to take a registry of people that invest into you in a regular basis and others who do not. If most or all of your friends consist of guys that “you can have fun with but cant really have a serious conversation” it might be time to make some new friends. Take hold of the people that have a positive spiritual influence and do not let them go. If you have lost contact then get it back. It is far too important and this life is far to short not to.

Carpe Deim…Seize the Day.

I have decided that I have too many acquaintances and not enough true friends. Let me explain what I mean before I am brushed off as an over thinker. Well that will probably happen anyway…

By acquaintances I mean people that want to keep in touch only as much as it does not affect their schedule. When it begins to infringe on their lives they back off. Now this comes in many different ways. It could be like whenever you go back home and hang out with your friends for a week or so and then don’t talk to them again until you see them the next Christmas break. Or perhaps it’s like friends that when you have nothing else to do or no one else to call you decide to call them…that to me is an acquaintance. I am not trying to make this out to be a bad thing. You cannot keep up with everyone. I myself an am acquaintance to some people. A true friend is not only one that you care about but that returns the care. He or she is willing to go just as far as you (sometimes further) to keep your friendship going, no matter the distance. Each person has their busy schedules but they are willing to make time for one another. One may begin to slow, and the other picks up the slack and vis versa.

All this to say I am going to do an experiment and it will go something like this…I will take myself out of the facebook world for one month which means my account will be deleted. So don’t freak out that you don’t see my name on you friends list. I did not delete you. I deleted me. The reason I am doing this is I have found myself “thinking” that I am staying in touch with people when in fact all I am doing is sending a hello here and there or looking at their profile from time to time. That is not keeping in touch. It is so convenient to chat with someone online or to go through their pictures and think that you know who they are or what they are doing, but that is not true at all.

So I guess the experiment is how I do with keeping in touch with people without the aid of facebook. With the amount of time I spend on the internet freed, I could call a number of people. I would assume there are many who are the same way. So I challenge you as well…instead of looking up someone on the internet to see what they are doing, give them a call. But this experiment goes both ways. It will also show me who tries to keep up with me without the aid of facebook. Please understand that if you do not call or say hello I will not think that you are a terrible person, nor will I hate you for it. I just think it needs to be clear to people that friendships, true friendships, take work. And clicking on a computer screen is not work. The lines between true friends and acquaintances have been blurred and I want to see if they can be cleared up a bit.

I will be shutting down my facebook in one week. I will keep up the blog as best as I can throughout this test so…until then.

(Note* This is a general post. By this I mean that I am not referring to anyone in particular. So if you read this and think, “Chris is talking about me” then you are wrong. So friends back home…I am not talking about you in particular. Others…I am not talking about you in particular.)