{"id":25941,"date":"2020-02-18T20:22:13","date_gmt":"2020-02-19T04:22:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=25941"},"modified":"2020-02-18T20:22:13","modified_gmt":"2020-02-19T04:22:13","slug":"trying-to-take-over-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/trying-to-take-over-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Trying to Take Over the World"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pinky: \u201cGee, Brain. What are we going to do tonight?\u201d The Brain: \u201cThe same thing we do every night, Pinky. Try to take over the world\u201d This was the response at the beginning and end of every episode of the 1995 animated parody television series oriented around two genetically altered lab mice with the intentions of taking over the world. Each episode ends with failure usually due to some idiotic thing Pinky does.[1]<\/a> James Davison Hunter, a sociologist raised in the reformed tradition in his book To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World <\/em>tries to answer the deeply personal question: How do believers live out their faith under the conditions of the late modern world?[2]<\/a> If the reader doesn\u2019t let the title of the book sink in, there may be an expectation of a motivational treaty explaining how to take over the world for Jesus. When in reality the 3 essays within the book unfolds that taking over the world is doomed to fail. Closer to the end of the book the reader becomes aware that to Hunter Christianity\u2019s call is to live a \u201cfaithful presence\u201d within the culture.[3]<\/a><\/p>\n

In an interview Hunter insists his book isn\u2019t about withdrawal but all about engagement. He is intentional not to bring the public and the political together. Hunter explains that when it comes to Christian engagement within the culture politics overshadows everything.[4]<\/a> A good portion of his second essay focuses on the interaction between the Christian right and progressive Christian left who both place their trust in political power. Each party looks down on the other believing they can out smart one another. \u201cThe problem today is that the American church is caught up in a dual allegiance to both Christ and the political economy of liberal democracy and consumer capitalism.\u201d[5]<\/a> Hunter later explains that this kind of loyalty to a political party is a form of idolatry. To Hunter the fate of Christians is to live in tension \u201cbetween the social realities that press on human existence and the spiritual and ethical requirements of the gospel; between the morality of the society in which Christian believers live and the will of God.\u201d[6]<\/a> The interesting thing about tension is the innate human desire to relieve it. It appears in today\u2019s culture the way to relieve the tension is to Christianize everything around us.<\/p>\n

In the book The Insanity of Obedience: Walking with Jesus in Tough Places<\/em> author Nik Ripken talks about what it is like to be a missionary in a Muslim country. He was astounded when he saw the persecution in their lives and greatness of their faith. Upon questioning them they explained to them their lives were no different than those in scripture and their faith was not great but was in alignment with what they saw in the bible. \u201cMuch to our surprise, believer\u2019s in persecution did not ask us to pray that their persecution would end. Instead, they begged us to pray that they would be obedient through their suffering. And that is a very different prayer.\u201d[7]<\/a> Why is it that Christians in America appear to be unwilling to live with cultural tension? Have we become so comfortable and engrained in Capitalism the we think we are above persecution or suffering? Could it be that part of the Christian faith is learning to live and thrive amidst the cultural tensions we experience? Has living in a McDonalds society that insists on having it our way within minutes made us soft and unable to tolerate the inconveniences that life throws our way?<\/p>\n

Bart Millard the lead singer of Mercy Me when describing the under pinning\u2019s of the song Even If <\/em>shared the hardship that was faced in having a diabetic son and the frustrations experienced at the hands of well-meaning Christians. The song was birthed out of this frustration and the need to deal with his feelings of guilt when night after night he took the stage expecting to authentically minister to his listeners.<\/p>\n

They say sometimes you win some
\nSometimes you lose some
\nAnd right now, right now I’m losing bad
\nI’ve stood on this stage night after night
\nReminding the broken it’ll be alright
\nBut right now, oh right now I just can’t<\/p>\n

It’s easy to sing
\nWhen there’s nothing to bring me down
\nBut what will I say
\nWhen I’m held to the flame
\nLike I am right now<\/p>\n

I know You’re able and I know You can
\nSave through the fire with Your mighty hand
\nBut even if You don’t
\nMy hope is You alone<\/p>\n

They say it only takes a little faith
\nTo move a mountain
\nWell good thing
\nA little faith is all I have, right now
\nBut God, when You choose
\nTo leave mountains unmovable
\nOh give me the strength to be able to sing
\nIt is well with my soul<\/p>\n

I know You’re able and I know You can
\nSave through the fire with Your mighty hand
\nBut even if You don’t
\nMy hope is You alone
\nI know the sorrow, and I know the hurt
\nWould all go away if You’d just say the word
\nBut even if You don’t
\nMy hope is You alone<\/p>\n

You’ve been faithful, You’ve been good
\nAll of my days
\nJesus, I will cling to You
\nCome what may
\n‘Cause I know You’re able
\nI know You can<\/p>\n

I know You’re able and I know You can
\nSave through the fire with Your mighty hand
\nBut even if You don’t
\nMy hope is You alone
\nI know the sorrow, I know the hurt
\nWould all go away if You’d just say the word
\nBut even if You don’t
\nMy hope is You alone<\/p>\n

It is well with my soul
\nIt is well, it is well with my soul[8]<\/a><\/p>\n

Can cultural tensions be a fertile ground for a deeply creative process, as well as, an avenue to Christian maturity?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> https:\/\/www.quotes.net\/movies\/pinky_and_the_brain_105247<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> James Davison Hunter. To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World<\/em>. Oxford New York: Oxford Press. 2010. ix (Kindle edition)<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Hunter. 298. (kindle edition)<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> https:\/\/www.thegospelcoalition.org\/article\/revisitng-faithful-presense-change-the-worl-five-years-later<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Hunter. 154. (kindle edition)<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Hunter. 183. (kindle edition)<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Nik Ripken. The Insanity of Obedience: Walking with Jesus in Tough Places. Nashville: B&H Publishing. 2014. 33<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=WHosmHnOrb8<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pinky: \u201cGee, Brain. What are we going to do tonight?\u201d The Brain: \u201cThe same thing we do every night, Pinky. Try to take over the world\u201d This was the response at the beginning and end of every episode of the 1995 animated parody television series oriented around two genetically altered lab mice with the intentions […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":135,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1637,1785,860],"class_list":["post-25941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-adler-dminlgp10","tag-how-to-change-the-world","tag-james-davison-hunter","cohort-lgp10"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25941","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/135"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25941"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25941\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25942,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25941\/revisions\/25942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}