What Kanye teaches us about culture and values

One thing that many people don’t know about me is that I enjoy a good rap song now and then. There’s really only a few that I like and I can’t exactly pin down what it is that makes me like them.

So I listened to a Kanye West song today called “Diamonds from Sierra Leone”. As I listened to it, I realized Kanye had some very deep insights concerning the values that culture stamps onto our lives. I have a professor that tells a story about culture in nearly every one of her classes. I’ve had her a few times, so I know the story well. The basic message is that one’s culture cuts deep. The culture that you grow up in forcefully instills values and shapes character in a way that is often impossible to change. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but problems occur when our culture instills values in us that we eventually want to change. Kanye recognizes this tension in the song.

He starts out describing his new found knowledge of “conflict” or “blood diamonds”. He talks about how he owns some diamonds, and is afraid that they may be conflict diamonds. He goes on to say this:

Though it’s thousands of miles away
Sierra Leone connected to what we go through today
Over here, its a drug trade, we die from drugs
Over there, they die from what we buy from drugs
The diamonds, the chains, the bracelets, the charmses
I thought my Jesus Piece was so harmless
’til I seen a picture of a shorty armless
And here’s the conflict
It’s in a black person’s soul to rock that gold
Spend ya whole life try-na get that ice
On a polo rugby it look so nice
How could somethin’ so wrong make me feel so right, right?

The line that strikes me the most is “It’s in a black person’s soul to rock that gold”. While that proclamation may be debatable, Kanye clearly believes this. In his culture, it has been instilled upon him to value diamonds and jewelry, and the status that those items bring. But he can’t shake the knowledge that his jewelry may have funded war in Sierra Leone. “How could somethin’ so wrong make me feel so right, right?”

I love the song. It reveals Kanye’s own personal struggle, but I also think it reveals a prevalent struggle in human nature.

I can relate somewhat. As I’ve grown in my faith, I’ve come to believe that possessions and money should be valued much lower than my culture values them. But translating that belief into practice is much more difficult. All my life growing up I’ve been taught to value financial security. I remember college being strongly promoted for the financial advantage it provided and very little emphasis put on the personal growth and academic education that would occur there. How do we get past this value that has been instilled so deep?

I’m not sure it can be done by human power. As with any deep change that needs to occur, we need to turn to God. I think praying to God for change is an extremely useful practice. We can involve others in our lives to pray for us and hold us accountable to the changes that we want to occur. God is in the business of transforming, and I think it is within God’s power to transform even the deepest values that have been instilled in us.

Can you think of some other values that your culture instills in you that aren’t in line with God’s kingdom?

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The restoration of “Christian”

Is it just me, or are people of faith becoming less likely to use the word “Christian” to describe themselves? I was in church this past Sunday, and a man up front was talking about his reasons for tithing, and he used the phrase “before I was a Christ-follower…” I thought about this later while I was hiking on New Years day. I realized that I am somewhat uncomfortable with the word “Christian”, and the more I thought about it, the more examples I could think of how others shy away from that word. A quick scan of my facebook friends reveals much more creative ways to describe their “Religious Views” than the generic term “Christian”. I have to include myself in that category- mine says “I think that Jesus guy is pretty cool…” I thought that was witty when I wrote it. : )

Why am I a little uncomfortable with the word? And why does it seem to me that people are more likely to use other terms when describing their Christianity?

As I was struggling not to get blown of the mountain I was climbing (it was kind of windy), I could not help but think of the word euphemism. Is “Christ-follower” a euphemism for “Christian”? Are people becoming so ashamed of the word “Christian” that they use other terms to avoid it?

I ask because I think that’s the root of my discomfort with the word. I’ve heard and read too many negative reactions to “Christian”. I’ve seen people identified as Christians do and say too many horrible things. I don’t think I need to catalog the list of offenses, as I’m sure you can think of quite a few yourself. If you can’t, well, maybe you need get out some more as well as read up on a little history.

Is substituting “Christian” with “Christ-follower” or “Jesus-follower” the best way to respond to the negative feelings that people get when they hear the word? I’m not sure it is. It’s not a bad thing. But I don’t think it’s the best response.

I think Jesus is all about reclaiming what is lost. I think he is about restoration and renewal. Instead of abandoning the word “Christian” why can’t we restore it to something closer to it’s original meaning? What would it look like for Christians to identify themselves as Christians, and then go out and do their best to serve Christ? Maybe we can change the perception of Christianity to something that is a little closer to the true message. That’s my hope.

What do you think? Should we abandon the word “Christian”?

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Be a little different

In high school I thought lowly of non-conformity. There were always those other kids that were “different” or rebellious or whatever, but none of it really seemed genuine to me. It appeared that they dressed or acted the way they did either to belong to a group (not really non-conformity) or they did it just for the sake of being different. The latter bothered me more. Take music for example. People that like music just because it is “Indie” and not well known are just as bad as people that like music because it is popular. Both make their decision based on someone else’s opinion. One says, “Oh, other people like that music, so I should like it too.” The other says, “Too many people like that music, I can’t like it.” Neither say, “Screw what other people think, what kind of music do I like?” (Speaking of music, the new Bright Eyes album is incredible).

So lately I’ve been thinking a lot about being different. I have a friend who is starting to believe that pacifism fits in best with Christian tradition and Biblical teachings. He recognizes that this is a minority position within the current church, but he’s becoming more convinced that it is true. I’ve been reading some Ralph Waldo Emerson who says, “Whoso would be a man must be a non-conformist.” And then there’s Thoreau who says, “If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.” I’ve become fascinated reading about Ron Paul and how different he is from the other candidates. On many issues he seems way different than the others, yet his messages ring true to me. Looking back at my experiences in high school, I think even if my feelings were correct, they lead to an irrational fear of non-conformity. This is starting to change.

Looking at history, it seems to me that the greatest leaders and the most inspiring writers were a little different. They did not conform, they did not fit in. They wrote and said things that pushed people and made them uncomfortable. They weren’t afraid of what other people thought of them. Often, the world rejected them or their ideas, they gave the world the one finger salute and continued writing, continued pushing people. Now we recognize them as amazing thinkers- “beyond their times” is a common phrase. It’s inspiring to me, but I can’t help but wonder how many non-conformists existed who were just screwed up people with bad ideas, who people rejected and then forgot about. We don’t hear about them.

One thing I know for sure- the Christian worldview is much different than any set of dominant values in any culture on this planet. No matter where you go in the world, Christian ideals will conflict with the most common values of that culture. So no matter where Christians go, they should be different. As always, Jesus is the best example. I want to be like him. I want to be different. I’m not sure what that looks like, but I know I will not live in fear of other people’s opinions.
So screw you world, I’m doing my own thing- and oh yeah- Jesus loves you.

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Angry Christians

I was struck by this video made by an atheist. While at times he makes some good points, you can’t help but notice that he is acting as angry and self-righteous as the Christians he is criticizing. It’s sad and stupid that many people are making a point to let him know he is eternally damned, but how is he helping by sowing more seeds of anger towards Christians? Aren’t videos like this only going to encourage more hate?
Check out the video, but be warned that it can be incredibly offensive for Christians.

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Thank God humans don’t decide who’s saved

Mr first day of posting at CGR was interesting. I started a thread which I mentioned yesterday, and I think it raised some great questions. Click here to read it.

What was somewhat disturbing were the Christians that in some way questioned my salvation. I knew this was going to happen, really the whole reason I started the thread was to see how many people would say those things. While no one explicitly said, “Steve, you are obviously not saved” several people implied it, including this quote from one poster

“He breathed life into me, and not into any animal. That is what sets me apart from animals, and to give credit to evolution, is to say that God created both animals and me in his image, which is not truth found in the bible, and to deny the truth is to deny Jesus. Which is to deny Salvation.”

There were a couple of that said similar things, although that one was the most explicit. And I should emphasize that most people said that believing in evolution would in no way affect my salvation. Really, the way I worded the question was somewhat awkward. I think the best discussion was about how we read the Bible, and I really should have framed it in that context. The real conflict for people was not whether I believed in evolution or not, but whether I believed the Bible or not.
So I came away with a lot of great questions from the thread, that I won’t explore here but hope to talk about some day. Here are a few off the top of my head-

• How should we read the Bible?How can one reject the literal translation of one passage, but accept another? What does it mean to read it “literally”?
• What are the “essentials” for a Christian? What is necessary to believe in order to be saved?
• What philosophical issues are raised by evolution?
• What does evolution tell us about God?

I look forward to thinking about, and responding to some of these questions!

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Christianity is Eschatology

When I heard that phrase this morning, it took me a second to remember what Eschatology meant. It’s basically a branch of Theology that focuses on the end of the world. For a more complete definition check out Wikipedia’s page on Eschatology. I love Wikipedia.

Dr Phil Eaton (The president of my university) quoted this phrase this morning from an author whose name I can’t remember. “Christianity is Eschatology.” He expanded this thought saying that Christianity is constantly hoping, constantly looking forward to the time when God will say, “Look, I am making everything new!” He went on to say that this vision towards our future hope guides and transforms the present. I really like that.

But what does that look like? How does our hope influence our current actions?

When I think about this, my mind jumps to the idea of the Kingdom. When saying the Lord’s Prayer, we say, “Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” When we say this, we are stating our hope that God’s Kingdom will reign on earth. While it is our hope, it is also the reality we are striving for. This is where our hope transforms the present. In every action we can ask ourselves, “Is this advancing God’s kingdom on earth?”

This has huge implications. We can look at everything and ask, “Is this how things would look in God’s kingdom?” I think we would pretty much always say no to that question, but then we ask, “So what can I do to make it closer to how God would want it?” This can apply to relationships, injustice, physical places, individual struggles, habits, communities… anything and everything.

So here’s my question- What ideas do you have to advance God’s kingdom? It can be as small as planting a garden or as big as starting a non-profit. Let’s hear some ideas!

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My Church is Cool

If you like the church you’re attending, then you most likely feel a certain amount of pride for it. If things are going well at the church, you are happy about it and want to tell other people. I am no different.

This past Sunday our church had their “Ministry Fair”. At the fair, all the ministries of the church set up displays and passed on information about what they did. The ministry fair was awesome. Not because all the displays and pamphlets looked great. Not because the people talking about the ministries were so friendly and informative. It was awesome because it was an opportunity for me to see just how many ways our church is serving, and how freaking cool these ministries are.

I have a lot of opinions about what church should be like, or how church should be “done”. However, what is most important to me is that a church serves. The church I go to, Rainier Ave Church (RAC) is a serving church. Not only does it serve it’s own members, but it seeks to radically serve the surrounding community.

Our neighborhood, Rainier Valley, is one of the poorest in Seattle, so RAC partnered with our sister church Emerald City Bible Fellowship to create Urban Impact, a non-profit that seeks to improve economic situations, health care and education in the community. One of Urban Impact’s ministries is Rainier Health and Fitness, a health club that provides it’s services at reduced rates. This is an important need in the community as the Rainier Valley is one of the most obese areas of Seattle.

The Rainier Valley is also one of the most diverse communities in the Seattle area. Our church has a Racial and Ethnic Reconciliation Committee to encourage dialogue within the church about reconciliation.

We have a World Missions Team that supports missionaries from the church. We have the Mekong Learning Center that provides after school tutoring for kids. We have an amazing youth ministry called The Refuge. We have the Compassion Team, which provides any type of service someone may need, whether that be help moving, meals cooked, or yard work done. And then there’s the set up and tear down team, the hospitality crew, the worship team. Small groups, prayer groups, bible studies.

Basically I’m bragging about my church. I feel proud to be a part of a church that makes such a strong effort to serve. Of course we have our problems, as every church does. But I think Rainier Ave Church is advancing the kingdom of God in many ways, and what more can you ask for from a church?

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Doubt is Hard

I’ve been having a hard time with the whole faith thing recently. I can think of many reasons why this is the case. I haven’t been to church in three weeks, that’s pretty big. I haven’t been praying much or “getting into the Word” (I have to put that in quotations because that phrase is overused and I get cynical about those things). Part of it was reading the article about losing faith that I linked to earlier. That affected me more deeply than I originally thought. I’ve been doubting (ironic, I know, considering the name of the site) but not the way I wanted to.

I wanted to make the faith conversation intellectual by bringing “doubt” into it. Doubt sounds ok if you don’t think about what it really means. It sounds noble in quotes like “Faith without doubt is dead” but to really doubt, it’s actually not that much fun. It’s rough. It makes you question things you don’t really want to question. And when you doubt something as essential as your faith it really rocks the boat of your life.

I can write about it now because I see myself coming out of this. I’m starting to open up the conversation with God a little more now, and when you do that you’re bound to get a response. Is my faith stronger because I had this period of questions? Honestly, I don’t know. I want to say yes. What is most important right now is that my faith is still a part of my life. It still exists. Nothing like a little fire to test the faith right?

I think we owe it to God to seriously evaluate our faiths and really truly believe what we are professing. Are you tricking yourself? Are you afraid of doubting because you’re afraid of losing your faith? (Who isn’t?)

Really though, when you’re faith shapes and influences so much of your life, it’s terrifying to question. It’s difficult for me to imagine life without my faith. What would my family, my friends think of me? How long could I continue going to church and sing songs with lyrics that I didn’t believe?

So should we never question? I still have to say a resounding “no”. I think God wants a genuine faith, not a faith that only exists because of the security it provides. So question, doubt, discuss it with other people. It sucks. But you owe it to yourself, and to the big guy upstairs. Good luck.

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