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Dec
27
Miscellany: KtB, Patrol, TheOoze, and Worship Practices
I wanted to say hi to everyone making their way here via the link in Issue 2 of Generate. What a beautiful piece of work that journal is. Great work, Generate.
I went to the Killing The Buddha Tin Anniversary show last week. It was great to meet editors I’ve worked with virtually and l look forward to working with again.
In case you haven’t seen it, the new version of TheOoze has launched. Spencer Burke continues to be one of the most creative guys in the emerging church conversation (or whatever we’re calling it). The new Ooze is in beta and reflects how we’re beginning to expect the presentation of electronic content. It’s interesting to think about how electronic media in general has changed since the early days of that site. Patrol also recently revamped, moving from a web magazine to blog format. In the process, they’ve also added some nice features and the ability to provide, as they say, “running commentary.” I like that.
The new Christian community (or, as Diana Butler Bass might put it, community of pilgrims…which I also really like) I’m a part of is gathering this Saturday evening. We’re very interested in exploring the rich history of worship. Does anyone have suggestions for some worship practices we might consider? We’re eclectic and pretty nimble, I think. Feel free to photo reply as well.
The prayer table at our last gathering. We gathered around it and sang the Taize hymn “Bless The Lord (My Soul)”. Afterward, we wrote words that had come to us during the prayer and offered them on the table.
There We Were, Now Here We Are
Wow. It’s really been 8 months since I’ve been on tumblr. Some things happened along the way.
I started writing a new novel.
I reconsidered everything.
I got interested in the contemplative tradition.
I started my second year in the MFA.
I started writing more short stories.
I stopped caring.
I started caring.
I joined with some others in starting a new spiritual community.
I read The Sound & The Fury.
I saw God in the desert.
I spent time with friends.
I’m going to slowly move back into this orthoproxy project, but it’s going to be something different than it’s been. One of the reasons I went on hiatus before was that I felt a need to turn off all of my personal narratives so that I could hear the fiction I wanted to write. I think that was a good decision. But I’d like to engage some things.
Thanks for visiting and following.
best,
Chris
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Apr
03
Fonts and Themes
I love the ultralite theme for tumblr. It’s my favorite. But it seems like some browsers render the text in hard-to-read ways? Any suggestions?
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Apr
03
Holy Saturday, 2010
Love love love that Stuart Murdoch song below. So good. I’m not saying it’s about Holy Saturday, per se, but I am saying I love it.
Last night I went to a Good Friday service and got into a discussion about what some theologians call the hypostatic union of Christ’s supposed two natures. The idea that Christ had two full natures, one human, one divine, has a long history in the church and it has all kinds of explanations, interpretations, supporters, detractors. But for the sake of this post, let us presume that Christ was fully God and fully man (which is also the premise of the if statements in the KtB piece from yesterday).
The question posed to me last night was if being fully God made being fully human easier for Jesus. My response was that part of what I find compelling about the possibility of Jesus is the idea that even though he may have been God in a way that makes my theology of the cross workable, there were just some things Jesus the man didn’t know or have access to. For me, the power of the Thursday story isn’t that Jesus had an existential crisis over having to die, knowing all the while he’d be raised. I like the idea that Jesus goes to the cross hoping that the things he believes about himself and God are true. I like the idea that Jesus doesn’t know everything “the Father” knows…that his full human nature trumps his full God nature if it’s to mean anything. A Jesus who has the same anxieties we do, a Jesus who is open to doubt…I want to say more about this and think about it in terms of yesterday’s post, but I have to finish reading and explicating The Sound and the Fury by Wednesday. I’ll keep kicking these things around. I’m sorry that this is a half-baked post, but I have to go back to Stuart Murdoch and William Faulkner for now. Peace.
Good Friday 2010, Part II
Thanks everyone for reading the KtB post or for reading and commenting on Huffington (there’s a good discussion brewing there).
I also want to thank a dear friend of mine for making me thing about something: In my provisional Christianity, is the overwhelming burden I feel a spiritual anxiety of hopelessness or homelessness?
I don’t know how my piece reads to the people who aren’t living in my head (it’s not as crowded in there as you might think), but I do want to say that I don’t feel hopeless. A few years ago, around Easter, a friend of mine said when people ask him “do you believe in the Resurrection?” his answer is always “it depends on the day.” My friend’s not being flippant here…I think he’s actually being humble. He reminded me that the balance of the church tradition has always said that the Resurrection (of Christ, of us, or both) is something we hope for. The writer of Hebrews says “faith is the substance of things hoped for.” I used to think it was all very ironic to talk about something this important in terms of it being something we hope for, but maybe, in some ways, it’s humble. I know that for me, if I’m going to go ahead and believe in God (I do), it’s not hard for me to believe that God can raise the dead if God wants. Once you believe in God, believing in the Resurrection doesn’t seem that hard to me personally. But I’ll also say that the times I’ve found it hardest to believe the Resurrection are the times when I’ve needed it to be true the most. It’s harder for me to believe in it when people I love are dying, because I’m all of the sudden wondering if I don’t hope for it because I need to.
Last week I had a dream that it was Easter and I was singing “Up From The Grave He Arose” at the top of my mystic fool lungs in my best raspy falsetto. It felt great. Whatever Good Friday means, the narrative that God triumphs (and that triumph is for us) is one that digs in, changes history. I’ve said repeatedly here that if Easter (the event) is true, Easter (the holiday) isn’t: he is risen, risen indeed, everywhere and always. But it’s still nice to sing those songs…it’s nice to sing my fool heart out over something I hope for, something I believe is true on a long enough timeline even if the details feel much more provisional.
Good Friday and Killing the Buddha
I’m grateful for the opportunity I was given to write today’s Good Friday feature at Killing the Buddha. If you’re not familiar with the story from which this magazine’s name derives, click on the link and read the manifesto section. I want to thank the editors, especially Ashley Makar: Thank you very, very much for working with me and for a venue like KtB. If you follow me on The Huffington Post, we’ve also reprinted it there. But please do click through to KtB if you’ve never been there (or even if you have). It’s not very “provisional Christian” of me to wish all readers Easter blessings, but here it is. Blessings. And thanks for reading.
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Fonts and Themes Part II (and Comments)
I wanted to thank Court for his comment on the last post. I’m going to experiment with some different themes and work on the ultralite issue when I get a chance. One of the problems with switching themes is that the comments don’t seem to be carrying over. So, until I get that figured out, the really great comments people have been leaving over the past few days might not show up. My apologies for that, and my thanks and appreciation for your feedback and insights.
thank you!