Thursday, November 11, 2004

Indulgence, Development This may be the most succinct, profound explanation of the current Christian attempt to engage the postmodern imagination using pop culture itself. "We answer that the antidote to indulgence is development, not restraint, and that such is the duty of the wise servant of Him who made the imagination." George MacDonald, The Imagination: Its Functions and Its Culture quoted in Leland Ryken's The Christian Imagination 9:28:54 AM    comment []

Go Deep, Not Wide I woke up at 4:45 a.m. Silence is easy in early morning, not even the hum of the computer to stir the air. Looking at the books spread on the desk, evidence of yesterday's culling, I feel that familiar overwhelming coming on. If I can only pile on enough evidence, marshal enough smart people all saying what I want them to say, then maybe the intimations of my own heart will find validation, and I'll finally-- Wait, wait. No, this is the silent time. Go deep, not wide. Here's the question: is it better to skim 20 books, or plunge deep into 1? I read somewhere that you really only need one good vocal exercise to learn to sing. Silence and the Web I love the World Wide Web. Surfing is decent metaphor for the state of mind the web teases into me, except that surfing calls up images of the great blue deep, whitecaps towering over me, the fresh air and sun playing alongside. It's an image of surging, sometimes violent beauty, all natural but for the board at my feet. But the nature of the web is not sea and sky, but library and Vegas. Unseen opportunity on a scale never seen before this generation lies at the other end of every link, each one a rainbow arching to what may finally be the pot of gold. Is it just me, or is there a rushing in this surfing, a spontaneous tugging at the forefinger and eyes, images playing the role of waves, towering over us, drenching us in a new structures of thought, new ways of perceiving, catching us up in its particular stickiness, just as webs are made to do? Do we still need quiet? The calm surface of mind that many see in the image of the deep, still lake? It's not an either/or, but both/and. But let me be honest. There is much good emerging from post-modern structures of thought and the new energy with which Christians are seeking to engage the postmodern culture. My question has always been whether or not the frenetic nature of the juxtapositions imposed on us during a mere stroll through the postmodern day--iPod driven inner life, Hollywood constructions of reality, the liturgical consumption of advertising, the never-ending stream of information, the weird, commercial mind that is our buddy TV--can ever teach us how to be thoughtful and wise about those very things? I have no doubt that God is to be found in all the postmodern realities we've decided Christians must engage. I just wonder where we go to learn to engage them with wisdom? Back to the quiet, back to still waters... 7:22:22 AM    comment []

Immunity to Advertising? An article speaking to the ubiquity of advertising, and its role in the ensuing fragmentation of American (not to mention world) society...from Wired listed on Arts Journal. Stop Trying to Persuade Us by Jason Silverman "Advertising is everywhere; it's hard to escape. "Advertisers will spend hundreds of billions of dollars trying to reach consumers this year. The result? Advertising clutter. Researchers guesstimate the average American is exposed to hundreds, or even thousands, of ads each day. But marketers may be losing ground. We've been sprayed so much that we've begun developing immunities." Wired 11/09/04 6:31:31 AM    comment []

© Copyright 2004 Jeff Berryman .