i really should have posted some of my thoughts from this week's journeys to the Hindu Temple, the Buddhist Temple, the Hare Krishna Temple, the Muslim Mosque, the Unity Church of Raleigh, and the discussion with the Scientologist...
but instead, if you're curious, you'll just have to catch me at lunch or dinner and ask me about it. really fascinating stuff, though.
i'm encouraged in my choice to pursue Christian Education... we are so uneducated in the Church! there is such a lack of solid theology... such a lack of awareness of the cultural and ethnic contexts in which we live...
how else would people get sucked out of a Baptist church and into the Unity Church (which practices shamanism, believes in incarnation, and denies the resurrection of Jesus)...? or, how would a sensible, intelligent woman consider Christian spirituality not "deep" enough, and find contentment in Hare Krishna community?
I believe it is because we are not educating in our churches. We, the Church, have this tendency to reserve our critical thinking skills to our vocation ONLY, employing little if any problem-solving skills when it comes to the life of the Church. Are we aware of the Mormon's who live and work with us, and how to meet their spiritual and physical needs? Would we even know how they believe differently? Are we aware of the cultural needs of an Arab or Indian in this part of North Carolina? If so, how could our church meet their spiritual needs, AFTER we've met their cultural and physical ones?
how many Chrisitans do you, or I, know who have actually had a conversation with a Muslim, or a Hindu...? fewer than we want to admit.
unrelated
www.chrismcleodmusic.com
check this kid out... impressive. (i grew up with him and his older brother)
also unrelated
i think 'Morning View' by Incubus has to be one of the best albums of the past 10 years. can't say the same for the rest of their stuff... but that one disc could stay in my rotation for weeks and i wouldn't feel any need to remove it.
somewhat related to that...
here's the other 4 i'd put in my CD player for extended rotation
Morning View by Incubus
The Best of the Police
You Should Be Living by twothirtyeight
The best of 1980-1990 by U2
Learning to Breathe by Switchfoot
hmm... sounds like a good mix for the paper i should be typing right now (the Church's reponse to the rise of Islam and the advance of Muslims)
peace
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6 comments:
just curious...how do you see yourself facilitating that particular vein of education in the Church? you don't want to preach, but rather aid in creative/technological ministies, right? connect the dots for me there..
sounds like a fascinating week!
Christian education takes place in SO MANY more places than just the pulpit... the songs we sing, the sunday school sessions, the prayers we pray... all of these are ways of education that we don't consciously consider.
education of our cultural context can happen in the kinds of ministries that our church is involved with...
that help with the dot-connections at all...?
whoa. I didn't know you knew Chris. I used to know his whole family really well until they moved to NY... his mom directed a choir i was in. crazy. his recordings are pretty sweet. he majored in music technology at ORU.... i wish i was doing that. oh well. I wish him the best in the music industry.
yes; i've now got a picture of sorts :)
I agree with you totally on this one. Its one of the things that drove me nuts teaching in a Christian High School. Parents wanted their children educated, but heaven forbid that you teach them both sides of any given argument, or use a book that might have been questionable in the past, or put on a show that has dissenting views on Christianity. If you do not teach our youth what people think, then they will learn for themselves, and that is not always good. I'm not talking about brainwashing, but rather responsible educating. If you explain to a kid why you believe the way you do, they'll understand it. If they understand it, they might embrace it more so than if you dictate it to them and tell them "Because" when they ask "Why". I guarantee that anyone else they go to will explain why.
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