By: gfesadmin on September 28, 2012
In the second half of Elliot’s Contemporary Social Theory: An Introduction, I was drawn to the contemporary theories of Castell, Beck and Urry’s describing societies as ‘Network, Risk and Liquid’ Societies. Although these theories have received their fair share of criticism, particularly, for being exaggerated and confined to today’s ‘bourgeois’ in the Mega cities, they…
By: gfesadmin on September 28, 2012
Often I hear the phrase “It is what it is”. It is a way to respond to stressful personal and political situations. The phrase is one of acceptance for the way things are instead of becoming overly anxious about them. But it is so prevalent that it seems like an attitude of disengagement. Recently, I…
By: gfesadmin on September 28, 2012
Globalization impacts the majority of people. In other words, most of the world is being impacted by the rest of the world either directly or indirectly. This effect can be seen in biblical history, modern detestable social settings, and in major fast food giants. King David Prior to becoming king of Israel, David experienced the…
By: Joy Mindo on September 27, 2012
The second half of the book deals with the contemporary social theory, feminism, post modernity and networks and globalization which are social phenomena after the 1970 and projected into the future. Habermas wrote about the democratization of society where the public was open to dialogue and form opinions on issues that affect them in society.…
By: gfesadmin on September 27, 2012
This week in our D.Min cohort we finished the last half of Anthony Elliott’s Contemporary Social Theory: An Introduction. One theme that particularly resonated with my life and ministry is postmodernism. I have personally been reflecting on and interacting with postmodernism for much of my life. Furthermore, one of the key topics of the last two…
By: gfesadmin on September 27, 2012
My church has an own Facebook account for six month now. It was hard to convince the church board of the purpose and sense of this new media endeavor. My point was quite obvious, to me social media profiles are unavoidable in our high technological and interconnected world. We have to rather discuss the HOW…
By: gfesadmin on September 27, 2012
“Woman of Pakistani origin is Norwegian Culture Minister”, screamed one of India’s top dailies in its front page headlines on the 25th of September. Hadia Tajik”is the first Muslim and the youngest Minister ever in Norwegian political history”. The news article further closes with this very remarkable statement by the Prime Minister of Norway who…
By: gfesadmin on September 27, 2012
It was a beautiful morning in late May as we worked our way through the streets of Jerusalem. For most of our students there was not a care to be had. For myself and my co-leader we understood the gravity of what we were about to experience. All of sudden off in the distance we…
By: gfesadmin on September 27, 2012
In the second half of Anthony Elliott’s book, “Contemporary Social Theory: An Introduction,” I found myself intrigued by much of the writings of Jurgen Habermas and how his views with media, the bourgeois, theology and feminism. In his work entitled, “Reconciliation through the Public Use of Reason,” Habermas makes a powerful statement. He writes,…
By: gfesadmin on September 26, 2012
There is a joke that has been around for quite a while. A young man is helping in the kitchen, watching his new bride prepare a ham for Sunday dinner. As the wife cuts off an inch from each end, the husband asks why. She replies that it must make the ham more delicious. She…
By: gfesadmin on September 26, 2012
I found the section, “Baudrillard: postmodernity as simulated media culture” a fascinating read (even though I struggled to understand the interrelated intricacies of the fragmented views that make up the post-modernity social theories). In particular, I was very interested in his theory that viewing social interplay as “signs and spectacles” leaves simulation the only reality.…
By: gfesadmin on September 26, 2012
Abstinence before marriage has long been held as an ideal; from the tribal Middle East origins of the monotheistic traditions to contemporary Christianity. Even the “mother of God” was abstinent as well as a virgin when she delivered Jesus. As the Christian church evolved, some traditions like polygamy and arranged marriages were left behind; while…
By: gfesadmin on September 26, 2012
The world is getting smaller, or at least it seems to be, because of globalization (or maybe it’s because I’m sitting in South Africa with 24 people from the United States). Globalization is the intensifying of relationships around the world, be it economic, technological or others. We might answer the age-old question of, ‘What does…
By: Joy Mindo on September 24, 2012
I have spent the week walking in the political capital of USA; visiting malls, museums, galleries and monuments that depict the past, the present and the future of men and women who have excelled in all many different spheres of life. This lay a good foundation for me as I read the book on social…
By: gfesadmin on September 23, 2012
Even the mention of social agendas can frustrate the common man, especially when politics are involved. However, one leading issue of our day, the education of our children, is an elephant in the room that we cannot ignore. It is an issue with international impact, one that effects how future generations will find their place…
By: gfesadmin on September 22, 2012
I traveled to Phoenix this week for a series of meetings. I commented to a stranger in the security line that this is my favorite place to publicly undress. He laughed and agreed. I looked up and saw the sign that all liquids and gels had to be in three ounce containers and that…
By: gfesadmin on September 20, 2012
Experiencing our Indian traffic can be quite an adventure. An outsider would easily assume that the average Indian is well versed with an extreme sport. And to a westerner, particularly, it would be completely chaotic, reckless, and dangerous. At first glance, there seems to be no order or structure to the way the traffic flows.…
By: gfesadmin on September 20, 2012
Two things, one from the past and one from the present weigh heavily on me during this present reading and even as I write now. Having had very little exposure to the study of social theory in the past, the initial reading of ’ Contemporary Social Theories’ by Anthony Elliot was a little tough but…
By: gfesadmin on September 20, 2012
“Sign, sign, everywhere a sign Blockin’ out the scenery, breakin’ my mind Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign?” This song by Five Man Electrical Band coming out of the 60s in the U.S. represented a huge social shift in the culture. Some say this message was the youth culture reacting…
By: gfesadmin on September 20, 2012
Is Marx right in his critique of capitalism? When we examine the current situation that exists in the U.S. at first glance, it may appear the Marx’s point is well taken. For example, on the one hand, Marx argues that the obvious economic inequities that are visible in our capitalistic society are due to structural…
