Discovering Who I Am

Archive for December, 2007

Few films have created so much excitement in the Christian community as The Golden Compass. There has been much discussion about the clear anti-religious agenda of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy and the effect it could have on unsuspecting children who read the books or watch the film. I agree that there is cause to be concerned and we, as Christians, need to be pro-active in countering aggressive anti-Christian propaganda. However, the majority of articles, TV interviews, radio programs and commentaries I have seen do not well represent our Christian faith.

The average atheist or secularist who might read some of the doomsday warnings about The Golden Compass coming out of main-stream Christian circles would have to dismiss them as knee-jerk, over-reactive, religious extremism. The reason I say this is because there is very little real engagement of the authentic concerns about religious authoritarianism expressed by Pullman or acknowledgment that those concerns have some basis in reality.

We, as Christians, should be taking advantage of the opportunity to authentically engage these concerns, instead of reacting with violent, poisonous, wholesale condemnation of what is obviously a common rejection of God by individuals who have been hurt by the hypocrisy of men.

An excellent example of this kind of authentic engagement can be seen in the articles written by Tony Watkins, the Managing Editor of CultureWatch.org. I highly recommend reading all the articles written by Tony Watkins, as well as his interviews with Philip Pullman. We damage our credibility when we do not approach controversy of this kind with intellectually honest debate. Let’s educate ourselves and turn these cultural crises into opportunities.

Here are links to the articles and interviews by Tony Watkins:

• Heading the Wrong Direction
• His Dark Materials
• Northern Lights
• Pullman: not as cynical as we think?
• Philip Pullman: the most dangerous author in Britain
• Interview with Philip Pullman
• The Magisterium and the Authority
• Interview with Philip Pullman (part two)
• Talking about . . . storytelling
• Agenda squabbles
• Navigating life

As I have discovered and become immersed in the world of facebook, I have been pleasantly surprised to find identity and authenticity as the foundation on which facebook’s success is built. Facebook is a social-networking site through which individuals stay connected to their family, friends and colleagues. What sets facebook apart from all the other online communities, like MySpace, is that misrepresentation of your real self is a violation of company policy.

Facebook.com’s mastermind, Mark Zuckerberg, identifies authenticity as a critical part of his vision for facebook. Through facebook, I can share as detailed a picture of my identity as I desire, but only with people whom I have given permission to access my profile. Unlike MySpace, facebook only allows individuals in my “friends list” to access my page and interact with me.

With 150,000 new users joining facebook every day, there must be something here that people are looking for. I think people are flocking to facebook because it is a portal through which their true self can be seen by others and through which they can get an authentic view into the lives of those they know. It is also a place where they can share information in a relevant way.

This trend is indicative of a hunger in our culture for realness. There is a desire for something more than prime-time TV sitcoms, airbrushed network news anchors and false realities generated by Hollywood graphic artists. We saw our first clue of this movement in all the “reality TV” programming over the last few years and, I believe, will continue to see this cultural move towards authenticity grow over the next decade.

See you on facebook!

To All My Democrat Friends:

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2008, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere. Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.

To My Republican Friends:

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

–Author Unknown