The Culture Wars Are Over?

The wags over at Catalyst are proclaiming it: The culture wars are over; christians lost. But with all the losing going on, can something positive come from it? Jud Wilhite argues the American evangelical church can finally give up its aggressive posturing and live in grace, truth and love. And he’s got some powerful anecdotes to back it up. Meanwhile someone please call Worldview Weekend and let them know. Post-post-script: the mainstream media (ie. Big Media) disagrees.

Disruptive Realism

Associate Creative Director Dave Hoffer of frog design jumps into the fray with a new genre of art: Disruptive Realism (DR). Citing graffiti art, real-world installations, and large-scale pranks by groups like Improve Everywhere and The Yes Men, Hoffer suggests Disruptive Realism is taking the everyday and jamming something weird into it. Something to throw you a little curve. In Hoffer’s definition it seems DR has a positive aspect - described as “anti-terrorism.”

I think it’s a fun term. But what i’m actually more interested in is when does it become an accepted descriptor? When will it be in Wikipedia (not yet!)? When will it be picked up by Google en masse (217 results so far)? And what does it mean to the development of language and ideas when bloggers (like me) start writing about it and instantaneous digital referencing (like Google) start “remembering” it? Does it just ‘become’ a real concept? Or is it just a meme?

Meanwhile, is there already a term for this? Culture jamming perhaps? Surrealism?

Neighbors Checklist

Do you live in a neighborhood? If the answer to any of these questions is “yes”, then the Neighbors Project is for you. A checklist, a how-to guide (on Instructables), project suggestions and a blog all provide great resources for making the collection of properties within 4 blocks of your house into a neighborhood.

Greeks vs. Armenians: Fightme!

Hoods, robes, beards, and the Fist Feast of the Cross. Two monks from each side were detained as dozens of worshippers traded kicks and punches at the shrine, said police.

#44

I think it’s a good time to think about a few things as we move into the next (final?) chapter of American history:

1. God put Barack Obama into office. At least, that’s what Romans 13 says. So we need to suck it up and pray for him (1 Timothy 2). I’ll go a step further and say we should support those initiatives that align with christian values.
2. Obama much more closely identifies with the values of Generation X (post-racial, post-boomer, post-modern). Arguably he is a Gen-X president, in office a generation before his time.
3. Let’s do our best to reduce the hate. Insofar as it depends on me, I will live peacefully with others that disagree with me on the direction the country might take.
4. Mat Loverin is probably right: national politics are not where we should be focused. How can we focus locally on the issues that effect the lives of our community?