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No, I have not seen “Religulous” yet.

Will I? Maybe. I’m always interested to see someone else’s take on Christianity (and religion in general). I realize the viewpoint Maher is coming from, and I know he’s got an agenda to make religious people look silly - and often they don’t need his help to do so - but I can still watch his movie with a critical eye and take the good with the bad. I can guarantee that there’s at least one thing in the movie that I can take and use in my life.

Greg Boyd is an author that I respect. He is extremely smart when it comes to Christian theology and apologetics. He has seen Religulous, and he blogged his thoughts about it. Here’s a snippet:

I also have to say that I found myself in agreement with much of Maher’s commentary. While many Christians seem to feel the need to defend religion – at least the Christian religion – from the sort of criticism Maher raises,  I think its imperative for followers of Jesus to side with these sorts of criticisms. For the undeniable truth is that religion – including the Christian religion –  is often irrational and extremely dangerous.

Fortunately, the kingdom Jesus inaugurated has got nothing to do with religion.  Indeed, Jesus’ main opposition came from the guardians of religion, and religion continues to be a main obstacle to the advancement of his kingdom. (For more on this, see my Repenting of Religion). If Maher’s documentary does anything to help people get free of religion, it’s done humanity and the kingdom a great service, in my opinion.

He also says:

Having said this, there’s much to criticize in Maher’s documentary. I’ll offer one general and one specific criticism.

First, Religulous is utterly devoid of nuances and objectivity.  Maher lumps all religion in the same silly and dangerous bucket while never bothering to tell his audience what he means by the term “religion.” One gets the impression that humanity can be divided up into two well defined groups: on the one side you have rational humane people who have no religious beliefs and who simply want to make the world a better place; on the other side you have irrational misanthropic people who have “religious” beliefs and who inhibit progress and threaten the world.

But surely Maher is aware that people without religious beliefs have done their fair share of stupid and evil things throughout history while people with religious beliefs have often been extremely rational and have done a lot of good in the world.  And surely Maher is aware that there’s a world of difference between (say) a Buddhist monk who practices total non-violence and whose aspiration is to eventually escape the wheel of reincarnation and become nothing (nirvana) and (say) a Muslim extremist who slaughters innocent people by blowing himself up in a crowded market square so he can eternally enjoy sex with 72 virgins in heaven!  Maher could have given his documentary a little more credibility had he nuanced his slam on religion a little and at least tipped his hat in the direction of fairness.

You can read his whole critique of the movie here, which includes his thoughts on the Horus-Christ parallels that Maher draws in the movie (Horus was a god as told in an Egyptian myth).

For another Christian viewpoint, you can read Dan Kimball’s thoughts over at his blog.

If any of you get a chance to see the movie, please share your thoughts on it. I’d love to hear more about it from y’all. If I do get a chance to see it, I’ll let you know what I thought of it.

Tags: Bill Maher, Dan Kimball, Greg Boyd, Religulous

We walked with purpose. We walked with conviction. The green room behind us, the packed auditorium in front of us. “Walk of shame?” I asked Derek…”Walk of shame,” he responded with a chuckle.

There were nine of us altogether. Charlie, Brandon, Sara, Sandra, Derek, myself, and 3 other guys dressed in black with white neckties. I would soon discover these guys were not an armed security detail, but rather the talented percussion section who would spend the next 3 hours keeping the beat.

We pushed open the door and suddenly we were just off-stage, to the right. Though a carefully placed folding partition blocked the view of our entrance to most in attendance, a handful of folks saw us and began clapping and yelling. Should I take the stage? I thought about it for a split second…probably not a good idea. The crowd did not come here to see Sara Groves place a rogue stage crasher in a full nelson so Charlie Peacock could pepper his ribs with body punches (not that they wouldn’t have enjoyed it). The crowd came to see good music. Who was I to get in the way of that?

I thanked Derek again for the free tickets, and found my way back to Erica while the rest of my shame-walking posse took the stage and opened the show with a rousing rendition of Sara Groves’ “Add to the Beauty”. From the moment the first chorus kicked in I knew it was going to be a great night.

And it was.

This was the Art*Music*Justice Tour. An idea dreamed up by Sara Groves and her husband Troy. It was about bringing great music and important causes to hungry ears. Erica and I were happy to make it up to Messiah College on Saturday night to take it in.

As for the Art and the Music, all five of the performers on stage played their own unique part in the evening. Whether it was solo performances of their own material or jointly leading the assembled crowd in familiar choruses, they knocked it out of the park. Musical highlights for me were Sara Groves’ “Add to the Beauty”, Sandra McCracken’s “Lock and Key”, and Sara Groves’ “I Saw What I Saw” (video below). Derek Webb’s “Savior on Capitol Hill” was awesome as always, of course.

As for the Justice portion, they did a great job highlighting two causes: Food for the Hungry and the International Justice Mission. I was especially intrigued by the work IJM is doing to free women (often young girls) from human slavery and sex trafficking. The stories of rescue and freedom were incredibly inspiring.

On a personal level I was inspired by two things. First, like I just mentioned, I was inspired to learn more about IJM, and I look forward to possibly supporting this organization for the great work they are doing. Secondly, I was inspired by the artists themselves, that they would use their platform for this cause. I had just posted about this a few days ago, and there I was Saturday night seeing it in action. People using their platform to help others. I said it then and I’ll say it now, that’s where I want to be. I want to be in the position to influence others so I can influence them to help others.

I sat there on Saturday night thoroughly enjoying the music, but more than that thinking, “I’m 32 years old and I’ve been working as an engineer for 10 years, and what do I have to show for it? I have equity in my house, no other debt, and a great standard of living where my wife and kids are taken care of. I am so thankful for these things. But am I really using all of the talents and abilities God has given me to make a difference? Am I willing to risk the safe things to take chances? Am I willing to step out and see what could happen?” We only have so much time here on earth, and if at the end of my career I’ve been working as an engineer for 25 years, is that going to be ok with me? I don’t know. For some people I think that’s right where they’re supposed to be. For me, I’m not so sure. Just being honest here. It’s something I think about a lot and have been praying about a lot.

So yeah, maybe some day I won’t head from backstage to my seat in the balcony. Maybe someday I’ll finish that walk up onto the stage to read from a book I’ve written or to speak to a gathered crowd. I have no idea if that’s what God has for me down the road. I know I have the desire, and I think I have a seed of the talent it might take, but who knows.

If my life does take that direction at some point, I can assure you of this, I will always be looking to use those opportunities to help others and use my platform for purposes outside of myself. Thanks to Derek Webb, Charlie Peacock, Brandon Heath, Sara Groves, and Sandra McCracken for showing me an example of that on Saturday night.

ps…(click here to see if one of the last few dates of the Art Music Justice Tour happens to be near you…and click here to see a video of “I Saw What I Saw”)

Tags: Art Music Justice, Derek Webb, Sandra McCracken, Sara Groves

A few years ago I was hanging back by the merch table after a Derek Webb show in Birmingham, AL when this guy approached me and said,”Hey, aren’t you Bryan from caedmonscall.net?” I was shocked, and immediately excited to be recognized by someone so far from home. Even if it was for something as dorky as starting up a successful fan site for a band. This guy even had a caedmonscall.net shirt on at the time, which was even more amazing.

That’s not the first or last time I’ve been recognized by a stranger and I’ve got to admit, it’s kinda cool. When you think about it, that’s basically what being famous is. A famous person is someone who is recognized and talked about by people they don’t know.

Think of celebrities. They know a few thousand people, but they are known by millions. For them, celebrity often becomes a drug. The recognition by strangers is a high that boosts the ego and impedes upon normal life all at the same time. When it becomes inconvenient (think paparazzi) they wish it would go away. When they start to be ignored, they thrust themselves back out there in hopes to become recognized again (think photo shoots for Us Weekly, sex tapes, publicity stunts, etc.)

If I’m honest, I have to admit that I enjoy the ego-boost that comes from being recognized by a stranger at a CC or Derek Webb show (it’s happened maybe 5 or 6 times). But I also realize that it’s a false high, and I realize how addictive and self-destructive it could become if I were to pursue it. Not only that, but to be obsessed with fame is to be obsessed with how many strangers know who you are. I have enough problem taking the focus off of myself so i can focus on the people around me that i love. My wife, my kids, my friends. Never mind devoting time and energy towards impressing people I don’t even know.

Do I really want to be a celebrity? Do I really want to be known everywhere I go? No, I’m pretty sure I don’t.

(Would I like to be known and respected by others for my talents and skills? Yes, I would. I would like to be known by other writers as a great writer - long way to go there - in the same way that my friend Jon might want to be known by other musicians and fans as a great musician. But this is different, I think, than wanting to be famous.)

I bring all this up because I just read a short interview with Bono on CNN.com. In it, he talks about some of the work he is currently doing for Africa, including the funding that was just appropriated to end malaria by 2015, a disease transmitted by mosquitoes that kills 3000 African children every day. How amazing is that! And when the reporter mentions the access that Bono has gained because of who he is, Bono chalks it up to “the absurdity of celebrity”. I love that. He realizes how foolish it is that a musician like himself is such a celebrity, but instead of using it for personal gain (which he probably does from time to time), he uses his celebrity to champion the causes of the oppressed, the needy, and the poor.

No, I don’t want to be a celebrity, and I’m pretty sure it’s a problem I’ll never have. But If I ever do become famous, I want to be like Bono. I want to use the absurdity of celebrity for something good.

It’s why I’ve added the Compassion International widget to the sidebar of my blog (you won’t be able to see it if you’re reading this in a feedreader). I don’t have millions reading here. Just a few hundred every week. But if I can use the fact that I have a small audience and help just one kid every month get sponsored for $32/month to provide schooling, food, and knowledge of the gospel, then woohah! I can be like a mini Bono, helping out people here and there with the tiny amount of influence that I have.

You can help too…if you don’t currently sponsor a child in another country, I’m not asking you to do it, just asking you to consider it. Keep reloading my blog until the slot machine that is the Compassion Widget pops up a kid from a country you want to sponsor and sign up. In doing so, you’ll be affecting the life of a child in another country, and even though you might be a stranger, you’ll be the biggest celebrity that kid has ever known. We get letters from our sponsor child, Berakania, a few times a year, and honestly, reading those makes me feel even better than I did when that guy recognized me in Alabama.

Because unlike being famous, there’s nothing false about the high that comes from being a generous giver.

Tags: Bono, Celebrity, Compassion International

My friends Jordan Green and John Pattison have interviewed Donald Miller for the Burnside Writers Collective Blog. They did a good job with the interview, and I thought Don did a good job with his answers. Whether you agree or disagree with Don’s decision to vote for (and campaign for) Barack, I think it’s worth a read. Here’s a highlight:

Barack is the only candidate willing to talk about his faith in Jesus. Other candidates are reluctant, but Obama is not. He is the only one who has consistently talked about the cross, about redemption, and about repentance. Many white evangelicals have a misconception about Barack…they believe that because he is a Democrat, he cannot be a Christian. But times have changed, culture has changed, and political parties change. So one of the reasons I support Barack is because he is my Christian brother, and other Christians are rejecting him.

Tags: Barack Obama, Donald Miller, Vote