 |
 |
|
 |
Welcome |
|
FeaturesChrist’s death, God’s wrath: the vital connection
Jul 30, 2009 Are you missing the point of Scripture passages? Jul 21, 2009 Modeling misjudgments: Clothing, contradictions and Miss California May 14, 2009 Exploring The Last Battle’s Emeth element May 11, 2009 MacArthur on sex and the sacredness of the Song Apr 14, 2009 Heaven and Earth, part 1 — Fixing our eyes away from the lies Apr 13, 2009 Fighting on broader battlefields of Biblical spiritual warfare Apr 11, 2009 Keeping the Cross in focus this Good Friday Apr 10, 2009 An open letter to Jennie Chancey from the Devil Mar 12, 2009 Capitalism, socialism and critics’ Rush to judgment Mar 10, 2009 |
|
Archives |
 |
Search |
|
Updates |
|
Recently read:
|
|
Recently read:
|
On Speculative Faith: 'Fantasy fiction: Christ-followers had it first' |
|||
 |
by
Dr Ransom
at
12:29 PM ET
,
Wednesday, Jul 25, 2007
|
Permalink | |
| Categories: Columns, Media: Left-Handed News, Books, Rebuttals, Deep Doctrine Magic: Cross Firings, Subculture Shop | |||
 Mere moments ago I posted today's column at Speculative Faith, titled Fantasy fiction: Christ-followers had it first. Following some minor issues raised about the front-page Washington Post article of July 18, Christian Fantasy Genre Builds Niche Without Hogwarts, Muggles or Spells, I hope to take on the whole notion, subconscious or otherwise, that Harry Potter is merely magically spawning crowds of Christian imitators. It’s been quite fun to observe the reactions throughout our solar system of the blog-universe, following the Washington Post’s article last week that dealt with Christ-honoring fantasy — which, of course, had a quote from our very own blogger, author Wayne Thomas Batson, right there on the very front page. The article, though, only somewhat focused on Christian fantasy authors and books like Wayne’s Door Within series. As Wayne himself later expressed, other prolific fantasy authors such as Bryan Davis, Christopher Hopper and Sharon Hinck received nil mention, despite being with Wayne on the recent Fantasy Four Tour. Also lacking essential inclusion, I would add, was the name of one Prof. J.R.R. Tolkien, Patron Saint No. 1 of Christian fantasy; though one Prof. C.S. Lewis, the other Patron Saint No. 1, received a brief reference, it wasn’t nearly enough to match his influence on the fantasy genre. That’s a substantive oversight, I would suggest. Surely any story remotely pertaining to Christian fantasy would have to include Tolkien and Lewis. Meanwhile, though, two errors of pure fact crept into writer Jacqueline Salmon’s article: first, a reference to Dr. James Dobson praising the Potter books — the Focus on the Family founder quickly cried foul and said they weren’t at all good and the Post corrected; secondly, a Mormon writer’s erroneous attribution as a “Christian,” a somewhat-understandable, common mistake committed by non-Christians. (In fact, I’ve always thought that Mormonism itself, with its hierarchies of universes, with sets and subsets of Gods and Mrs. Gods, Jesuses and Satans and Adams and Eves, would make a great controversial fantasy series — far more heretical than anything Harry Potter ever conjured up.) More perplexing, though, was the article’s strange swerve into the subtopic of Christian fiction in general. That I didn’t get at all — especially the text’s strong implication that Christian Romance Genres were somehow the latest and greatest thing right alongside fantasy. As Rebecca LuElla Miller noted last week, “Uh, no. Chick lit is entering the been-there-done-that phase.” And that seeming misunderstanding by the author about a basic facet of the Christian literature field unfortunately leads me to conclude that maybe Salmon had also failed to grasp the existence of continuing opposition within the Christian community to fantasy-related fiction. I can certainly hope I’m wrong, though. But my strongest stylistic, even philosophical, objection to the article’s substance regards its implication that Harry Potter — who of course Apparated into the article from the very first paragraph — is the Big Original Fantasy Cheese right now, and all the Christian fantasy authors are coming after. That’s just not the case. Christian epic fantasy authors were there first. And I’m not just talking about Lewis and Tolkien. Read the column's remainder at Speculative Faith ... And read here my original thoughts on the Post article, and Wayne Thomas Batson's Fox News interview, from July 20 |
|||
Christian fantasy — 'competing' with You Know Who? |
|||
|
by
Dr Ransom
at
11:43 AM ET
,
Friday, Jul 20, 2007
|
Permalink | |
| Categories: Media: Books, Rebuttals, Politics: The Left Wing, Deep Doctrine Magic: Christian Novels, Subculture Shop | |||
This Wednesday, author Wayne Thomas Batson, a co-blogger of mine at Speculative Faith, posted an update regarding the end of his tour with fellow fantasy authors Bryan Davis, Sharon Hinck and Christopher Hopper. Batson actually saved his most interesting news for last: You might be looking at the calendar and thinking, “Oh, the Fantasy Fiction Tour Wayne is on is over.” Well, that's what I thought. God {who is in the habit of doing so} had other ideas. The interview time was later changed to 8:45 am EDT, more convenient for Americans with cable all across the fruited plain. Of course, I ensured to catch the show myself this morning. About half an hour later, I added this to Wayne’s Speculative Faith post: Now the interview is complete, as of about half an hour ago. Much of it was spent with Wayne off to the left in his little Brady Bunch box whilst clips from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix played in the larger box to the right
I half-expected the “Fox and Friends” gang merely to ask him about whether he thought Ginny, Hagrid, Prof. McGonagall, et. al., would die in book seven, and whether Snape was good or bad or if Harry himself could be a Horcrux. And indeed much of the conversation did revolve around You Know Who (and I don't mean Voldemort). However, Wayne gave a great answer regarding the Potter series, and expertly brought the focus back to his own work and the genre of Christ-honoring fantasy. What I wish more people would realize — including the bulk of commentors at the Washington Post website — is that we're not all about “competition” for Harry Potter. This is patent nonsense; again, one would think with this constant comparison that Harry Potter emerged from a literary vacuum and set Christians a-scrambling to provide a Safe Alternative. Of course, while some Christians have indeed reacted in the tried-and-true anything-They-can-do,-we-can-do-too,-only-more-Spiritual! subculture approach, Wayne had the opportunity in his interview to make clear that his own series was started before Harry was a gleam in J.“K.” Rowling's eye; so was, for example, Dragons in Our Midst. And why are these articles — including, I must reluctantly note, the otherwise-nice-enough Washington Post piece — not mentioned that Christian fantasy authors are merely following in the footsteps of the guys who started this genre in the middle of last century? One might as well say, then, that Rowling is “ripping off” Lewis's and Tolkien's ideas, or attempting to “compete” with Narnia and Lord of the Rings. Well I say there's plenty of room on the bookshelf for all of them, though I definitely prefer specifically Christ-honoring and Christian worldview-containing fiction to secular stuff like Harry Potter. Also, regarding all those Washington Post commentators who sneer out the canard, “The Bible itself is fairy tales! haw haw haw” — cackling to themselves at such cleverness — I must grin knowingly and nod assent. Yes, indeed, the Bible is full of “myths” — true myths, as the patron saints of modern fantasy literature, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, so wisely maintained. And it is in their path they laid down that much of today's Christ-honoring fantasy/sci-fi authors follow — not that of Rowling. I can certainly hope that if/when media attention to Christian speculative literature increases, more writers and pundits will make note of the fact that Bible-Believing Christ-Followers Were Fantasy Authors First. (Methinks I have a topic for my column next week. ...) |
|||
A questionable quick draw for Robin McGraw? |
|||
|
by
Dr Ransom
at
12:07 AM ET
,
Sunday, Oct 01, 2006
|
Permalink | |
| Categories: Columns, Media: Books, Rebuttals, Deep Doctrine Magic: Subculture Shop | |||
Robin McGraw, wife of Dr. Phil McGraw, has written Inside My Heart: Choosing to Live with Passion and Purpose, published by Thomas Nelson. Nelson expects this book, endorsed by Max Lucado, to be a huge bestseller. We agree, and will be printing Robin's book in several upcoming catalogs, and have also scheduled in-store events. [. . .] These will be outstanding opportunities to draw numerous people who would never have come otherwise to these stores and presents a positive and creative Christian witness to them. However, in spite of this positive news about the book and events, and the ministry opportunities they provide, we want to address some questions that may come up. Firstly, I must issue a rather large disclaimer here: in no form do I intend to impugn either Dr. Phil or Robin McGraw for anything. I am admittedly unfamiliar with either of them, their philosophies, or their television program. Some call Dr. Phil a male Oprah; some see him as deeper than that. I know not for certain. But my concern is merely with this memo. It results in my raised eyebrows, eventually out of nervousness, but first from amusement at the attempted defense against the bloggers. (Thus far, multiple-engine searches for Robin McGraw conjoined with humanist or humanistic and/or psychology have yielded no results, but that in no way means none have written such.) ‘Illogical’ The memo’s writer, while clearly well-meaning and –motivated, first commits an error of foolish fallacy: the ever-popular straw man silliness. But this particular straw man is especially slipshod — one can spot him already falling apart in the second paragraph. Here are the juxtaposed portions, fully in context: [The objection:] Robin McGraw espouses humanist psychology rather than Biblical teachings in her talks and books. If the objection had been, “Hey, Robin McGraw is not a Christian!”, then the defense would have been valid, helpful, and effective. Or, if the defense had been, “No, she isn’t espousing humanistic psychology,” the rebuttal would have actually been relevant. But as it is, the bookstore chain memo-writer has bumbled about the issue and “rebutted” an objection that wasn’t even there. |
|||
Forming Widescreen Fiction, part 1: Seeing past Christian story stigmatisms |
|||
|
by
Dr Ransom
at
12:00 AM ET
,
Saturday, Sep 30, 2006
|
Permalink | |
| Categories: Columns, Media: Books, Deep Doctrine Magic: Christian Novels, Subculture Shop, Storytelling | |||
It’s just slightly difficult to be a neo-sci-fi guy at the American Christian Fiction Writers 2006 conference last weekend in Dallas, Texas. Actually, it’s even more difficult to be a guy altogether, at the American Christian Fiction Writers 2006 conference. Intro: An ACFW Aftermath Some estimated the conference’s attendance at about 95 percent women. I think that’s about right, so long as one doesn’t count the hotel bellhops and the concierge. Also, leave out the imaginary males who probably inhabit most of those writing women’s fiction works, whether published or not. Those males, of course, are quite dashing and handsome and just the sort of chaps who can ease the loneliness filling women’s hearts on the barren prairie. Ah, but this is facetious. Not all the novelists, male or female, were purveyors of the Prairie Romance. Some were purveyors of cozy romance, inspirational romance, Scottish/Irish romance, World War II-era romance, romantic comedy, romantic suspense, chick lit romance, contemporary romance … Here I even more speak the truth: after the first day, they doubled the first-floor restroom space for women, giving them the men's restroom too, which of course resulted in a 100 percent cut in facilities for the males in attendance. I, as a male, adapted well; others were more annoyed, including author Randall Ingermanson (City of God series, Oxygen, The Fifth Man) who I heard secondhand was tempted to go in there nonetheless. However, another rumor held that most women, understandably, didn’t want to go in the men’s room anyway. I would think half of the implements therein would likely be useless to the women no matter what — and that’s all I have to say about that. Well, I suppose it hasn’t been too long since the organization changed its named from American Christian Romance Writers. Inevitably there would be a lag time. Vital storytelling statistics Readership in the Christian Booksellers’ Association (CBA), the catch-all term for Christian publishing, is just a little more balanced: most put it at 80-20, still slanted toward women. Secular publishers have about the same ratio, though, so this isn’t unique to Christendom. Guys read more nonfiction, one of the conference’s organizers told me. Fine, that is sensible, I say, but that still fails to explain the smashing success of the nonfiction (ahem) author and decidedly-non-Alpha-Male-ish Joel Osteen. With this general market from which to draw, it’s understandable that Romance and all its related modifiers would prove the more popular genres. Behind the counters of a Christian bookstore myself, I have seen these customers: they are mostly middle-aged and older women, and often members of a certain denomination (Southern Baptist) who much enjoy this sort of thing in their reading material. So, one really can’t “blame” the publishers for frowning upon alternative genres, such as the neo-sci-fi story I advocate and the fantasy / sci-fi hybrids underway by many other Christ-honoring writers. After all, that sort of thing just won’t sell, claimed one editor during the publisher’s panel the first afternoon. And after a sneaked-in question (another ahem) about whether the hugely increased popularity of Tolkien and Lewis was affecting the CBA’s offerings at all, David Long, editor from Bethany House and Faith*in*Fiction blogger, was quite direct: “No” — instantly prompting raised imaginary phasers and magical battle staffs from the outraged fantasy / sci-fi warriors. Ergo, sci-fi and fantasy are genres with a stigma — their own sub-stigma within a “niche market” that itself has long been stigmatized in the publishing world. Yet Lord willing, both of those stigmas may be changing. Breaking through former genre border patrols Friday afternoon’s class-type session with Tyndale House Publishers editor Karen Watson proved to be among the most intriguing. Substituting for the session's original speaker, she explained all about the CBA’s origins story — and what turned out to be an in-depth question-and-answer session carried the topic even further. Where would the CBA go from here, some asked, especially now that more secular publishers are buying up Christian publishers? Watson’s answer was encouraging. The big guys will know not to mess with a good thing, she told her audience. They know it’s the content of the novels that helps them sell, not merely the adjective label of Christian on their covers or their places on Christian bookstore shelves. Water down their messages too much, and genre readers will — or should — complain mightily. Besides, one woman in the audience added, we already have “Christian” books whose themes are far less Christian than one would expect, and secular publishers had nothing to do with that. The whole idea of “Christian” as adjective is either far overdone or else underdone. Books with incredible Christ-honoring and Biblical-worldview themes — The Chronicles of Narnia, of course, The Lord of the Rings and countless novels among the classics — contain far deeper messages about Christ and His truths than many new “Christian” books out there. That would of course include whatever Christian-in-name-only book the above-described woman mentioned reading, whose author, she said, basically added going to church in the story’s middle as a subplot device and that was it for religion. A truly Christian book could of course be contemporary/chick-lit/cozy romance or whatever; few would get rid of those genres even if that were possible. They will always have an audience. And I’m sure multiple authors are capable of embedding deeper themes about the Christian’s journey of faith in their stories. But it’s long past time to de-stigmatize what I call Widescreen Fiction — that is, stories with epic themes, good versus evil and growth in the Christ-following life. This story category can encompass science fiction, or “futuristic drama/thriller,” as I term the story I’m writing. This can encompass fantasy. And this has already encompassed outright thrillers, supernatural and otherwise, such as the groundbreaking works of Frank Peretti, Ted Dekker, and even those ubiquitous novels by those Left Behind guys. A fantastic future for widescreen formats? Still, at present, most fantasy / sci-fi, despite their genres’ overwhelming popularity in the secular realms, remain stigmatized in the CBA. “Yet hope remains, if company is true.” Those big publishing houses buying up the Christian ones surely won’t maintain a total hands-off policy. Perhaps some compromises in message will be made in some ways, but again, it’s not like a softened-doctrine problem would be brand-new for Christian publishing. More likely, I submit these new arrangements and attitudes could just result in the further hybridization of markets, and more chances for “crossover” novels, perhaps mostly for authors who don’t write solely to drive their main “characters,” and by proxy their non-Christian readers, to Salvation. Thus, Christian publishing just may become less-stigmatized. As the market becomes broader, as competition increases, that just may drive authors toward developing better and more in-depth stories in all genres. And as the former book borders are broken through just a little — science fiction and fantasy may at last become de-stigmatized as well. It may take even a generation of work, perhaps working to undo the vast errors of previous eras of Christendom — a theory I’m working on now, and will begin outlining in the next installment of this new Forming Widescreen Fiction series. Until then, I will begin extending this offer to any C/I/S/I/WW2/C/S/CL/C romance readers (or writers) I meet, either coming into the Christian bookstore, or widely available at the American Christian Fiction Writers 2007 conference (hosted by author James Scott Bell, who, I hear tell, is male). My offer will be phrased something like this: “I’ll read your C/I/S/I/WW2/C/S/CL/C romance novel if you’ll read my widescreen sci-fi/fantasy novel.” You never know — someday they’ll finally give in. And perhaps in another generation those blesed older women will be coming into the bookstores, perhaps in Starfleet uniforms, and snapping up the latest in a Christian seven-volume series with dragons and fair maidens and battle staff flashes and things like that, all over the covers. Then an underground coalition of disenfranchised Prairie Romance writers can form and begin pushing for publishers to favor their long-neglected genre, and the Great Circle of Life can continue. Or perhaps we can mostly follow the standard set by the Master Author in His original Novel — which, I may hasten to add, is only available in Widescreen format. |
|||
A 'next-generation' education; policing the Church's own |
|||
|
by
Dr Ransom
at
02:11 PM ET
,
Friday, Sep 01, 2006
|
Permalink | |
| Categories: Columns, Deep Doctrine Magic: Cross Firings, Education, Subculture Shop | |||
Just posted in the NarniaWeb.com Problems with Christian(TM) culture. discussion. First, a German NarniaWebber gave some mild criticism to the concept of Western homeschooling and mentioned her country's ban on home education. The German government, she said, maintains that “all children should have the same access to all kinds of knowledge and a choice in their own beliefs,” and voices her understanding of this rationale — as if any government-sponsored education is inherently “neutral” and will fully give the children the Right to Choose “their own beliefs” with no external input whatsoever. To this I outlined an observation of recent Western homeschooling trends: One of the only safe generalizations to make is that it's rarely safe to generalize, about any particular demographic. Homeschoolers do exist who prefer to teach only one viewpoint and whose children, if they attend college at all, either head for “safe” schools, or attend secular universities and there find it difficult if not impossible to understand, and interact with those who advocate, different belief systems. However, such a species of homeschoolers seems to me to be largely fading, replaced by what I call Homeschoolers: The Next Generation. Homeschoolers: The Original Series concentrated on home-grown things, were occasionally legalistic and stressed elements like family businesses, apprenticeships and such (and very often the spiritual benefits of near-poverty). However, Homeschoolers: The Next Generation often recognizes the necessity of learning presuppositions and worldviews, classical literature, interaction with those of different beliefs even while remaining grounded in a firmly founded Christian faith. Whereas the Originals, as courageous as they were, sometimes preferred their children to grow up and help with the family business or something like that, the children of the Next Generation go on to become American congressional interns, attorneys, large business owners or participants, computer programmers, even journalists. And, further about the Subculture's idiosyncrasies: The Black Glove wrote: This strong point is worth elaborating. I argue in a forthcoming column, for example, that Christians' yelling at The Da Vinci Code and its author is hardly worth it, when there is so much more junk published from within Christendom that even more needs to be purged from the face of the Earth. I shan't elaborate on the exact persons I have in mind here, but suffice it to say that specifically within the realm of nonfiction, these authors' books advocate either just short of or direct heresies. The Gnostic “conspiracy” often “exposed” in the DVC hype is hardly a conspiracy if everyone knows about it; whereas so many “Christian” authors are advocating a message far removed from the truths of the Bible. This may be another reason why the Christian Subculture is actually more insidious than a mere irritant. Why? Partly because it studiously avoids participation in the “marketplace of ideas” that many philosophers, and American Supreme Court justices and such, have advocated — instead, it eliminates most ideological competition afforded by other religions from the scene. Thus, hideously bad Christian authors, of novels and nonfiction, are able to get away with more. Quality control, of theology and artistic value, is replaced by a rationale that goes something like, “Well, it's Clean, and not nearly as bad as the Secular Things that are out there!” To this I protest vehemently! — Most Christians can easily spot the “evil secular” culture aspects. But to discern subtly anti-Biblical material from within the Church is far more difficult. |
|||
Subject underway: 'trademarking' the Christian Subculture? |
|||
|
by
Dr Ransom
at
12:18 PM ET
,
Monday, Aug 28, 2006
|
Permalink | |
| Categories: Columns, Deep Doctrine Magic: Megachurchianity, Subculture Shop | |||
A new discussion has begun on NarniaWeb, launched by a member named Dementor. Provocative title: Problems with “Christian”(TM) culture. His quasi-essay with which he begins the discussion makes some excellent, and very familiar, points about the dichotomy between cultures “Christian” and “secular”: Christians are attempting to model an entirely seperate culture, (entertainment, media, school material, the works) for themselves, this is of course fine and acceptable but for two tiny little problems. Indeed, correct. Of course, I've already posted my first thoughts on the topic, of course pulling some material from my own existing columns. |
|||
Re-editing Christ-centered fiction for widescreen viewers |
|||
|
by
Dr Ransom
at
01:32 PM ET
,
Wednesday, Aug 23, 2006
|
Permalink | |
| Categories: Columns, Media: Books, Deep Doctrine Magic: Christian Novels, Subculture Shop, Storytelling | |||
This column had been modified from its original version. It has been formatted to fit your possible viewpoint. If you haven’t been into a Christian bookstore in a while, take a moment to slip past the little yes,-add-me-to-your-church-mailing-list bulk bulletin cards, giant VeggieTales displays for their recent pop-culture-friendly DVD releases, and wooden Willow Tree figurines shaped like gentle women without faces. Instead, browse the fiction section for a while. Note the covers — many of them featuring women, often in calico dresses, standing on the prairie, looking forlorn. Then choose from among this “variety” of volumes and note the back cover descriptions. Or, perhaps I can save you some time here, by utilizing intensive market research and thus hybridizing all of them into a complete summary of summaries, like this: It’s the year 1878! Sierra Samantha Victoria Hutchinson Dick Cheney O’Regan Begorrah Lancaster is a (select one: frontier doctor/lawyer/U.S. Marshal, daughter of Irish immigrants, abandoned orphan, child of stern Amish upbringing), who is (select one: trying to make her way in a career dominated by men, struggling to understand a new land and find true love, struggling with her own loneliness brought on by the man who left her behind, trying to reconcile her faith and childhood abuses). And so it goes. I have neither personal irritation with these books, nor for the authors who write them. After all, I’ve never actually read one all the way through. Books like these sell big; from behind the bookstore counters, I’ve seen them fly off the shelves — not literally, of course, but literarily. The very-imitable, yet prolific, Beverly Lewis, Judith Pella, Francine Rivers, seemingly multiple generations of Gilbert Morrises and of course Karen Kingsbury, and all their literary cousins, move major metal in the marketplace. Readers — invariably, middle-aged and elderly church-intensive women — just can’t get enough of them. Romance is a particular element of such ultra-similar stories. Even entire series, based on geographical landmarks, promise heartwarming accounts of Love, True Love and Marriage in such exotic locales as Hawaii, San Francisco, Florida, yes, even Kansas and Kentucky. Character names and locations only are changed to protect the innocent. And innocent they are. As one woman told me, such books provide wholesome alternatives to those steamy romance writings available on the secular shelves. Yet the cleaned-up books are somewhat unrealistic, she added, laughing with me about the “state” of the geographic series’ titles. “The male characters are always compassionate and Christlike, and seem to know exactly what to say to win the ladies’ hearts,” she admitted with a grin. Yet she purchases and reads them anyway — as do many of her friends. And within, many rough edges to the sides of this narrow view of life have been safely edited away. It’s far unlike real life, and far apart from what the Creator expects from His redeemed in a world of rebellion and discomfort. |
|||
Nine Simple Steps to Selling a Subculture Success |
|||
|
by
Dr Ransom
at
07:00 AM ET
,
Friday, Jul 14, 2006
|
Permalink | |
| Categories: Columns, Deep Doctrine Magic: Churchianity, Cross Firings, Subculture Shop | |||
So, Pastor Ralph Lee Laufenburger! You’ve gone through youth ministry, Bible school, several conferences on church growth, and finally a ministerial position at Christian-Light Community Church in Kansas City, a middle-size congregation that you’ve made even larger during the space of 11 years. Your church, already on local television, is soon to go on syndication to many spiritually oriented cable networks, as well as TBN. And now, you’ve written a proposal for a very notable book that you are certain may prove quite lucrative. Here we have for you a lengthy list of proven marketing methods, sure to work at first in Christian bookstores nationwide, and then, eventually, even the featured-items aisles and displays of real bookstores as well. Such strategies have been proven to work on multiple occasions, and we are sure the following steps will also bring about certain success! 1. Table of contents As for the actual book material, your proposal is definitely impressive. Jesus Wept is a very catchy title, and based on a short, pithy Bible verse that is often overlooked. Your style, as written, will certainly prove appealing, and of course you will portray your thesis of realizing anew the value of anyone weeping as Jesus once did as the “magic bullet” to everything that ails not only the Church, but people’s personal lives. Here’s the suggested back-cover text (replaced in later editions by your own photo). Have you ever wondered if a wise being, somewhere, is looking upon the state of his world, and crying? More helpful, though, will be only single verses at the beginning of each chapter, on which the chapter’s contents will be based. Other sources, including rare quotes from other bestseller authors, poets, filmmakers, mystics, and the Rev. Robert Schueller, will be cited in the back bibliography. |
|||
'World' on seeming movie anomalies |
|||||
|
by
Dr Ransom
at
06:22 PM ET
,
Saturday, Jul 08, 2006
|
Permalink | |||
| Categories: Media: Film and DVD, Books, Deep Doctrine Magic: Life Applications, Subculture Shop | |||||
At last I caught up to the recent World Magazine feature about evangelicals' favorite movies and novels, which editor-in-chief Marvin Olasky began with this: Early in the 20th century the reaction of many evangelicals to the movies was [. . .] Don't go to productions viewed as tawdry or (at best) consumers of time that could better be spent at church picnics. But the appeal of lights/camera/action overwhelmed strict separationism, and films were increasingly seen as delights of life like vines and fig trees (some of which produced rotten figs and deserved to wither). Jared from the Thinklings cites blogger Elfin Ethicist, who commented: The results might be surprising. As much as conservative Christian publications like World tend to complain about the prevalence of the R rating in Hollywood, it seems many of the people they admire actually enjoy that sort of fare. Here was my comment: And for me, the oft-complained-about elements of violence and even Bad Language aren't such a problem for me [sic]. Real life, after all, often contains Bad Language and even Violence, depending on one's occupation: If you're a police officer or soldier, for example, you have to put up with Violence, and if you're a journalist working in any newsroom, you'll have to tolerate Bad Language. Yet Sexual Content and Nudity in movies seem the most troublesome. Only if one is somehow a Christian male gynecologist does one have to find some way around those things — but even then, gratuitous, scintillating inclusion of such materials in movies goes beyond the bounds of what we must tolerate in real life. It's all a matter of context: a film with some bad language and violence can actually be redeeming as a whole. Thus, the R-rated Passion of the Christ, even with its horrible scenes of the tortured Savior, is far better than this disgusting movie trailer I saw recently for a PG-13-rated flick displaying women in skimpy lingerie and thongs and of course constant Sexual Situations, 24/7. Men, especially, are prone toward getting that crap stuck in their heads for a long time. But unless the man is messed up in other areas, seeing instances of in-context Violence done onscreen won't be troublesome at all, if not actually emboldening and inspiring them further to fight for a just cause. One cannot simply dismiss any media form as evil — as have done the Christians of yesteryear. But yes, discernment is critical — we must be careful to maintain Christ-centered balance. |
|||||
Contradictory Christian Music |
|||
|
by
Dr Ransom
at
08:25 AM ET
,
Friday, Jul 07, 2006
|
Permalink | |
| Categories: Deep Doctrine Magic: Ransom Notes, Subculture Shop, Media: Music | |||
Working part-time at a Christian bookstore continues to yield interesting observations about the Christian subculture of books and movies. Last week, there was the CCM radio station playing in the receiving room, featuring a song with these lyrics (possibly incidentally paraphrased): You make me happy Um — what’s going on? Then there’s the video playing above the Music Section. One employee had gotten so tired of the four-minute advertising loop on there that she finally swapped it for a much-longer promo DVD featuring all manner of music. One older song, sung by someone named “Stacie Orrico,” is called “Don’t Look at Me.” Its title floats by underneath two fading photographs of Stacie Orrico. I suppose, at this point, we’re not supposed to look. By far the most intriguing example is a song by a female someone who is flailing about a parking lot someplace, with squinty-eyed head-shaking Dudes playing drums and such behind her. The young lady, in jeans and a modest t-shirt, is nevertheless throwing herself about on the ground, head-banging her clay-blond hair, yelling intermittently at the camera, jamming on a guitar, gesticulating with her hands as if experiencing road rage, and so on. The song is about not conforming to worldly things. EDIT: Partial, actual lyrics are as follows. It's all around An excellent notion, worth advocating! Yet the music video version's style certain seems to make it an artistic paradox ... |
|||
Missed it by that much |
|||
|
by
Dr Ransom
at
09:00 AM ET
,
Wednesday, Jul 05, 2006
|
Permalink | |
| Categories: Deep Doctrine Magic: Subculture Shop, Media: Music, Local News | |||
Yesterday, as a bookstore clerk, I very nearly un-sold an item, which is frowned upon in most business societies. CUSTOMER (checking out with David Crowder* Band CD): Someone told me this was really good. Fortunately for the store, she wound up purchasing it anyway. Unfortunately for her — he still sounds like a singing sheep. And a former fan I know claims the band's music has turned into “cotton candy” substance anyway.
|
|||
Concert speeds past God-given creativity |
|||
|
by
Dr Ransom
at
10:29 PM ET
,
Friday, Jun 16, 2006
|
Permalink | |
| Categories: Columns, Media: Music, Film and DVD, Deep Doctrine Magic: Subculture Shop | |||
(Originally written for print publication April 20, 2005) “They have taken the bridge and the second hall. We have barred the gates but cannot hold them for long. The ground shakes. Drums — drums in the deep. We cannot get out. … We cannot get out. They are coming.” Ichthus is a Christian rock concert that Asbury College helped start up back in the ‘70s. Its participants come here every spring and set up their huge white tents, just like tree-dwelling bagworms, for a few days of excitement, Christian ministry, celebrity bands, and often bountiful rain and mud and sometimes funnel clouds. Last year I complained about the Ichthusians in print, mostly because of the noise. Also I’m not the Earth’s greatest “Third Day” fan. But whether I like any of the noise or not (hint: not), there it is anyway, sometimes at 10 p.m., thudding through the walls of the house, quite audible even while I have my own music (National Treasure soundtrack) on the CD player with headphones. Then there’s the traffic clogging Harrodsburg Road that forces me to make detours down smaller country lanes, perhaps while passing mailboxes that have been dented in by baseball bats. Yes, I’m quite certain rogue Ichthusians did that one year, because not all of them are Christians. Even the Christians sin sometimes — seems there’s a bumper sticker about that. Also, the police always set up those little mechanical boxes along the main road that monitor your speed and flash it at you; otherwise the boxes do nothing, and I’ve been tempted to speed past one of them just to see if a swarm of tiny mechanical hovercraft cops will fly out of a trap door and give chase. But seriously, this time, I’d like to go a little deeper into this aspect of the Christian subculture — just as last year I suggested Christian music could go deeper into Biblical truths. I get irritated by the Ichthusian style not just because of the noise, but because these talented musicians are very likely selling their true abilities short, in order to pattern off secular musical styles. Unfortunately, if you’ve ever gone into a Christian bookstore or picked up a catalog you’ll see a lot of this problem there, too: books, gifts and t-shirts that simply play off of “secular” trends or products. Some of the catalogs are quite unashamed about it. “For fans of Destiny’s Child,” or some such band, accompanies the description for a new CD. Or, “For fans of John Grisham” and “For fans of Stephen King” on novels — reminiscent of the labels on generic products at Winn-Dixie: “If you like ‘Captain Crunch,’ try me!” Christianity’s favorite quasi-children’s crossover media craze, VeggieTales, has especially fallen into this trap. For years since the 3D-animated Biblical principle-teaching vegetables hit video stands, the guys at the Chicago-based Big Idea Productions seem only to be getting their big ideas from movies, books and TV shows they like. Along with the usual Bible-story-adaptations-with-a-modern-twist approach, they’ve stolen stuff from Gilligan’s Island, Star Trek, Disney, Batman, i>Bonanza, Rocky, Dr. Seuss, The Three Stooges and so on, and their future videos promise more loads of really original fun by stealing stuff from Indiana Jones and Lord of the Rings. (Only they call stealing stuff a “tribute.” That’s how you get away with stealing other people’s ideas, in books, movies or cartoons: you call it a “tribute.”) I realize I’m sounding quite elitist. Almost everything in music or media has been partially inspired by something else. It all depends on how much you either hide your creative sources or add original stuff. But the whole Christian rock festival idea, stolen directly from Woodstock, and a whole lot of Christian products and media that just steal from other slogans and shows, only serve to make secular observers sneer. I should know better: the secularists are probably going to sneer no matter what. But while they’re sneering at Christian beliefs, they might as well be buying up Christ-honoring stuff left and right because it’s awesome and original — like works by the very Christian C.S. Lewis or J.R.R. Tolkien, who defied the popular conventions and realism-based literature of their time by writing something very new: fantasy. The person of faith who believes Christ influences everything in his or her life will naturally want to glorify God fully in every creative expression, be it music, drama, art or writing. Ripping off of others’ work, especially “secular” products, is not only artistic cheating, but it’s selling yourself short — and on a spiritual level, it’s not exactly doing your best work for God, pointing others toward Him and His truths. Ehh … more power to the Ichthusians, though. As I’ve written about before, I in no way expect my own definition of Perfection. Although God often prefers to speak in that “still, small voice,” I know He will sometimes use anything to communicate with people, even horrendous noise expelled through amplifiers the size of small Caribbean resorts. But next week you’ll have to use one of those amplifiers to communicate to me, because I plan on losing my hearing over the weekend. Perhaps that can qualify as an excused absence — these final projects will be the death of me, if the Ichthusians and their cars don’t kill me on their highway first. |
|||
Game over? |
|||||
|
by
Dr Ransom
at
07:00 AM ET
,
Thursday, Jun 08, 2006
|
Permalink | |||
| Categories: Deep Doctrine Magic: Cross Firings, Subculture Shop, Media: Books | |||||
This is most interesting: the Thinklings, a blog similar to FaithFusion (though clearly they got here first) has some observations about the most recent — argh — Left Behind-themed video game. This is beyond kids figuring out how to get all the animals onto Noah’s Ark before time runs out or dodging the whip-wielding Egyptians to get, Frogger-like, across the Red Sea. It’s even, I would venture to say, different than playing as an angel battling a demon (although the theology in such a scenario could be just as tenuous). I am slightly divided on this issue. This perspective sounds to me to be slightly akin to “Lexus Christianity” — that is, considering the faith so precious and so sacred that you will never ever let it out of the garage and actually drive it around in the real world to mud-intensive locations. The Second Coming will be a messy event (if you believe in that eschatological perspective) and the events leading up to it (if you believe in that eschatological perspective) are certainly video game-esque. Similarly, one could easily — and accurately — assemble a “first-person shooter” video game based on the exploits of the ancient Judges in Israel. Your mission is to kill as many Moabites / Assyrians / Hittites / whatevers as possible, for it is God's command. And recall that yes, it was God's command, for the Creator described in Scriptures is a God of Love but also necessarily of Justice. If Christians adopt a “hands-off policy” to media such as video games because our stuff is just too sacred, the secular world will be more than happy to fill in with its own perversions. And then Christian game-players will be only further drawn, perhaps subconsciously, into the false dichotomy between “faith” and “real world.” |
|||||
Don't swim in the sewer; you know what it's full of |
|||||
|
by
Dr Ransom
at
09:40 AM ET
,
Saturday, May 13, 2006
|
Permalink | |||
| Categories: Deep Doctrine Magic: Cross Firings, Evangelism, Gnosticism, Subculture Shop, Media: Film and DVD, Books | |||||
Focus on the Family media review site Plugged In Online currently quotes from a May 3 Christianity Today column, regarding That Heretical Movie that releases next week: “Believers are touting [The Da Vinci Code movie] as an 'opportunity for evangelism' and even an incentive to bolster our own faith. Baloney,” says Barbara Nicolosi, founder and director of the Christian screenwriter training program Act One. “This film is based on a book that wears its heresy and blasphemy as a badge of honor, and I intend to stay far away from it.” I don't much agree with Nicolosi's later admonitions not to “debate the Devil” — a reasoned 1 Peter 3:15-style defense of the faith toward honest skeptics is certainly not on par with the don't-answer-demons'-questions rationale she cites. And yet Nicolosi and others raise a good point about Christians being all too willing to debate anti-Biblical ideas on the Devil's terms. Why do Christians not fight harder to create their own artistic works based on Biblical truth, instead of merely waiting to respond all the time? The Passion of the Christ and certainly The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was an excellent start, for the film industry, anyway. Let's continue that. Otherwise, secular observers will — perhaps rightfully — cite the classic line, this time regarding Christians: “Methinks you dost protest too much ...” |
|||||
