new pictures on the Fotolog

DONE WITH PODLES AND ON TO SCHAEFFER...

I finished Podles last night and plan on processing my thoughts tomorrow and Sunday, so hopefully there will be a post on Podles Monday. Only time will tell :-)

This morning I started ADDICTED TO MEDIOCRITY by Franky Schaeffer (see What I'm Reading for details on the book). My only thought so far is how appropriate this book still is some 20 years after it was first published. The so-called "Christian art" on the market is mostly dismal. There are shadows of change in some corners--emergent and alt.worship--but even there, the need for utilitarian purposes corrupts the true value of art. More later...

SICK AGAIN? plus more on Podles

Apparently, I have some sort of sinus-lung curse, because I have the crud again. Thanks to copious amounts of tea and water, and the marvels of modern OTC medicine (Aleve Cold and Sinus--thanks to j-cubed for the tip), I'm back at work today.

PODLES

I'm almost done with The Church Impotent, by Leon Podles--started the last chapter this morning. This chapter sums up his argument (one that I believe has questionable foundations--but more on that next week) in a practical application to church. To accomplish this, he will discuss three "masculine modes of living which can be studied to develop the practices and approaches that the Church needs...": initiation, struggle, and brotherly love (pg. 197). His key question in this chapter is, "Is there any way that Christianity can reach men in a long-lasting and effective manner?" (pg. 196).

As a preview to next week's reflections on this book, let me say that the two major difficulties with Podles' argument are that 1) he bases his understanding of masculinity and femininity on culture rather than on scripture (this is a problem because culture has been corrupted and made extreme by sin and care must be taken); 2) he sets up a false dichotomy between masculinity and femininity, concluding that the church must be one or the other. Given that God created humanity as both masculine and feminine, his dichotomy must be false. More next week, after I finish reading, ponder a bit, and check out Genesis 1-3 for some clues to reality.

a few quick thoughts on Podles

OK, so I'm further in the book (pg 135/208) and I'm beginning to agree with his conclusions. I still disagree with what seem to be his foundational notions of femininity (connectedness?) and masculinity (separateness?). I'm also thinking that my church experience has not been as "feminized" as what he describes.

I should be finishing it in the next few days, so there will be more later.