Culture
Review
Andree Farias
Christianity TodayMarch 1, 2007
Sounds like … Paul Baloche, Brenton Brown, Matt Redman, Charlie Hall, Kathryn Scott, and other pioneers of the ’90s modern worship movement.
At a glance … Doerksen’s first studio album continues his tradition of excellence in congregational worship, even if things aren’t as focused or grand as past efforts.
Track Listing
- Invocation
- Our Father in Heaven
- Holy God
- Return to Me
- Song for the Bride
- He Is Here
- Light the Fire Again
- Hear Us Call
- I Don’t Need Anything but You
- Change Me on the Inside
- Show Me Your Way
- Trinity
- Be Unto Your Name/Holy Holy Holy
- Triune God
- You Are My Home
- Your Love Will Find Me
Once again, a new album from Brian Doerksen is upon us, yet only the devout worship music aficionados seem to know about it or care. What’s going on? Where’s the love?
Doerksen has certainly paid his dues. As a pioneer and founding father of what we today call modern worship, he’s been at the production helm of 25 live recordings, including essential albums like Hungry and Come Now Is the Time to Worship. Both projects—along with key albums from Delirious, Matt Redman, and Sonicflood—ushered in a new season of worship, one where rawness and passion supplanted the more corporate and routine sounding praise choruses of the day.
But aside from his milestones as a producer, he also has thrived as a solo artist and songwriter, responsible for such contemporary standards as “Come Now Is the Time to Worship,” “Refiner’s Fire,” and “Hallelujah (Your Love Is Amazing).” Though inexplicably under-the-radar, his albums You Shine, Today, and Live in Europe have enjoyed critical applause across the board, and are a prime example of Doerksen’s strong points as a worship artist—particularly, his inherent desire to meld his rock and modern-worship tendencies with classical and liturgical elements. By keeping focus, his albums become thematic, almost devotional bodies of work, rather than collections of standalone worship songs.
Yet these accomplishments aside, one thing Doerksen had yet to do was record a full-fledged studio album of his own. Holy God, his fourth disc with Integrity Music, finally fixes that. To help him along, he recruited longtime production assistant Phillip Janz, who has long proven an ear for Doerksen’s reverent-yet-modern style of worship. Together, they don’t veer off too far from what’s previously worked so well. But is familiarity the way to go for someone who’s been an architect of so many other influential recordings?
Not exactly, at least for an album that, on the surface, seems to be a study of contrasts—between God’s divinity and humanity’s frailty, his holiness versus our depravity, and his constancy against our faithlessness. The album’s artwork sets the worshipper against vast landscapes—looking so small when compared to the immensity of God’s creation—and, naturally, you begin to expect Holy God to be this grandiose, life-altering concept album.
To an extent, it is, so long as Doerksen sticks to the theme. Take the rousing, breathtaking title track, which ranks with the best power anthems Doerksen has penned—an intense, reverb-heavy tour de force of celestial proportions. It’s one of those songs that can stop you dead in your tracks, the same way Doerksen’s magnificent “Faithful One” or “You Are Everything” may have in their prime.
Other songs can be just as grand. The medley of “Be Unto Your Name” and “Holy Holy Holy”—with its shifting dynamics and atypical percussive patterns—is awe-inspiring, as is the climactic “Triune God,” a simple yet affecting ode to heaven’s Triumvirate: “Sacred bond/Humble friendship/Living dance of light …The Spirit’s liberty, the grace of Jesus Christ/The Father’s faithful love/The sharing of your life/In holy communion/One God.”
But the grandness more or less stops there. Just as we begin to decrease and God begins to increase—through music, lyric, and otherwise—Doerksen takes a slight detour and gets communal. God’s holiness gives way to his liaison with his people—how we relate to an infinite God. A noble theme, and Doerksen unsurprisingly explores it with excellence in the tender God-to-man theme of “Song for the Bride,” or his musical adaptation of the Lord’s Prayer, “Our Father in Heaven.”
It’s not just the poetic direction of Holy God that changes though. The overall vibe alters as well. Things remain reverent, but it’s a different type of reverent—it’s part country-flavored (“I Don’t Need Anything but You”), part soft rock (“Change Me on the Inside”), part inspirational (“He Is Here”), part acoustic (“Show Me Your Way”), part AC pop (“Your Love Will Find Me”). Many of these are good songs, but the widespread eclecticism feels somewhat out of place in the “holy” context of everything else.
Whether these two disparate concepts were intentional on Doerksen’s part is unclear, but they do make for an interesting (if somewhat irregular) listen. Even so, it’s hard to fault Doerksen, a gifted songwriter and artist who possesses such an attention to detail with everything else on Holy God, that even the album’s least engaging moments can become another worshipper’s point of connection with the Holy of Holies. And if that’s the case, then the album is surely a winner.
Copyright © 2007 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
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Culture
Review
Andy Argyrakis
Christianity TodayMarch 1, 2007
Sounds like … the urgent alternative aura of Kevin Max, Seven Day Jesus, or Morrissey with a striking vocal resemblance to Jeff Buckley.
At a glance … following session work for Seven Day Jesus and Audio Adrenaline, the former frontman for Lackluster turns in an impressive solo CD stock full of passionate ballads, surging rockers, and provocative spirituality.
Track Listing
- The Heart Reborn
- The Secret Is Out
- Into the Light
- The Last Sunrise
- Changed Man
- Return To the Start
- The Storm
- Love Is On Our Side
- Hereafter
- Not Afraid
- Drown Out
Those who saw Seven Day Jesus in concert or caught Audio Adrenaline on its farewell tour might already recognize Brian Whitman for his work as a guitarist and backing vocalist. The singer/songwriter is also known for fronting late ’90s indie rockers Lackluster (featuring several Seven Day members) and starting Phoenix Music and Arts (a recording studio and social outreach organization all rolled into one), while also producing several up-and-comers on the west coast.
When it comes to his time in Lackluster or on solo terrain, there’s no denying the wide-ranged rocker’s resemblance to Jeff Buckley. But whereas that late great legend flirted with spiritual themes, Whitman’s music is grounded in the gospel throughout This Great Defeat. Outside of the title, the theme can also be summarized in the liner notes, including a thought-provoking quote by WJC White: “God is not defeated by human failure.”
The essence of redemption is immediately captured on “The Heart Reborn,” a hypnotic alternative rocker that finds the frontman seamlessly switching from a rugged rock voice to vibrant falsettos. Those trends continue in the acoustic “Changed Man,” which finds Whitman’s pipes meeting somewhere between Buckley and Kevin Max.
The programmed introduction to “Return to the Start” seems a bit half-baked, but Whitman’s voice is again the primary instrument, soaring across stirring lines of heavenly foreshadowing: “And when you arrive at that place/Sorrow and pain won’t know your face.” Whitman hits everything on target with “The Last Sunrise,” echoing the most recent albums from U2, but with a quivering vocal delivery that sounds much closer to Max or Morrissey than Bono.
Those are lofty comparisons, for sure, yet Whitman preserves his own sense of artistry throughout, particularly the shimmering and ethereal “Not Afraid.” His passionate cries of perseverance are nothing short of spine-chilling, while longtime listeners will be pleased with this version’s improved production compared to the original Lackluster album. After all these years of playing in bands or extending his talents behind the scenes, Whitman reveals himself more than a copycat with good musical taste. He’s a solo star in the making, sure to resonate with both faith-based and mainstream audiences.
For more information on Brian Whitman, visit www.brianwhitmanmusic.com or www.myspace.com/brianwhitmanmusic.
Copyright © 2008 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
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Culture
Review
Andree Farias
Christianity TodayMarch 1, 2007
Sounds like … folk-pop as performed by some of Christian music’s biggest names, including Steven Curtis Chapman, Michael W. Smith, Third Day, Brian Littrell, and many others.
Glory Revealed
Various
Various Artists
March 6, 2007
At a glance … interesting artist pairings and an understated folk-pop style make for a pleasant, though a bit standard, collection of Scriptures set to music.
Track Listing
- He Will Rejoice—Trevor Morgan
- By His Wounds—Steven Curtis Chapman, Brian Littrell, Mac Powell, and Mark Hall
- Waters Gone By—Shawn Lewis (Hyper Static Union)
- To the Only God—David Crowder and Shane & Shane
- Glory Revealed—Candi Pearson-Shelton
- Altar of God—Josh Bates
- Come, Worship the King—Michael W. Smith with Shane & Shane
- Who Is Like You—Tim Neufeld (Starfield)
- Restore to Me—Mac Powell (Third Day) and Candi Pearson-Shelton
- You Alone—Brian Littrell
Multi-artist compilations centered on God’s Word are not a new thing. Songs from the Book, The Message: Psalms, and Songs from the Voice are only a few of the companion albums to various translations of the Bible over the years. The list only grows larger when you add the projects inspired by popular Christian devotionals, such as My Utmost for His Highest, Streams, Traveling Light, Next Door Savior.
Glory Revealed: The Word of God in Worship is an interesting combination of both concepts. Part of the inspiration comes from Glory Revealed, a new book by Bible teacher David Nasser that explores the visible manifestations of an invisible God. However, the album itself is also a 10-song set that draws on several passages from different corners of Scripture to expound on the premise of the book. The “worship” part of the title is more of a marketing hook than an indication of the album’s corporate value.
But even if just half the album qualifies as worship songs in the strictest sense of the term, at least they sound nothing like the typical modern worship anthems inundating Christian radio these days. No, Glory Revealed is a pleasantly (and surprisingly) understated assortment of folk-pop selections. Nimbly and convincingly produced by Third Day‘s Mac Powell, it features an array of artists both new and established, performing solo or paired with unlikely partners.
While the results aren’t exactly memorable, the low-key sound and reverence is striking. There’s something particularly touching and sobering about Michael W. Smith singing a stripped-down song of praise alongside collegiate favorites Shane & Shane, or for that matter, Powell himself teaming up with relative unknown Candi Pearson-Shelton (Passion). Even Backstreet Boy Brian Littrell and the eclectic David Crowder seem out of their element here, but that’s very much intentional. Ultimately, it’s not about any of the participants and their sound—it’s about the source material and its ability to stir like-minded hearts with its timeless truths.
Copyright © 2007 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
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Pastors
Leadership JournalMarch 1, 2007
“Few people see Christianity as a shift of allegiance that prompts us to make personal changes in beliefs, habits, and lifestyles. We must continually examine our churches to make sure our message is one that requires transformation.”
–Sarah Cunningham is a 28-year-old PK and former megachurch staffer now teaching high school history while part of a house church in Jackson, Michigan. She is also the author of Dear Church: Letters from a Disillusioned Generation (Zondervan, 2006). Taken from “Dissing Illusionment” in the Winter 2007 issue of Leadership journal. To see the quote IN context, you’ll need to see the print version of Leadership. To subscribe, click on the cover of Leadership on this page.
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What media outlet did the worst job covering the Talpiot tomb news?
Christianity TodayFebruary 28, 2007
The only thing more ridiculous than filmmakers’ claims that a tomb outside Jerusalem once held the bones of Jesus of Nazareth, Mary Magdalene, a son of Jesus, and other family members is some of the media coverage those claims have garnered.
It’s hard to top James Cameron when he says things like, “This is the biggest archeological story of the century. It’s absolutely not a publicity stunt.” But some media outlets seem to be trying hard to do so.
Here’s a sample, from Nashville’s WKRN, which began its report:
For many mainstream or traditional Christians, the belief that Jesus was resurrected from the dead is essential to their very faith[,] so hearing that scientists have used DNA samples to prove that his remains were once in a buried stone casket, if true, would cause them to re-think most everything they have ever believed. In response, many Christians refuse to listen.
While we’re pretty comprehensive in surveying the mainstream media, there surely will be even better gems than this. So it’s contest time. What media outlet has the most credulous, exaggerated, or otherwise wacky report on the “tomb of Jesus”? Entries (use the feedback form below) are due by Friday, March 9. The winner will receive a one-year subscription to Christianity Today (or one of our sister publications) and a copy of The Tomb of Jesus (the tie-in book to the Discovery Channel “documentary”). The winner will be determined purely at the whim of one or more editors here at CT. So don’t take the contest too seriously. We hope you’re not taking the documentary too seriously, either.
Copyright © 2007 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
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Tabby Yang
Scholars dismiss filmmakers’ assertions that Jesus and his family were buried in Jerusalem.
Christianity TodayFebruary 28, 2007
Jesus married Mary Magdalene, had a son named Judah, died, and stayed dead, says Simcha Jacobovici, an award-winning filmmaker. A Discovery Channel documentary on his findings, The Lost Tomb of Jesus, will be televised March 4. Jacobovici, who describes himself as an investigative journalist and a filmmaker, directed and produced the film with Titanic director James Cameron. He claims that statistical, historical, archaeological, and DNA evidence back his position.
However, scholars are dismissive of the filmmakers’ claims. “This is a theory that is so deeply flawed that it deserves to be dismissed reasonably quickly,” said Ben Witherington III, professor of New Testament interpretation at Asbury Theological Seminary.
Scot McKnight, professor of religious studies at North Park University, says that the filmmakers’ theses are based less on scholarship than on The Da Vinci Code novel. “The bigger theme I think is the fraud of Christianity. I think that’s what they’re trying to demonstrate—that early Christians believed in something that didn’t happen.”
“This is really a brilliant example of archaeological sensationalism,” said Gary Burge, professor of New Testament at Wheaton College. Burge notes that allegations like Jacobovici’s are nothing new. “It happens again and again in the Holy Land that people win their 15 minutes of fame by discovering some new burial cave.”
The “lost tomb” is nothing new, either. In 1980, a construction team in Talpiot, a suburb of Jerusalem, found the tomb as they started bulldozing the site. At the time, construction projects were turning up a dozen archaeological sites every month, says Jacobovici in The Jesus Family Tomb. The construction team reported the finding to authorities, and a team of archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority came to examine the site. Archaeologist Amos Kloner, who has called Jacobovici’s theory nonsense, wrote the official report in 1980, without making any reference to Jesus of Nazareth.
Excavation of the crypt led to the discovery of 10 ossuaries, which did not contain remains. Six of them were inscribed with names, which have been transcribed as: “Yeshua bar Yosef,” “Maria,” “Mariamene e Mara” (translated “Mary the Master”), “Matia,” “Yose,” and “Yehuda bar Yeshua.” No one at the time of the discovery found the names very significant, since they were all very common names in Jesus’ time.
Jacobovici says he has deduced that these names refer to Jesus’ mother, Mary; his supposed wife, Mary Magdalene; and his son, Judah (who, Discovery News bafflingly speculates, “could have been the ‘lad’ described in the Gospel of John as sleeping in Jesus’ lap at the Last Supper”). Matthew is supposed to be a relative of Mary; and Joseph, one of Jesus’ brothers.
Jacobovici also says that the James ossuary, now under investigation to determine whether it is a forgery, belongs with these ten ossuaries because it has the same patina. Jacobovici produced a 2002 Discovery Channel documentary on the James ossuary.
The purported DNA evidence lacks credibility, counters Witherington. “In order for them to establish a positive claim that these are Jesus’ relatives, you have to have control samples [of Jesus’ DNA] to compare it to, but we have no such objective control samples.” In addition, the team is testing mitochondrial DNA, which, according to Witherington, does not even allow scientists to “establish XY chromosomes and genetic coding.”
Paul Maier, professor of ancient history at Western Michigan University, questions Jacobovici’s other claim that it is improbable that the names in the Talpiot tomb, though common, should be found together in one grave. “To say [the odds are] 600 to 1 that this could only be Jesus [Christ] is just ridiculous; it’s playing with numbers.”
“Your statistics are only as good as the numbers that were given to the statistician,” Witherington said. “And from what I can tell, he’s not even running the right numbers, so of course he’s not coming to the right conclusions.”
If what Jacobovici says were true, Jesus’ disciples would have stolen his body and buried it in a tomb, let it decompose for a year, and then deposited the bones in an ossuary. As McKnight put it, “It is extremely unlikely that a faith that believed and rooted itself in the resurrection of Jesus would at the same time be building a tomb for the body and bones of Jesus.”
It’s no surprise that Jacobovici and Cameron have received so much attention despite the implausibility of their claims, says Darrell Bock, professor of New Testament studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. “They’ve basically made it into a huge news conference and leaked that they’ve found the bones of Jesus, and you know that would draw attention,” he said.
While all of this hype may seem to cheapen Christianity, Burge says, it shows that Jesus Christ still commands the world’s attention like no other religious figure. “Interest in Jesus doesn’t go away. Whenever someone can make a claim that strikes to the heart of Christian truth, then it’s sensational.”
Copyright © 2007 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
Related Elsewhere:
Ted Olsen’s ‘An Exclusive Interview with James Cameron‘ satirizes the methodology behind The Lost Tomb of Jesus.
The Discovery Channel‘s article is sympathetic to Jacobovici’s conclusions about the Talpiot tomb. ‘The Lost Tomb of Jesus‘ section includes video clips and a few paragraphs with suggestions for dealing with theological considerations.
The Jesus Family Tomb opening page says, “An incredible archaeological discovery in Israel changes history and shocks the world. Tombs with the names The Virgin Mary, Jesus of Nazareth, Mary Magdalene and Judas, their son, are found and an investigation begins.”
Harper Collins has a webpage for the book, The Jesus Family Tomb.
Ben Witherington III, Darrell Bock (1 | 2), Scot McKnight, Paul Maier, Mark Goodacre, Tyler Williams, Michael S. Heiser, and most other biblical studies bloggers are discussing the tomb.
The Jerusalem Post interviewed Kloner and reported on the effects on Talpiot residents.
Other articles include:
Director defends Jesus tomb findings | James Cameron is convinced remains are of those of Christ, family (Today)
Claims about Jesus’ ‘lost tomb’ stir up tempest | Experts blast suggestions that his bones were found in 1980 (Associated Press)
Crypt Held Bodies of Jesus and Family, Film Says | A documentary by the Discovery Channel claims to provide evidence that a crypt unearthed 27 years ago in Jerusalem contained the bones of Jesus of Nazareth. (The New York Times)
- More fromTabby Yang
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News
Sheryl Henderson Blunt
New law sidelines minority faiths in Romania.
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A new religion law in Romania effectively grants government support to majority religions and denies rights to minority faiths, including some Protestants, critics say.
The measure became law days before the country’s January admission into the European Union (EU). It creates a tiered government registration system based on a denomination’s size. To achieve top-tier or preferential status and be eligible for government subsidies, faith groups must have roughly 22,000 members, or make up 0.1 percent of Romania’s population. Groups also must be active in the country 12 years before they can register.
Protestants account for less than 6 percent of Romania’s population. The Romanian Orthodox Church claims nearly 80 percent.
“The law punishes minority religions that are not favored by the state,” said Angela Wu, international director of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a Washington-based law firm. “It also makes it extremely difficult for new religious communities to register or obtain any kind of recognition.”
According to the U.S. State Department, the Romanian government generally respects a constitutionally protected right to religious freedom. But “some restrictions adversely affected the rights of many religious groups,” the State Department said in its 2006 International Religious Freedom Report. The U.S. Embassy “continuously expressed concern about discriminatory components of the draft law on religion” while it was under debate.
Religion laws recently adopted in other majority-Orthodox, Eastern European countries, particularly Belarus and Serbia, have troubled religious-freedom advocates.
Since the law requires all faith groups to re-register, some groups could lose previously enjoyed rights, said Joseph Grieboski, president of the Institute on Religion and Public Policy. These include the rights to purchase property, build religious structures, own assets, protect their legal rights in court, and hire paid staff or clergy.
The Baptist Union of Romania, with about 130,000 members, does not expect to lose any rights. But the union has decided not to accept government subsidies.
Union president Paul Negrut worried about the law’s ban on “any form of public offense of religious symbols.” For example, this vague wording could prohibit Protestants from criticizing Orthodox beliefs, he said, such as intercession by saints.
Negrut said the law further requires religious schools to admit students of any religion and provide teachers of the same faith for those students.
A Romanian embassy official in Washington told Christianity Today the law is part of an effort to upgrade Communist-era legislation dating from 1948 and provides freedom of worship to all religions. She said the law passed after two years of public debate and after recognized religions reached consensus on a draft proposal—a statement several groups have disputed.
Other European countries, including France, Belgium, Spain, and Austria, fund religious groups and require similar registration systems. According to Wu, critics of Romania’s law worry about potential abuse, given the country’s inexperience with democracy. Revolutions in 1989 and 1990 overthrew the Communist regime that had ruled since 1947.
“It will be difficult for people to read this in a way that respects religious freedom,” Wu said. “The law is vague enough that it opens the door to arbitrary decision-making. We see this in many countries that have religious freedom problems and where the culture is not used to being infused with unpopular ideas.”
Grieboski said he is hoping civil-rights NGOs in Romania will bring a constitutional court challenge before the law can be implemented. He is also pushing for hearings in the European Parliament.
“This new law opens a very difficult chapter for the evangelical churches,” Negrut said. “Romania is perceived by the international community as a democratic country that is a member state of NATO and the EU. Due to this perception, very few people will pay close attention to religious discrimination and state interference in the life of our churches.”
Copyright © 2007 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
Related Elsewhere:
Other articles on Romania include.
Under Reconstruction | How Eastern Europe’s evangelicals are restoring the church’s vitality. (October 2005)
Churches Want to Drive a Stake in Transylvania’s Dracula Park | Tourist attraction gives a false image of the country and could fuel interest in the occult, Christian leaders say. (November 1, 2001)
The Baby Who Would Not Die | The desperate mother reluctantly agreed to have an abortion. But this child wanted to live. (Today’s Christian, January/February 2004)
The Institute on Religion and Public Policy called on the European Union to look into the new, restrictive law. Forum 18 reported on President Traian Basescu’s approval.
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Ideas
Philip Yancey
Columnist
A bird’s-eye view of contemporary evangelicalism.
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I spent last fall chasing a suitcase from city to city on tours of the U.K. and U.S., promoting my new book on prayer. Along the way, I got a bird’s-eye view of the church, and among my observations, the following stand out.
Christians in Great Britain seem more serious about their faith than their counterparts in the U.S. In a nation where only 6 percent of the population attends church, there is no overlay of cultural Christianity and no social advantage to church affiliation. As I have noticed in other countries, when Christians constitute a tiny minority, they are more likely to work together, too. With their impressive infrastructure, American churches tend to do things on their own or work within a denomination. One more difference: British audiences still hunger for content, whereas in America content goes over best when enwrapped in entertainment.
If you drew your conclusions from CNN, you would view Christians, and especially evangelicals, as a voting bloc to be manipulated by politicians, with news about them punctuated by the occasional sexual scandal. Go out in person, however, and you will meet countless people of faith who are sincerely trying to follow Jesus even when it cuts against the grain of culture.
One of my trips took me to the heart of Amish country, a few miles from the site of the Nickel Mines school massacre. News about the tragedy faded quickly in the U.S., but not worldwide. International readers were fascinated by a group who eschewed modern dress and conveniences and who responded in such an un-American fashion to an act of violence.
Indeed, 2,400 articles in the world press featured the theme of forgiveness. More than half of those who attended the murderer’s funeral were Amish. “We sin, too,” they said, embracing the widow of the man who killed their children. “Didn’t Jesus tell us to forgive others as God has forgiven us?”
I met ordinary Christians who devote themselves to helping diverse groups of people, from the homeless in Pennsylvania and school dropouts in inner-city New Jersey to Asian students at Harvard and Silicon Valley executives. American churches mobilize thousands of such ministries, not to mention mission trips to less developed countries. Few of these activities get coverage on CNN.
My, how church architecture has changed! I spoke at a 300-year-old church in Connecticut that Jonathan Edwards attended as a teenager. It retains the wooden, pew-lined boxes that used to be rented to families who would sit together in a square around a heater. As a result, half of the listeners have their backs to the speaker. Across the continent in California, churches are rehabbing warehouses and strip malls, installing plush seats and giant video screens on which to project praise choruses.
The world is full of pain. The prosperity promised on religious television must exist in some alternate universe from what I encounter as I visit churches in person. For all its faults and failures, the church offers a place to bring wounds and to seek meaning in times of brokenness and struggle.
An older man with a lush beard who walked with a shuffle mumbled to me, “God gave me Parkinson’s disease. How can I possibly think he listens to what I have to say in prayer?”
A woman told of praying with desperation during her 19 years in an abusive marriage, “Lord, if someone is killed by a drunk driver, let it be my husband.”
I met a woman afflicted with multiple sclerosis, shockingly young, who limped up to tell me she was learning all she could about prayer because the disease was progressing so fast that soon she would be able to do little else.
I heard of suicides, birth defects, children hit by trucks, and teenagers raped. One woman, now an ordained minister, spoke of a dark period after her son died when for 18 months she could not bring herself to pray. She cried out one day, “God, I don’t want to die like this, with all communication cut off!” Even so, it took her 6 more months before she could pray again.
In one meeting, a 20-year-old came to the microphone and chided me for not taking literally the Bible’s promise about faith that can move mountains. I agreed I needed a larger dose of such childlike faith, yet at the same time, I could not dishonor the pain of suffering people by telling them their faith is somehow defective.
From such souls, I learn that life is not a problem to be solved but a mystery to be lived. Prayer offers no ironclad guarantees, just the certain promise that we need not live that mystery alone.
Copyright © 2007 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
Related Elsewhere:
Recent Philip Yancey columns include:
A Tale of Five Herods | If you had five minutes with the President, what would you say? (December 28, 2006)
Middle East Morass | Learning to regard people in light of what they suffer. (November 20, 2006)
Grappling with God | Prayer sometimes feels like a hug and a stranglehold at the same time. (October 20, 2006)
Postcard from Africa | Where hope and despair live side by side.(September 1, 2006)
The Lure of Theocracy | As we flee decadence, we must watch where we step.(July 1, 2006)
A Long, Warm Glow | A respected evangelical elder on the life of faith. (May 1, 2006)
Philip Yancey: A Philip Yancey column that ran from 1985 to 2009
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Theology
Interview by Ted Olsen
“I think you have the wrong guy!” he admits.
Christianity TodayFebruary 27, 2007
James Cameron is the producer of “The Lost Tomb of Jesus,” a Discovery Channel documentary that claims a tomb outside Jerusalem once held the remains of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, a “son of Jesus,” and family members. We reached him at his home in Redding, California.
So, tell us about your interest in the historical Jesus.
Um, I guess I’m interested in Jesus, yeah. Where did you say you were from, again?
Christianity Today magazine.
Are you selling subscriptions or something?
No, we want to talk about your documentary.
What?
The one about Jesus’ tomb.
Um, yeah, I think you have the wrong guy. I think you want the other James Cameron.
You’re not James Cameron?
No, I am, but not …
… And your wife’s name is Suzy?
Susanna.
Right. We found your number online. We figured the chances of you not being the filmmaker James Cameron are, like, a jillion to one. And you live in California, so that pretty much clinches it.
We’re in Redding. Do you know where Redding is? It’s, like, 500 miles from …
Let’s get back on topic. What’s your response to the criticism that no actual New Testament scholar supports your thesis?
Okay. We’re done here. Don’t call me ever again.
In the tie-in book, you say that “some of the most respected experts in biblical history and archaeology have contributed to this investigation.” Could you name one who actually supports the argument that this is “the greatest archaeological story ever”? Just one? Hello? Mr. Cameron?
Ted Olsen is the former solicitor general of the United States.
Copyright © 2007 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
Related Elsewhere:
Christianity Today‘s ‘Remains of the Day‘ covers Christian scholars’ objections.”
More responses to the Jesus tomb claims are available from Ben Witherington III, Darrell Bock (1 | 2), Scot McKnight, Paul Maier, Mark Goodacre, Tyler Williams, Michael S. Heiser, and pretty much every other biblical studies blog out there.
Ideas
Susan Wunderink
Schools discount site that lets students publicly grade and berate faculty.
Christianity TodayFebruary 27, 2007
Rate My Professors, a professor-ranking website online since 1999, may soon be getting a marketing boost with its acquisition by MTV Networks’ mtvU. But in most Christian colleges, that won’t make a big difference in the way administrations mediate the professor-student relationship.
Rate My Professors (ratemyprofessors.com) has discovered the formula for college joy: a professor’s balance of easiness, helpfulness, clarity, and ability to interest students. And, to the chagrin of some, “hotness,” which earns worthy professors a chili pepper icon.
“This site seems to be designed to embarrass or provoke,” said John Paff, executive director of communication and executive assistant to the president at Huntington University. The recently added ability to post photos, he said, proves his point.
Professors at Christian colleges seem to get similar ratings to those of their secular college counterparts, but comments do occasionally address the way faculty members encourage or discourage students’ faith.
Shock and hyperbole aren’t difficult to find on the site, although “bring your pillow” and “awesome!” are the furthest many students go in their comments. “It’s like having the perfect date, only he’s your teacher. He didn’t try to convert us, but still told us how the Bible effects [sic] our faith. He needs to go on a date big time though,” one preoccupied student posted about a Pepperdine professor. “Sometimes, I kind of wish that I could jump out of a plane and catch my eyelid on the bell tower rather then listen to him,” wrote a Baylor student about another professor.
As genuine as these may sound, inaccuracies, including false posts, are a problem. “I’m rated on this site,” said Paff. “A student was very critical. She wrote that I was always playing with my Palm Pilot. The funny thing was that the student had never taken that class. Notably also on the same date, there were other harsh comments made about other professors. This student went through an array of individuals and posted harsh criticisms.”
There are many praises, too. But they’re not necessarily posted by students. One professor confessed to another that he had been adding high ratings to his own profile. No problem, said his friend. Rate My Professors “has no integrity, so add as many ratings as you want. I have taken to adding famous figures to different departments. I’m considering adding Leonardo Fibonacci to our math Department.”
Another complaint is that ratings of all kinds are disproportionate. Readers don’t get the opinions of the entire class, just of those who cared enough to post. This isn’t just reflected in the academic categories. To judge by the number of chili peppers for Moody Bible Institute professors, faculty meetings must look like a Baywatch reunion.
Many professors are aware of the site and their rankings, says Phil de Haan, executive assistant to the president at Calvin College. “It’s painful to be confronted with criticism when it’s anonymous. There’s self-discovery that occurs within the process. I’m human, too, and when there are warm, fuzzy comments, I feel good, and when there are harsh comments, it hurts,” said Paff.
Some serious accusations are leveled at professors in posts, from flirting with students to disregarding the school’s policy on theology. Paff and de Haan said that their administrations do not consider Rate My Professors to be accurate enough to base any decisions on.
“Calvin professors, they’ll joke about how many chili peppers they have,” said de Haan. But he explained that most professors rely on official class evaluations and personal interactions with students for feedback. Paff says that Huntington students’ interest in the site seems to have peaked in the 2004 – 2005 school year. Now sites like MySpace, Facebook, and Flickr may be overtaking the popularity of Rate My Professors, though MTV’s longstanding record of good marketing may change that.
As MTV knows, image matters. “I work in public relations,” said Paff, “and I’d like those little yellow smiley faces to be by everybody’s name, but that’s just not going to happen.”
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Related Elsewhere:
mtvU announced its acquisition of RateMyProfessors.com in January.
Professors have responded to the site in the blog Rate Your Students and The Chronicle of Higher Education‘s chatroom.
Inside Higher Ed’s articles on RateMyProfessors.com include ‘RateMyProfessors: Hidden Camera Edition,‘ ‘RateMyProfessors — or His Shoes Are Dirty,‘ and ‘”Hotness” and Quality.’
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