Theology That Bites Back
“Rejection of a particular kind of music for worship is not the same thing as a rejection of that kind of music. I like jazz, I like rock and roll, some of it, I like classical, I like the blues, and I love the psalms. Now give this hash of musical interests and appreciations, you …
As Edmund in Mansfield Park put it, “We do not look in great cities for our best morality”
“The executive director of the National Religious Broadcasters Association sums up what he calls an unwritten law of all television preachers: ‘You can get your share of the audience only by offering people something they want’” (Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death, p. 105).
“The evangelical Church at large has opted for the superficial in worship. Devotees whoop and holler their way through trite upbeat songs; sometimes the songs are even blasphemous. At a conference, I once saw grown Christians jumping up and down, lustily singing away, with hand motions, splish-splashing in the blood of Christ. And when the …
“We have become so accustomed to its discontinuities that we are no longer struck dumb, as any sane person would, by a newscaster who having just reported that a nuclear war is inevitable goes on to say that he will be right back after this word from Burger King; who says, in other words, ‘Now …
“Whenever a culture’s goal becomes entertainment, a law of degeneration immediately sets in. In the field of economics, Gresham’s Law states that bad money drives out good. In the same way, bad entertainment displaces that which is not quite as bad. In a sinful world, poor comedians will go for the easy laugh with dirty …
“The perception of a news show as a stylized dramatic performance whose content has been staged largely to entertain is reinforced by several other features, including the fact that the average length of any story is forty-five seconds” (Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death, p. 103).
“Christians often debate whether or not they should throw themselves into the political realm. Some say we should, because Christians should be involved in saving our culture. Some say we shouldn’t, because our culture is soon to be perpendicular to the surface and headed for Davy Jones. We should consequently continue to focus on our …
“Almost all of the characteristics we associate with mature discourse were amplified by typography, which has the strongest possible bias toward exposition: a sophisticated ability to think conceptually, deductively, and sequentially; a high valuation of reason and order; an abhorrence of contradiction; a large capacity for detachment and objectivity; and a tolerance for delayed response” …
“A revival of formal worship filled with doctrine, laughter, glory, and light would be the first step to a remarkable transformation of the nation” (Mother Kirk, p. 127).
