(1212,1,'2011-10-25 19:29:00','2011-10-26 02:29:00','<p align=\"left\">In today\'s political climate, it can be tough to make sense of the cacophony of voices using \"social justice\" as their rallying cry.  Everyone with a stake in our nation\'s well-being (which, in theory, ought to be one hundred percent of the population) views the concept through his or her own lens.  It can be difficult to make sense of what it means when we have a person on one side demanding an end to poverty and a person on the other side lobbying for marriage equality, while the people in front and in back of us clamor for us to care about education and healthcare reform.  So what exactly is social justice?</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">A quick Google search for the term \"social justice\" yields over 8 million results.  On just the first two pages are entries from sources as diverse as Wikipedia, Dictionary.com, Fox News, and several personal web pages.  It seems everyone has an opinion on the matter.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">While digging for some specifics, I came across an article from <a href=\"http://www.crosswalk.com/\">Crosswalk.com</a>, in the news and commentary section.  Dr. Paul Kengor, of Grove City College, has <a href=\"http://www.crosswalk.com/news/economic-justice-as-social-justice-11635548.html\">this</a> to say on the matter:</p>\r\n\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p align=\"left\">\"Most exasperating is that many who speak the language of social justice really mean \"economic justice.\" Unlike traditional practitioners of social justice, whose occasional noble interests ranged from prison reform to child-labor laws, many modern practitioners seek wealth redistribution, \"living wages,\" progressive income taxes, and an eternally-widening net of federal government power and central planning; they are inclined to class interests rather than human rights. And, by their estimate, achieving <em>economic justice</em> requires collectivism. They invoke <em>social</em> justice not to try to resolve conventional <em>social</em> differences as much as class/income differences.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">\"This is why, in many modern eyes, including those of the much-maligned Glenn Beck, mention of \"social justice\" seems a red flag for socialism.\"</p>\r\n</blockquote>\r\n<p align=\"left\">I had several reactions to Dr. Kengor\'s statements.  First, I was annoyed.  How dare he presume to know what people mean when they use the term \"social justice\"?  Then I decided that I must have misunderstood.  He wasn\'t <em>really</em> saying that economic justice isn\'t social justice, was he?  Finally, I simply shelved the comments as one more example of someone conflating economic reform with communism.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">It\'s absolutely true that economic justice is not the same as social justice, although it is a subset.  The problem is not that Dr. Kengor seems to think that\'s the only problem we social justice Christians emphasize.  He\'s right, it gets a lot of press.  The heart of the matter is that Dr. Kengor has equated the political problem of wealth redistribution with the social problem of the income gap and its associated issues.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">Social justice isn\'t about politics.  It may involve government, laws, and structural reforms.  But it isn\'t about what the guys at the top decide to do to \"even the score.\"  It\'s about what we, the people, do to create a social climate that values all people and helps everyone reach his or her potential, and working together for the good of all.</p>','Defining Social Justice','','inherit','open','open','','1168-revision-16','','','2011-10-25 19:29:00','2011-10-26 02:29:00','',1168,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/1168-revision-16/',0,'revision','',0),(1213,1,'2011-10-25 22:27:02','2011-10-26 05:27:02','<p align=\"left\">In today\'s political climate, it can be tough to make sense of the cacophony of voices using \"social justice\" as their rallying cry.  Everyone with a stake in our nation\'s well-being (which, in theory, ought to be one hundred percent of the population) views the concept through his or her own lens.  It can be difficult to make sense of what it means when we have a person on one side demanding an end to poverty and a person on the other side lobbying for marriage equality, while the people in front and in back of us clamor for us to care about education and healthcare reform.  So what exactly is social justice?</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">A quick Google search for the term \"social justice\" yields over 8 million results.  On just the first two pages are entries from sources as diverse as Wikipedia, Dictionary.com, Fox News, and several personal web pages.  It seems everyone has an opinion on the matter.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">While digging for some specifics, I came across an article from <a href=\"http://www.crosswalk.com/\">Crosswalk.com</a>, in the news and commentary section.  Dr. Paul Kengor, of Grove City College, has <a href=\"http://www.crosswalk.com/news/economic-justice-as-social-justice-11635548.html\">this</a> to say on the matter:</p>\r\n\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p align=\"left\">\"Most exasperating is that many who speak the language of social justice really mean \"economic justice.\" Unlike traditional practitioners of social justice, whose occasional noble interests ranged from prison reform to child-labor laws, many modern practitioners seek wealth redistribution, \"living wages,\" progressive income taxes, and an eternally-widening net of federal government power and central planning; they are inclined to class interests rather than human rights. And, by their estimate, achieving <em>economic justice</em> requires collectivism. They invoke <em>social</em> justice not to try to resolve conventional <em>social</em> differences as much as class/income differences.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">\"This is why, in many modern eyes, including those of the much-maligned Glenn Beck, mention of \"social justice\" seems a red flag for socialism.\"</p>\r\n</blockquote>\r\n<p align=\"left\">I had several reactions to Dr. Kengor\'s statements.  First, I was annoyed.  How dare he presume to know what people mean when they use the term \"social justice\"?  Then I decided that I must have misunderstood.  He wasn\'t <em>really</em> saying that economic justice isn\'t social justice, was he?  Finally, I simply shelved the comments as one more example of someone conflating economic reform with communism.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">It\'s absolutely true that economic justice is not the same as social justice, although it is a subset.  The problem is not that Dr. Kengor seems to think that\'s the only problem we social justice Christians emphasize.  He\'s right, it gets a lot of press.  The heart of the matter is that Dr. Kengor has equated the political problem of wealth redistribution with the social problem of the income gap and its associated issues.</p>\r\n<p align=\"left\">Social justice isn\'t about politics.  It may involve government, laws, and structural reforms.  But it isn\'t about what the guys at the top decide to do to \"even the score.\"  It\'s about what we, the people, do to create a social climate that values all people and helps everyone reach his or her potential, and working together for the good of all.</p>','Defining Social Justice','','inherit','open','open','','1168-revision-17','','','2011-10-25 22:27:02','2011-10-26 05:27:02','',1168,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/1168-revision-17/',0,'revision','',0),(1214,12,'2011-10-25 22:27:44','2011-10-26 05:27:44','','adopt','','inherit','open','open','','adopt','','','2011-10-25 22:27:44','2011-10-26 05:27:44','',0,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/adopt.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(1216,33,'2011-10-27 08:00:47','2011-10-27 15:00:47','We learn at an early age all about trades.  In our lunchrooms and playgrounds we eagerly trade away tuna for peanut butter and we willingly give up half a dozen second-string players for a long-coveted rookie card.\r\n\r\nAs we grow, the stakes involved in our trades get bigger.  We trade our hard-earned fast food paycheque for a car that is held together with duct tape and prayer, we trade time with our friends for time with our textbooks, and more often than not, we trade our dignity and self-respect for the chance that the pretty girl in class might pay us some attention.\r\n\r\nAnd in perhaps the biggest trade we ever make, we start careers and jobs that encourage us to trade our time and talents for a salary.  And it is staring to seem that the bigger the salary, the more demanding the trade.  The more we receive from our employers, the more they expect in return.  And what I’m learning is that sometimes the trade is mutually beneficial to everyone involved – the company gets the best I have to offer in exchange for a semblance of financial security.\r\n\r\nOver the last several months, I have been reevaluating the terms and conditions of the deal I made with my employer.  I agreed to offer my best.  I committed to work as hard, as creatively, and as innovatively as my skills and talents allowed.  In exchange I agreed to a compensation rate, dental coverage, and a great pension plan.\r\n\r\nBut based on recent conversations with others in my small group of friends and colleagues, it seems like there is a quiet undercurrent of dissatisfaction starting to emerge between the demands of employers and those who work for them.  More and more of my colleagues are reevaluating the details of their lives and deciding that they are no longer prepared to trade away their dreams and passions for cash.  And as scary as it is to admit to myself, I think I am becoming one of them.\r\n\r\nAccording to an <a href=\"http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/mar2009/ca20090313_334411.htm\">article</a> in the March 19, 2009 edition of <em>Business Week</em>, the number of employees who are disengaged in their workplaces rose by 45% over the previous year with a corresponding 53% decrease in the discretionary effort these employees are willing to offer their employers.  Clearly the ‘effort-for-pay’ trade is no longer working for lots of other people as well.\r\n\r\nI wonder if the crisis of dissatisfaction with work and the movement to rethink whether the amount of ourselves we give up in exchange for ‘job security’ is connected to an inadequate understanding of calling. I wonder what would happen if our business schools started including mandatory classes in self-reflection, self-awareness, and conducting an honest assessment of how our lives have shaped us into the people we are.  And only after we have spent time in the wilderness of self-discovery would we be allowed to join the workforce…confident of who we are, what we can offer - and as Frederick Buechner describes – “where our deepest gladness meets the world’s deep need.”\r\n\r\nI think there’s a good chance we would be happier, more engaged, and that the world would be more reflective of the One who created it – awash in mercy, grace and compassion rather than  controlled by those who won the race to the top but lost themselves in the process.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','The Trade','','publish','open','open','','the-trade','','','2011-10-26 08:40:12','2011-10-26 15:40:12','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=1216',0,'post','',4),(1217,12,'2011-10-25 22:44:08','2011-10-26 05:44:08','','myb','','inherit','open','open','','myb','','','2011-10-25 22:44:08','2011-10-26 05:44:08','',0,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/myb.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(2629,106,'2011-11-27 11:15:00','2011-11-27 19:15:00','While recently visiting a (Won) Buddhist temple, I heard one practitioner refer to Jesus as a Buddha. I was struck by the generosity of calling the leader of another faith one’s most cherished, revered term. In Won Buddhism, as I understand it, there is an effort for each person to embrace their Buddhahood and see the Buddha in another, so the statement was not at all unusual in that context. However it did lead me to a place of introspection about my own faith path. Could I, raised a Christian, return the favor? Could I say “Buddha is a Savior, Redeemer”?\r\n\r\nI have been frustrated and turned off by the churches I have visited that seem to place their God high above any other God. If there truly is one God, isn’t that one God as high as any God can be?\r\n\r\nI recently attended a conference at a megachurch in the Midwest. And I was disturbed by two of the things I experienced there. One of those things was the lead pastor (who I have followed and respected for many years) saying that “Christianity was the only Religion about Love”. Really? Really? Have you explored any other religions? My personal experience with other, non-Christian religions is they really are about love. They are about getting out negativity so the love can flow in. The second thing that disturbed me during my megachurch experience was surprisingly, the music. Although the music was inspiring and energetic, the lyrics were anything but. One song in particular featured the message: “Our God is stronger than your God, Our God is greater than Your God, etc.” Really? Are we in seventh grade or something? Are we really that competitive?\r\n\r\nTo me it seems when you have to tell someone your God is better, stronger, greater, more loving…than perhaps deep down you have some doubts on this topic?\r\n\r\nWhat if there is only one God, and this one God is manifested in many beautiful names? Those names could include Jesus Christ, Wonderful, Counselor Allah, Buddha, and scores of other names.\r\n\r\nIf we believe in one God, let’s start living and talking like it, and stop being so competitive. Start accepting that that one God is so brilliant that he made many ways to show himself before us all.\r\n\r\nThere are passages in the Bible that really resonate with me around this issue, for instance, this one from John (10:16) As Jesus said, \"And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd\".\r\n\r\nPerhaps the variety in religion is part of God’s big plan, and we should start showing some respect. Why wouldn’t God show up differently in the varied landscape of world culture. In this quote by theologian Emanuel Swedenborg (Divine Providence 254) he seems to call this idea out quite clearly. \"When a religion has been implanted in a nation, the Lord leads that nation according to the precepts and dogmas of its own religion. He has provided that there shall be in every religion precepts like those in the Ten Commandments....The nation that regards these precepts as Divine and lives according to them from a religious motive is saved.\".','Jesus is a Buddha, God\'s Plan for Variety in Religion','','inherit','open','open','','2624-revision-4','','','2011-11-27 11:15:00','2011-11-27 19:15:00','',2624,'http://provoketive.com/2011/11/27/2624-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(1220,33,'2011-10-25 23:00:54','2011-10-26 06:00:54','','distorted face','','inherit','open','open','','distorted-face','','','2011-10-25 23:00:54','2011-10-26 06:00:54','',1216,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/distorted-face.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(1221,33,'2011-10-25 22:43:28','2011-10-26 05:43:28','We learn at an early age all about trades.  In our lunchrooms and playgrounds we eagerly trade away tuna for peanut butter and we willingly give up half a dozen second-string players for a long-coveted rookie card.\n\nAs we grow, the stakes involved in our trades get bigger.  We trade our hard-earned fast food paycheque for a car that is held together with duct tape and prayer, we trade time with our friends for time with our textbooks, and more often than not, we trade our dignity and self-respect for the chance that the pretty girl in class might pay us some attention.\n\nAnd in perhaps the biggest trade we ever make, we start careers and jobs that encourage us to trade our time and talents for a salary.  And it is staring to seem that the bigger the salary, the more demanding the trade.  The more we receive from our employers, the more they expect in return.  And what I’m learning is that sometimes the trade is mutually beneficial to everyone involved – the company gets the best I have to offer in exchange for a semblance of financial security.\n\nOver the last several months, I have been reevaluating the terms and conditions of the deal I made with my employer.  I agreed to offer my best.  I committed to work as hard, as creatively, and as innovatively as my skills and talents allowed.  In exchange I agreed to a compensation rate, dental coverage, and a great pension plan.\n\nBut based on recent conversations with others in my small group of friends and colleagues, it seems like there is a quiet undercurrent of dissatisfaction starting to emerge between the demands of employers and those who work for them.  More and more of my colleagues are reevaluating the details of their lives and deciding that they are no longer prepared to trade away their dreams and passions for cash.  And as scary as it is to admit to myself, I think I am becoming one of them.\n\nAccording to an <a href=\"http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/mar2009/ca20090313_334411.htm\">article</a> in the March 19, 2009 edition of <em>Business Week</em>, the number of employees who are disengaged in their workplaces rose by 45% over the previous year with a corresponding 53% decrease in the discretionary effort these employees are willing to offer their employers.  Clearly the ‘effort-for-pay’ trade is no longer working for lots of other people as well.\n\nI wonder if the crisis of dissatisfaction with work and the movement to rethink whether the amount of ourselves we give up in exchange for ‘job security’ is connected to an inadequate understanding of calling. I wonder what would happen if our business schools started including mandatory classes in self-reflection, self-awareness, and conducting an honest assessment of how our lives have shaped us into the people we are.  And only after we have spent time in the wilderness of self-discovery would we be allowed to join the workforce…confident of who we are, what we can offer - and as Frederick Buechner describes – “where our deepest gladness meets the world’s deep need.”\n\nI think there’s a good chance we would be happier, more engaged, and that the world would be more reflective of the One who created it – awash in mercy, grace and compassion rather than  controlled by those who won the race to the top but lost themselves in the process.\n\n&nbsp;','The Trade','','inherit','open','open','','1216-revision','','','2011-10-25 22:43:28','2011-10-26 05:43:28','',1216,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/1216-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(1222,33,'2011-10-25 23:01:35','2011-10-26 06:01:35','We learn at an early age all about trades.  In our lunchrooms and playgrounds we eagerly trade away tuna for peanut butter and we willingly give up half a dozen second-string players for a long-coveted rookie card.\r\n\r\nAs we grow, the stakes involved in our trades get bigger.  We trade our hard-earned fast food paycheque for a car that is held together with duct tape and prayer, we trade time with our friends for time with our textbooks, and more often than not, we trade our dignity and self-respect for the chance that the pretty girl in class might pay us some attention.\r\n\r\nAnd in perhaps the biggest trade we ever make, we start careers and jobs that encourage us to trade our time and talents for a salary.  And it is staring to seem that the bigger the salary, the more demanding the trade.  The more we receive from our employers, the more they expect in return.  And what I’m learning is that sometimes the trade is mutually beneficial to everyone involved – the company gets the best I have to offer in exchange for a semblance of financial security.\r\n\r\nOver the last several months, I have been reevaluating the terms and conditions of the deal I made with my employer.  I agreed to offer my best.  I committed to work as hard, as creatively, and as innovatively as my skills and talents allowed.  In exchange I agreed to a compensation rate, dental coverage, and a great pension plan.\r\n\r\nBut based on recent conversations with others in my small group of friends and colleagues, it seems like there is a quiet undercurrent of dissatisfaction starting to emerge between the demands of employers and those who work for them.  More and more of my colleagues are reevaluating the details of their lives and deciding that they are no longer prepared to trade away their dreams and passions for cash.  And as scary as it is to admit to myself, I think I am becoming one of them.\r\n\r\nAccording to an <a href=\"http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/mar2009/ca20090313_334411.htm\">article</a> in the March 19, 2009 edition of <em>Business Week</em>, the number of employees who are disengaged in their workplaces rose by 45% over the previous year with a corresponding 53% decrease in the discretionary effort these employees are willing to offer their employers.  Clearly the ‘effort-for-pay’ trade is no longer working for lots of other people as well.\r\n\r\nI wonder if the crisis of dissatisfaction with work and the movement to rethink whether the amount of ourselves we give up in exchange for ‘job security’ is connected to an inadequate understanding of calling. I wonder what would happen if our business schools started including mandatory classes in self-reflection, self-awareness, and conducting an honest assessment of how our lives have shaped us into the people we are.  And only after we have spent time in the wilderness of self-discovery would we be allowed to join the workforce…confident of who we are, what we can offer - and as Frederick Buechner describes – “where our deepest gladness meets the world’s deep need.”\r\n\r\nI think there’s a good chance we would be happier, more engaged, and that the world would be more reflective of the One who created it – awash in mercy, grace and compassion rather than  controlled by those who won the race to the top but lost themselves in the process.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','The Trade','','inherit','open','open','','1216-revision-2','','','2011-10-25 23:01:35','2011-10-26 06:01:35','',1216,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/1216-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(1223,0,'2011-10-25 23:03:11','2011-10-26 06:03:11','Faith\r\nJustice\r\nCulture\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Coenraad Fick\nAUTHOR EMAIL: coenraad@unsafechallenge.com\nAUTHOR URL: http://www.unsafechallenge.com\nSUBJECT: Provoketive Magazine Writing For Provoketive\nIP: 41.30.80.236\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Coenraad Fick\n    [Email] =&gt; coenraad@unsafechallenge.com\n    [Existing Blog or Website] =&gt; http://www.unsafechallenge.com\n    [List the topic you are interested writing about] =&gt; Faith\r\nJustice\r\nCulture\n    [Current or New WordPress Login Name (We\'ll send you a password.)] =&gt; coenraadf\n)\n','Coenraad Fick - 2011-10-25 23:03:11','','publish','open','open','','8d4b1922aab57d365aecdc05f7af6bbb','','','2011-10-25 23:03:11','2011-10-26 06:03:11','',358,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=1223',0,'feedback','',0),(1224,1,'2011-10-26 08:00:13','2011-10-26 15:00:13','This is one of the coolest things I\'ve seen this year. The people at <a href=\"http://www.openbible.info\">OpenBible</a> charted the emotional content of the Bible from beginning to end and created an infographic.\r\n<blockquote>\"Things start off well with creation, turn negative with Job and the patriarchs, improve again with Moses, dip with the period of the judges, recover with David, and have a mixed record (especially negative when Samaria is around) during the monarchy. The exilic period isn’t as negative as you might expect, nor the return period as positive. In the New Testament, things start off fine with Jesus, then quickly turn negative as opposition to his message grows. The story of the early church, especially in the epistles, is largely positive.\"</blockquote>\r\nYou can see the detailed version <a href=\"http://a.openbible.info/blog/2011-10-sentiment-full.png\">here</a>.','The Emotions Of The Bible','','publish','open','open','','the-emotions-of-the-bible','','','2011-10-25 23:10:46','2011-10-26 06:10:46','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=1224',0,'post','',0),(1225,1,'2011-10-25 23:06:59','2011-10-26 06:06:59','','sentiment_analysis','','inherit','open','open','','sentiment_analysis','','','2011-10-25 23:06:59','2011-10-26 06:06:59','',1224,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/sentiment_analysis.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(1226,1,'2011-10-25 23:10:16','2011-10-26 06:10:16','This is one of the coolest things I\'ve seen this year. The people at OpenBible charted the emotional content of the Bible from beginning to end and created an infographic.\n<blockquote>\"Things start off well with creation, turn negative with Job and the patriarchs, improve again with Moses, dip with the period of the judges, recover with David, and have a mixed record (especially negative when Samaria is around) during the monarchy. The exilic period isn’t as negative as you might expect, nor the return period as positive. In the New Testament, things start off fine with Jesus, then quickly turn negative as opposition to his message grows. The story of the early church, especially in the epistles, is largely positive.\"</blockquote>\nYou can see the detailed version <a href=\"http://a.openbible.info/blog/2011-10-sentiment-full.png\">here</a>.','The Emotions Of The Bible','','inherit','open','open','','1224-revision','','','2011-10-25 23:10:16','2011-10-26 06:10:16','',1224,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/1224-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(1227,1,'2011-10-26 12:00:30','2011-10-26 19:00:30','Photo Credit: Luke Summer','And','','publish','open','open','','and','','','2011-10-25 23:27:23','2011-10-26 06:27:23','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=1227',0,'post','',0),(1228,1,'2011-10-25 23:26:54','2011-10-26 06:26:54','','&','','inherit','open','open','','1228','','','2011-10-25 23:26:54','2011-10-26 06:26:54','',1227,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(1229,1,'2011-10-25 23:26:41','2011-10-26 06:26:41','','And','','inherit','open','open','','1227-revision','','','2011-10-25 23:26:41','2011-10-26 06:26:41','',1227,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/1227-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(2660,1,'2011-11-28 07:15:51','2011-11-28 15:15:51','','Bill Walker','','publish','open','open','','bill-walker','','','2012-12-18 12:55:08','2012-12-18 20:55:08','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=2660',62,'nav_menu_item','',0),(1231,1,'2011-10-25 23:36:23','2011-10-26 06:36:23',' ','','','publish','open','open','','1231','','','2012-01-19 11:08:29','2012-01-19 19:08:29','',9,'http://provoketive.com/?p=1231',16,'nav_menu_item','',0),(1232,1,'2011-10-25 23:01:47','2011-10-26 06:01:47','We learn at an early age all about trades.  In our lunchrooms and playgrounds we eagerly trade away tuna for peanut butter and we willingly give up half a dozen second-string players for a long-coveted rookie card.\r\n\r\nAs we grow, the stakes involved in our trades get bigger.  We trade our hard-earned fast food paycheque for a car that is held together with duct tape and prayer, we trade time with our friends for time with our textbooks, and more often than not, we trade our dignity and self-respect for the chance that the pretty girl in class might pay us some attention.\r\n\r\nAnd in perhaps the biggest trade we ever make, we start careers and jobs that encourage us to trade our time and talents for a salary.  And it is staring to seem that the bigger the salary, the more demanding the trade.  The more we receive from our employers, the more they expect in return.  And what I’m learning is that sometimes the trade is mutually beneficial to everyone involved – the company gets the best I have to offer in exchange for a semblance of financial security.\r\n\r\nOver the last several months, I have been reevaluating the terms and conditions of the deal I made with my employer.  I agreed to offer my best.  I committed to work as hard, as creatively, and as innovatively as my skills and talents allowed.  In exchange I agreed to a compensation rate, dental coverage, and a great pension plan.\r\n\r\nBut based on recent conversations with others in my small group of friends and colleagues, it seems like there is a quiet undercurrent of dissatisfaction starting to emerge between the demands of employers and those who work for them.  More and more of my colleagues are reevaluating the details of their lives and deciding that they are no longer prepared to trade away their dreams and passions for cash.  And as scary as it is to admit to myself, I think I am becoming one of them.\r\n\r\nAccording to an <a href=\"http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/mar2009/ca20090313_334411.htm\">article</a> in the March 19, 2009 edition of <em>Business Week</em>, the number of employees who are disengaged in their workplaces rose by 45% over the previous year with a corresponding 53% decrease in the discretionary effort these employees are willing to offer their employers.  Clearly the ‘effort-for-pay’ trade is no longer working for lots of other people as well.\r\n\r\nI wonder if the crisis of dissatisfaction with work and the movement to rethink whether the amount of ourselves we give up in exchange for ‘job security’ is connected to an inadequate understanding of calling. I wonder what would happen if our business schools started including mandatory classes in self-reflection, self-awareness, and conducting an honest assessment of how our lives have shaped us into the people we are.  And only after we have spent time in the wilderness of self-discovery would we be allowed to join the workforce…confident of who we are, what we can offer - and as Frederick Buechner describes – “where our deepest gladness meets the world’s deep need.”\r\n\r\nI think there’s a good chance we would be happier, more engaged, and that the world would be more reflective of the One who created it – awash in mercy, grace and compassion rather than  controlled by those who won the race to the top but lost themselves in the process.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','The Trade','','inherit','open','open','','1216-revision-3','','','2011-10-25 23:01:47','2011-10-26 06:01:47','',1216,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/1216-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(2602,30,'2011-11-25 18:03:06','2011-11-26 02:03:06','Thanksgiving is now behind us, a day that for many of us is filled with one delicious food after another. Turkey. Mashed potatoes. Corn casserole. Jello molds. Pies, pies, and more pies. We fill our plates, we eat, we dive back in for more. We wear our stretchy pants and leave the belts in the closet for another day.\n\nEating turkey and mashed potatoes isn\'t something that is unique to Thanksgiving. Particularly here in America, we can have a large meal nearly any day of the year. So despite the fact that we tend to focus on the food, there must be more to this holiday than simply an opportunity to eat','Soul Food','','inherit','open','open','','2598-revision','','','2011-11-25 18:03:06','2011-11-26 02:03:06','',2598,'http://provoketive.com/2011/11/25/2598-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(1237,64,'2011-10-25 16:45:41','2011-10-25 23:45:41','<strong>I\'ve never really </strong><strong>felt a need to </strong><strong><em>prove</em></strong><strong> that God exists</strong><strong>.  B</strong><strong>efore today</strong><strong> that is, when my tawny-headed, freckle-faced</strong><strong> son looked </strong><strong>up </strong><strong>at me with his </strong><strong>enormous</strong><strong> blue eyes</strong><strong> and cried </strong><strong><em>If God is real, </em></strong><strong><em>Mom, </em></strong><strong><em>why doesn\'t he stop all the bad stuff?  Why Mom, why?</em></strong>\r\n\r\nFeeling like I\'d been slapped hard across my face by the earnestness and veracity of his question I realized I don’t want to even touch that question.\r\n\r\nHonestly I try not to dwell on that now as I sit here with all my advantages – I enjoy my life, drinking my expensive coffee, in my warm house, sitting in my comfortable chair, at my computer that is connected 24/7 to the world.   I try not to think about my fortunate life or those that have so much less.\r\n\r\nNo I don’t want to touch those questions.  But sometimes that awareness aches inside me and makes my comfortable life <em>not -- so – comfortable.  </em>I cannot escape the world when I turn on the radio or television or get online.  <em>It is there</em> that I find out about people being <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7iDZnkn1xo\" target=\"_blank\">beheaded</a>.  Women who had <a href=\"http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011101352120/National-news/scars-that-never-heal.html\" target=\"_blank\">acid</a> poured on their face.  That going for firewood in some places in the world will get you <a href=\"http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/east/Somali-Women-Face-Rape-Sexual-Assault-as-They-Flee-Famine----126598458.html\" target=\"_blank\">raped</a> or assaulted.  Or that being born a girl is still something <a href=\"http://www.gendercide.org/case_infanticide.html\" target=\"_blank\">unwanted </a>in many places in the world.   much less and more importantly why God put me here.  Why I am so seemingly blessed?  And others appear less so?\r\n\r\nAt other times I try not to <em>feel</em> the hardship, injustice, suffering and pain of others.  I try to not <em>be</em> in that moment because it hurts.  And it makes me angry.\r\n\r\nIt makes me angry when repeatedly I have to tell my kids to “Eat their dinner and <em>be grateful</em>!”  Reminding them how very lucky they are to have something to eat and a glass of milk to wash it down.  And when they complain that there is no desert, I won\'t remind them, again, of how much we have.\r\n\r\nI feel indignant when my extremely bright, but bored children bring home reports of below average work, and then they complain about homework.  I will not scream at them about their lost opportunities.  Should I remind them of the children in many parts of the world that will never have an opportunity to even go to school?  Probably.  Or tell them that there are kids they know at school who didn’t have dinner last night.   And when they complain about walking less than half a mile to school, should I mention the many children in our country that cannot safely walk home from school?\r\n\r\nI try not to scream inside, I really do but when I let myself see and feel the pain that leads me back to my son -- proving God exists to my son who has so much, for the question remains <strong><em>why would a good God make life so easy for us and so unbearably horrendous for so many others in the world?   </em></strong>And is it random stupid luck that my kids healthy, smart and born into a well to do home?\r\n\r\nI have -- no-- answer for my son when he asks me to prove God exists, because what <em>kind of God would set things up like that?</em>\r\n\r\nMy son, my children, were fortunate enough to be born into a white, upper-middle class home, with a life chock full of privilege and opportunity; a life thus far lacking the violence and cruelty that so many children around the world face.  My children, for no reason of their own, have power and wealth before they have even begun their lives.  They have been given <strong><em>opportunity and responsibility.</em></strong>  I believe God intends that they do something with this power and privilege, for others.\r\n<div>\r\n\r\nGod is gentle, good and powerful.  God gave us moral freedom, the power to choose and if we like we may choose to reject him, the creator.  (Isaiah 40:11, 12)  His intent is to rescue and redeem the world by giving his son.\r\n\r\n</div>\r\nThat is the tension.  We have the freedom to choose.  To see.  To hear.  To know.  We prove<em> God exists and that he cares about the suffering in the world by <strong>seeing and speaking out about injustice and prejudice, by a knowing awareness</strong> of those that have much less and by working against poverty and hunger and need in the world.  </em>\r\n\r\n<em>By hearing the cries of those born with less we prove God actually loves</em> the world.\r\n\r\n<em>We</em> are his love.  <em>We</em> are his hands and feet. We are a part of his answer to the evil and injustice in the world.  That is the paradox.  We who have been given much ... and no, not only me, my sons and daughters, but each of us reading my words and wondering about this today – <em><strong>We are God\'s love.</strong></em>  We prove God exists by our actions, choices, by our love.\r\n\r\nAnd something beautiful arises.','Needing To Prove God Exists','','inherit','open','open','','1152-revision-6','','','2011-10-25 16:45:41','2011-10-25 23:45:41','',1152,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/1152-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(1238,1,'2011-10-25 23:37:44','2011-10-26 06:37:44','We learn at an early age all about trades.  In our lunchrooms and playgrounds we eagerly trade away tuna for peanut butter and we willingly give up half a dozen second-string players for a long-coveted rookie card.\r\n\r\nAs we grow, the stakes involved in our trades get bigger.  We trade our hard-earned fast food paycheque for a car that is held together with duct tape and prayer, we trade time with our friends for time with our textbooks, and more often than not, we trade our dignity and self-respect for the chance that the pretty girl in class might pay us some attention.\r\n\r\nAnd in perhaps the biggest trade we ever make, we start careers and jobs that encourage us to trade our time and talents for a salary.  And it is staring to seem that the bigger the salary, the more demanding the trade.  The more we receive from our employers, the more they expect in return.  And what I’m learning is that sometimes the trade is mutually beneficial to everyone involved – the company gets the best I have to offer in exchange for a semblance of financial security.\r\n\r\nOver the last several months, I have been reevaluating the terms and conditions of the deal I made with my employer.  I agreed to offer my best.  I committed to work as hard, as creatively, and as innovatively as my skills and talents allowed.  In exchange I agreed to a compensation rate, dental coverage, and a great pension plan.\r\n\r\nBut based on recent conversations with others in my small group of friends and colleagues, it seems like there is a quiet undercurrent of dissatisfaction starting to emerge between the demands of employers and those who work for them.  More and more of my colleagues are reevaluating the details of their lives and deciding that they are no longer prepared to trade away their dreams and passions for cash.  And as scary as it is to admit to myself, I think I am becoming one of them.\r\n\r\nAccording to an <a href=\"http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/mar2009/ca20090313_334411.htm\">article</a> in the March 19, 2009 edition of <em>Business Week</em>, the number of employees who are disengaged in their workplaces rose by 45% over the previous year with a corresponding 53% decrease in the discretionary effort these employees are willing to offer their employers.  Clearly the ‘effort-for-pay’ trade is no longer working for lots of other people as well.\r\n\r\nI wonder if the crisis of dissatisfaction with work and the movement to rethink whether the amount of ourselves we give up in exchange for ‘job security’ is connected to an inadequate understanding of calling. I wonder what would happen if our business schools started including mandatory classes in self-reflection, self-awareness, and conducting an honest assessment of how our lives have shaped us into the people we are.  And only after we have spent time in the wilderness of self-discovery would we be allowed to join the workforce…confident of who we are, what we can offer - and as Frederick Buechner describes – “where our deepest gladness meets the world’s deep need.”\r\n\r\nI think there’s a good chance we would be happier, more engaged, and that the world would be more reflective of the One who created it – awash in mercy, grace and compassion rather than  controlled by those who won the race to the top but lost themselves in the process.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','The Trade','','inherit','open','open','','1216-revision-4','','','2011-10-25 23:37:44','2011-10-26 06:37:44','',1216,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/25/1216-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(2606,30,'2011-11-25 18:55:47','2011-11-26 02:55:47','<div style=\"clear: both;text-align: center\"><a title=\"license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ - click to view more info about \'easy-turkey-thanksgiving\' or find free \'turkey meal\' pictures via Wylio\" href=\"http://www.wylio.com/credits/flickr/5176608082\"><img style=\"float: none;margin: 10px auto\" src=\"http://lh3.ggpht.com/-eFTdM9dASjc/TtBLGhccjoI/AAAAAAAAA3E/7YKGnQtXwdI/Flickr-5176608082.jpg\" alt=\"\'easy-turkey-thanksgiving\' photo (c) 2010, Steve Johnson - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/\" width=\"500\" height=\"334\" /></a></div>\nThanksgiving is now behind us, a day that for many is filled with one delicious food after another. Turkey. Mashed potatoes. Corn casserole. Jello molds. Pies, pies, and more pies. We fill our plates, we eat, we dive back in for more. We wear our stretchy pants and leave the belts in the closet for another day.\n\nEating turkey and mashed potatoes isn\'t something that is unique to Thanksgiving. Particularly here in America, we can have a large meal nearly any day of the year. So despite the fact that we tend to focus on the food, there must be more to this holiday than simply an opportunity to eat a large meal.\n\nI believe what makes Thanksgiving special is the opportunity that we have not only to feed our physical appetites, but to feed our spiritual and emotional appetites as well. To feed not only our bodies, but our souls.\n\nWe fix meals that are more complicated than we might normally make. We play games that usually gather dust on the shelves. We enjoy one another\'s company without feeling the need to rush to the next thing. After the hustle and bustle of preparing the meal, it\'s a day for slowing down and for spending time together with those whom you love.\n\nBut what might happen if we took the time to seek out this soul food more often? What would that look like?\n\nPerhaps we could take time to sit and really listen to a piece of music for a few minutes. Allow each note to penetrate the deep parts of our minds and hearts.\n\nPerhaps we need to','Soul Food','','inherit','open','open','','2598-revision-5','','','2011-11-25 18:55:47','2011-11-26 02:55:47','',2598,'http://provoketive.com/2011/11/25/2598-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(1732,64,'2011-10-30 19:07:48','2011-10-31 02:07:48','A popular post at<a title=\"Sharon Hodde Miller\" href=\"http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/7ya3xT/blog.christianitytoday.com/women/2011/10/why_its_your_job_to_break_the.html\" target=\"_blank\"> Her.meneutics</a>, <em>Why it’s Your Job to Break the Women’s Ministry Stereotype</em> by Sharon Hodde Miller, reminded me of something I wrote earlier this year.  You must read her blog <a title=\"She Worships\" href=\"http://sheworships.com\" target=\"_blank\">She Worships</a>.  She is one of the more wise and intelligent female voices of my generation.\r\n<h2>I just want to know what you think.</h2>\r\nFor seven years I attended Women’s Bible studies offered at my church.  I learned a lot and my love for scripture grew deeper.   Over the years, as I refined my ability to study scripture for myself I began to notice an odd trend.  These women who taught with clear outward self-assurance were basically parroting the commentary and words of other (usually male) authors.   I found myself counting the times in a lecture they would say “So and so says ... in such and such commentary.”  <strong><em>I longed to hear what these wise women thought and more importantly what God was saying to them as they studied scripture.</em>   </strong>I believe these women were essentially shuffled to the side of the church “to teach women.”  Noticeably they had not received coaching comparable to the “teaching team” (of men) who taught Sunday mornings.  <em>Subsequently these women lacked the confidence and training to speak with authority. </em>\r\n\r\n<strong>By writing this essay I am not saying that there is no place for women’s ministry in the church, but after all these years <em>I know it is not for me.  Here\'s why.</em></strong>\r\n<h2>My life is incredibly diverse and I\'ll do everything I can to keep it that way.</h2>\r\nI guess the saying is true, “People of a feather flock together.”\r\n\r\nA good friend who is a leader at church told me that <em>people ask for groupings</em> when they come to church.  They <em>want</em> to be with those that are <em>like them</em> – whether it is women or men, youth or college-aged, young marrieds with or without kids, or singles gathering together.  I understand that this is what we are used and more comfortable with but does that mean it is <em>good</em>?\r\n\r\n<strong><em>I have deep concerns with that when it comes to separating men and women.</em></strong><strong> </strong>\r\n\r\nFirst of all, fundamentally it comes out of this notion that men and women are <em>so very different.  </em> We certainly have our differences, but that sort of thinking is divisive and unproductive. It hurts us more than helps as we try to work out our faith together.  Separation of men and women in the church might have begun when women were for the most part at-home and looking for things to do.  That is no longer the case, as people today divide up their lives and work and time very differently.  And today the church is full of the divorced, single parents,  men at home and women working in the marketplace, as well as more and more single men and women who are choosing to remain so longer, not to mention the younger retired boomers who make up the church.\r\n\r\n<em><strong>Scripture isn’t \"for women\" or \"for men.” </strong></em>\r\n\r\nWe don’t need to separate to study the Word.  When we split up it only perpetuates gender stereotypes.  Ah, the stereotypes, women want to be treated like princesses and men are all tough guys.  Women love to talk and are more emotional.  Men are stone and are afraid of being vulnerable and all have pornography problems.  Next thing you know, when women get together we are all making crafts and men are playing basketball.\r\n\r\nI think we benefit as we<strong> </strong>mix generations and genders, hipsters and bikers and soccer moms, boomers, silent gen, teens, single and married with those with higher education or not.  We need to cross all those cultural barriers and learn together.  We are strengthened as people and as a community when we do.  We lose out when we don’t.  There is so much that we don\'t learn when we divide into groups by our comfortable similarities.\r\n<h2>What about Tribes?</h2>\r\nOne of my husband tribes is <strong>Musical Geeks</strong> and they cross many apparent differences, women and men, young and old, it matters not at all, as long as you want to \"geek out\" about all sorts of really boring musical minutia. (That is not my tribe, clearly.)  Not my <em>need, </em>but <em>he needs and loves to be with those people because they have like interests</em>!\r\n\r\nThis is important.  We feel connection, solidarity and even strength when we connect from time to time with our tribe.  One must find a balance.\r\n\r\n<span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"font-size: 20px;font-weight: bold\">What about in the Church?</span>\r\n\r\n<strong><em>It feels like there are a million obstacles to women experiencing true equity within the Christian evangelical church and separating ourselves by gender simply perpetuates the stereotypes and encourages a lack of creativity when it comes to the gifts and talents that people have.</em></strong>\r\n\r\nI know that I am not your typical evangelical Christian woman nor married to the typical man.  We divide our household chores by talents and interests, as well as what brings us joy.  For example, you will not find my husband outside on the weekend mowing the lawn or in the yard at all.  I do it because I love being outside, love the physical effort and I care about our yard.  He can typically be found inside either cleaning or down in his studio working on music.   When we got married, rather than fall into the typical gender stereotypes we just thought about it pragmatically.  Why can’t we do that in the Church?\r\n\r\nI believe that men and women should be using their skills and abilities and spiritual gifts in the whole Church.  They were given to us by Yahweh.  I believe he chose my skills, abilities and spiritual gifts.  God is the one that <em>made me this way. I should be serving.  I should be using the abilities and talents that He gave me. It would be wrong for me to sit back and not use them. </em>\r\n\r\n<strong>This is complicated when you haven\'t had your abilities affirmed in the church.  But some day, women will come to know themselves capable.  I think it is time for us to begin again, to rethink women and men’s ministry and know that we are the body of Christ, at is says in 1 Corinthians 12</strong>.\r\n<blockquote> <strong><sup>4</sup></strong> There are <em>different kinds</em> of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. <strong><sup>5</sup></strong> There are <em>different kinds</em> of service, but the same Lord. <strong><sup>6</sup></strong> There are <em>different kinds</em> of working, but in all of them and <strong><em>in everyone</em></strong> it is the same God at work.\r\n\r\n<strong><sup>7</sup></strong> Now <em>to each one</em> the manifestation of the Spirit is given <strong><em>for the common good.</em></strong> <strong><sup>8</sup></strong> To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, <strong><sup>9</sup></strong> to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, <strong><sup>10</sup></strong> to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,<strong><sup>[<a title=\"See footnote a\" href=\"http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+12&amp;version=NIV#fen-NIV-28645a\">a</a>]</sup></strong> and to still another the interpretation of tongues.<strong><sup>[<a title=\"See footnote b\" href=\"http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+12&amp;version=NIV#fen-NIV-28645b\">b</a>]</sup></strong> <strong><sup>11</sup></strong> All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them <strong><em>to each one</em></strong>, just as he determines. (NIV, <strong><em>emphasis mine</em></strong>.)</blockquote>\r\nI am so encouraged reading those verses, which were written to us, yes each one, yes <em>to everyone,</em> in the Church.\r\n\r\n<a title=\"Mimi Haddad\" href=\"http://www.cbeinternational.org/?q=content/leadership#dr-mimi-haddad\" target=\"_blank\">Mimi Haddad</a> puts it so well:\r\n<blockquote>“<strong>…</strong> Women need to learn the power and validity of their voices. Women have been given voices as instruments that God intends for them to use—not in anger, but with the grace and dignity with which Jesus spoke. When I look through the pages of Scripture, I see that the words of women and men throughout history have been beautiful gifts from God. It is time we remember that our voices carry weight, that we hold truth from God on our tongues. The world needs to hear from us.”</blockquote>\r\n<strong><em>I believe God is calling women to come forth and speak to the Church not just to women.</em></strong>\r\n\r\n<em>Photo Credit: Alesa Dam</em>','Why Ministry \"For Women\" is Not \"For Me\"','','inherit','open','open','','1411-revision-16','','','2011-10-30 19:07:48','2011-10-31 02:07:48','',1411,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/30/1411-revision-16/',0,'revision','',0),(1241,38,'2011-10-26 09:06:48','2011-10-26 16:06:48','A five-part series exploring the tensions of church life, by <a href=\"../author/deannaogle/\">Deanna Ogle</a>.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://wp.me/p1CKLQ-gJ\">Where the Church Lost Me: Part 1: Shallow and Antagonistic</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"../2011/10/26/where-the-church-lost-me-part-ii/\">Where the Church Lost Me: Part 2: Exclusivity</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/10/28/where-the-church-lost-me-part-iii/\">Where the Church Lost Me: Part 3: Simplistic Sexuality</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/10/29/where-the-church-lost-me-part-iv/\">Where the Church Lost Me: Part 4: Unfriendly to Doubt</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/11/02/where-the-church-lost-me-part-v-over-protective/\">Where the Church Lost Me: Part 5: Over-protective</a>','Where The Church Lost Me','','publish','open','open','','where-the-church-lost-me','','http://provoketive.com/2011/10/28/where-the-church-lost-me-part-iii/\nhttp://provoketive.com/2011/10/29/where-the-church-lost-me-part-iv/','2011-11-02 08:35:04','2011-11-02 15:35:04','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=1241',0,'post','',0),(1242,1,'2011-10-26 09:04:38','2011-10-26 16:04:38','','Why The Church Lost Me by Deanna Ogle','','inherit','open','open','','1241-revision','','','2011-10-26 09:04:38','2011-10-26 16:04:38','',1241,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/26/1241-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(1243,1,'2011-10-26 09:06:02','2011-10-26 16:06:02','A five part series exploring the tensions of church life, by <a href=\"../author/deannaogle/\">Deanna Ogle</a>.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://wp.me/p1CKLQ-gJ\">Where the Church Lost Me: Part 1: Shallow and Antagonistic</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"../2011/10/26/where-the-church-lost-me-part-ii/\">Where the Church Lost Me: Part 2: Exclusivity</a>\r\n\r\nWhere the Church Lost Me: Part 3: Simplistic Sexuality\r\n\r\nWhere the Church Lost Me: Part 4:\r\n\r\nWhere the Church Lost Me: Part 5:','Where The Church Lost Me','','inherit','open','open','','1241-revision-2','','','2011-10-26 09:06:02','2011-10-26 16:06:02','',1241,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/26/1241-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(1244,1,'2011-10-26 09:06:48','2011-10-26 16:06:48','A five part series exploring the tensions of church life, by <a href=\"../author/deannaogle/\">Deanna Ogle</a>.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://wp.me/p1CKLQ-gJ\">Where the Church Lost Me: Part 1: Shallow and Antagonistic</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"../2011/10/26/where-the-church-lost-me-part-ii/\">Where the Church Lost Me: Part 2: Exclusivity</a>\r\n\r\nWhere the Church Lost Me: Part 3: Simplistic Sexuality\r\n\r\nWhere the Church Lost Me: Part 4:\r\n\r\nWhere the Church Lost Me: Part 5:','Where The Church Lost Me','','inherit','open','open','','1241-revision-3','','','2011-10-26 09:06:48','2011-10-26 16:06:48','',1241,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/26/1241-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(1245,1,'2011-10-26 09:09:06','2011-10-26 16:09:06',' ','','','publish','open','open','','1245','','','2012-01-19 11:08:28','2012-01-19 19:08:28','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=1245',3,'nav_menu_item','',0),(1248,24,'2011-10-26 09:55:04','2011-10-26 16:55:04','','Rick4','','inherit','open','open','','rick4','','','2011-10-26 09:55:04','2011-10-26 16:55:04','',843,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Rick4.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(1250,24,'2011-10-26 09:56:19','2011-10-26 16:56:19','Pain invited my ear, \"Listen to me, for I have knowledge of Truth hidden in what you fear.\"\n\nFear roared, \"Do not look or listen to pain, it will only lead you to more discomfort!\"\n\nLove whispered, \"Go into this pain, it is safe. You will only discover more to love.\"\n\nShame whimpered, \"Remember everything that has happened to you, everyone despises you. This will not work.\"\n\nCourage invoked, \"All fear is an illusion, walk straight ahead!\"\n\nPride demanded, \"You have everything you need already, this is a waste of time.\"\n\nEver notice how throughout a day what you are  feeling will interpret reality for you. As you follow these feelings they usually lead you to thoughts. These thought are ideas about your self, others and how life is playing out. Few questions these thoughts, few face the idea\'s of being separate, alone and unwanted. We tend to settle for a hope of one day getting what we want so we can be happy.\n\n<strong>What would life be like if we embraced all of it? What would we be like if we stopped avoiding pain and ran into what we have been taught to fear.</strong>\n\nWhy do we stop going to the gym? Because we no longer engage with the benefits the pain brings us. This benefit is strength.\nWhy do we fear the dentist? His cleaning, shots and drilling give our teeth longevity.\nWhy do we fear conflict or confrontation with people? Will it not expose the lies and assumptions we hide behind.\n\n<strong><a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/pain1.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-1171\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/pain1-300x226.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"226\" /></a>SEARCHING IN THE WRONG PLACE</strong>\n\nA neighbour found Jon on hands and knees.\n“What are you searching for Jon?” “My key.”\nBoth men got on their knees to search.\nAfter a while the neighbor says, “Where did you lose it?”\n“At home.”\n“Good Lord! Then why are you searching here?”\n“Because it’s brighter here.”\n\nSearch for Love where you lost it. Where did you learn to stop loving yourself? Where did you learn that what you did was not good enough? Who told you that you were worthless, meaningless and annoying? Let anger come up, let grief stay for a while, let all the dires to get love from someoene out there smack you in the face with the reality that it has not worked.\n\nThe key to Love is where you left it. Until you have the courage and the company of people around you who are willing to let you fall apart, breakdown and give up on all of it, you will never experience the Life Jesus spoke from.\n\nThe next time you find yourself in a painful situation, instead of looking for a way out, face this pain, welcome it and allow yourself to feel it deeply. Perhaps it will lead you to a dark place where what you have forgotten about what is you are is hidden.\n\n<strong>WHY BADSTUFF HAPPENS\n</strong><em>by Elsa Joy Bailey</em>\n\nIf it weren\'t for my beautiful sad mother\ndrinking a beaker of cold cyanide when I was three,\nI wouldn\'t have learned\nshe could both love and abandon me\nin one hot severe breath.\nNor would I have grown flowers in my heart\nfor people who urgently want to die.\n\nIf I had not broken my leg in a wild fall,\nI wouldn\'t have learned that stark physical pain\nis, to my great surprise, not permanent.\n\nIf I hadn\'t fallen in love with someone\nwho didn\'t love me,\nI would never have realized that unrequited love\nis still an ecstatic dance of the heart.\n\nIf I hadn\'t encountered praise and blame,\nsuccess and failure, heat and cold, darkness and light,\nblows and kisses, pain and bliss,\nnever would I have found out that through it all\nthere is a Spirit within me\nwhich remains unceasingly alive and loving.\n\nIf I hadn\'t received the gift of knowing you,\nI would not have come to realise\nthat our stories are different in details,\nbut never in essence.\n\nIf I hadn\'t lived through an era of hurting\nI would never have met the miracle\nof being fed with kindness by a friend.\n\nIf I hadn\'t discovered that you and I\nare two threads in the same vast cloth,\nI would have remained forever lost and imprisoned\nin my separate universe.\n\nIf I hadn\'t seen both good and evil\noccupying space in the same event,\nI would never have met the hand of humour\npainting over these polarities\nwith new clarity and light.\n\nIf I hadn\'t wept a thousand tears\nover the loss of a beloved,\nI would never have been driven inward\nto find the eternal companion,\nmy Soul.\n\nIf I had not witnessed cruelty\nand man\'s inhumanity to man,\nI would not have been forced to look\nbeneath the ugliness of fear,\nand encounter the common Heart\nthat lies beneath it.\n\nIf I hadn\'t encountered our myriad differences,\nI would never have discovered that you and I\nare not two,\nbut infinite sparks of love ever arising\nfrom one indestructible Flame.\n\nAnd if I hadn\'t felt abandoned and heartsick,\nI would never have heard the wordless whisper\nof an abiding, unseeable Friend,\nwho translated the feeling of alone\ninto All One.','Pain Demands an Answer','','inherit','open','open','','843-revision-14','','','2011-10-26 09:56:19','2011-10-26 16:56:19','',843,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/26/843-revision-14/',0,'revision','',0),(1251,0,'2011-10-26 12:13:21','2011-10-26 19:13:21','Hello Jonathan!\r\n\r\nPer your invitation, and after much thought and prayer, I have decided I would like to write for Provoketive.\r\n\r\nI intertwine a lot of topics that go between Life, Faith and Culture - primarily in how our walk with Christ is reflected in life and in our culture (and also how life and our culture affects our walk with Christ).\r\n\r\nA lot of the topics I write on do with family, parenting, spiritual growth, spirituality, theology, &amp; spiritual practices - and I sometimes will even bring in a movie, music, book, or any art of some kind to reveal a spiritual truth discovered in scripture to help prompt a Christian\'s growth and maturity in their own lives.\r\n\r\nI look forward to further correspondence with you.\r\n\r\nSincerely,\r\nMarni\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Marni Arnold\nAUTHOR EMAIL: marni@relevantbrokenness.com\nAUTHOR URL: http://RelevantBrokenness.com\nSUBJECT: Provoketive Magazine Writing For Provoketive\nIP: 71.68.99.224\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Marni Arnold\n    [Email] =&gt; marni@relevantbrokenness.com\n    [Existing Blog or Website] =&gt; RelevantBrokenness.com\n    [List the topic you are interested writing about] =&gt; Hello Jonathan!\r\n\r\nPer your invitation, and after much thought and prayer, I have decided I would like to write for Provoketive.\r\n\r\nI intertwine a lot of topics that go between Life, Faith and Culture - primarily in how our walk with Christ is reflected in life and in our culture (and also how life and our culture affects our walk with Christ).\r\n\r\nA lot of the topics I write on do with family, parenting, spiritual growth, spirituality, theology, &amp; spiritual practices - and I sometimes will even bring in a movie, music, book, or any art of some kind to reveal a spiritual truth discovered in scripture to help prompt a Christian\'s growth and maturity in their own lives.\r\n\r\nI look forward to further correspondence with you.\r\n\r\nSincerely,\r\nMarni\n    [Current or New WordPress Login Name (We\'ll send you a password.)] =&gt; marniarnold\n)\n','Marni Arnold - 2011-10-26 12:13:21','','publish','open','open','','938fbe900cbf59c183165e6d9204e31c','','','2011-10-26 12:13:21','2011-10-26 19:13:21','',358,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=1251',0,'feedback','',0),(1253,1,'2011-10-26 12:59:36','2011-10-26 19:59:36','','banksy','','inherit','open','open','','banksy','','','2011-10-26 12:59:36','2011-10-26 19:59:36','',1252,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/banksy.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(1254,1,'2011-10-26 12:59:22','2011-10-26 19:59:22','','Banksy On Violence','','inherit','open','open','','1252-revision','','','2011-10-26 12:59:22','2011-10-26 19:59:22','',1252,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/26/1252-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(1255,1,'2011-10-26 15:46:52','2011-10-26 22:46:52','<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banksy\" target=\"_blank\">Banksy</a> has such a beautiful way of saying the obscene.','Banksy On Violence','','inherit','open','open','','1252-autosave','','','2011-10-26 15:46:52','2011-10-26 22:46:52','',1252,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/26/1252-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(2626,106,'2011-11-27 11:13:17','2011-11-27 19:13:17','','buddha','','inherit','open','open','','buddha','','','2011-11-27 11:13:17','2011-11-27 19:13:17','',2624,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/buddha.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(2627,106,'2011-11-27 11:14:36','2011-11-27 19:14:36','While recently visiting a (Won) Buddhist temple, I heard one practitioner refer to Jesus as a Buddha. I was struck by the generosity of calling the leader of another faith one’s most cherished, revered term. In Won Buddhism, as I understand it, there is an effort for each person to embrace their Buddhahood and see the Buddha in another, so the statement was not at all unusual in that context. However it did lead me to a place of introspection about my own faith path. Could I, raised a Christian, return the favor? Could I say “Buddha is a Savior, Redeemer”?\n\nI have been frustrated and turned off by the churches I have visited that seem to place their God high above any other God. If there truly is one God, isn’t that one God as high as any God can be?\n\nI recently attended a conference at a megachurch in the Midwest. And I was disturbed by two of the things I experienced there. One of those things was the lead pastor (who I have followed and respected for many years) saying that “Christianity was the only Religion about Love”. Really? Really? Have you explored any other religions? My personal experience with other, non-Christian religions is they really are about love. They are about getting out negativity so the love can flow in. The second thing that disturbed me during my megachurch experience was surprisingly, the music. Although the music was inspiring and energetic, the lyrics were anything but. One song in particular featured the message: “Our God is stronger than your God, Our God is greater than Your God, etc.” Really? Are we in seventh grade or something? Are we really that competitive?\n\nTo me it seems when you have to tell someone your God is better, stronger, greater, more loving…than perhaps deep down you have some doubts on this topic?\n\nWhat if there is only one God, and this one God is manifested in many beautiful names? Those names could include Jesus Christ, Wonderful, Counselor Allah, Buddha, and scores of other names.\n\nIf we believe in one God, let’s start living and talking like it, and stop being so competitive. Start accepting that that one God is so brilliant that he made many ways to show himself before us all.\n\nThere are passages in the Bible that really resonate with me around this issue, for instance, this one from John (10:16) As Jesus said, \"And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd\".\n\nPerhaps the variety in religion is part of God’s big plan, and we should start showing some respect. Why wouldn’t God show up differently in the varied landscape of world culture. In this quote by theologian Emanuel Swedenborg (Divine Providence 254) he seems to call this idea out quite clearly. \"When a religion has been implanted in a nation, the Lord leads that nation according to the precepts and dogmas of its own religion. He has provided that there shall be in every religion precepts like those in the Ten Commandments....The nation that regards these precepts as Divine and lives according to them from a religious motive is saved.\".','Jesus is a Buddha, God\'s Plan for Variety in Religion','','inherit','open','open','','2624-revision-2','','','2011-11-27 11:14:36','2011-11-27 19:14:36','',2624,'http://provoketive.com/2011/11/27/2624-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(2628,106,'2011-11-27 11:14:40','2011-11-27 19:14:40','While recently visiting a (Won) Buddhist temple, I heard one practitioner refer to Jesus as a Buddha. I was struck by the generosity of calling the leader of another faith one’s most cherished, revered term. In Won Buddhism, as I understand it, there is an effort for each person to embrace their Buddhahood and see the Buddha in another, so the statement was not at all unusual in that context. However it did lead me to a place of introspection about my own faith path. Could I, raised a Christian, return the favor? Could I say “Buddha is a Savior, Redeemer”?\r\n\r\nI have been frustrated and turned off by the churches I have visited that seem to place their God high above any other God. If there truly is one God, isn’t that one God as high as any God can be?\r\n\r\nI recently attended a conference at a megachurch in the Midwest. And I was disturbed by two of the things I experienced there. One of those things was the lead pastor (who I have followed and respected for many years) saying that “Christianity was the only Religion about Love”. Really? Really? Have you explored any other religions? My personal experience with other, non-Christian religions is they really are about love. They are about getting out negativity so the love can flow in. The second thing that disturbed me during my megachurch experience was surprisingly, the music. Although the music was inspiring and energetic, the lyrics were anything but. One song in particular featured the message: “Our God is stronger than your God, Our God is greater than Your God, etc.” Really? Are we in seventh grade or something? Are we really that competitive?\r\n\r\nTo me it seems when you have to tell someone your God is better, stronger, greater, more loving…than perhaps deep down you have some doubts on this topic?\r\n\r\nWhat if there is only one God, and this one God is manifested in many beautiful names? Those names could include Jesus Christ, Wonderful, Counselor Allah, Buddha, and scores of other names.\r\n\r\nIf we believe in one God, let’s start living and talking like it, and stop being so competitive. Start accepting that that one God is so brilliant that he made many ways to show himself before us all.\r\n\r\nThere are passages in the Bible that really resonate with me around this issue, for instance, this one from John (10:16) As Jesus said, \"And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd\".\r\n\r\nPerhaps the variety in religion is part of God’s big plan, and we should start showing some respect. Why wouldn’t God show up differently in the varied landscape of world culture. In this quote by theologian Emanuel Swedenborg (Divine Providence 254) he seems to call this idea out quite clearly. \"When a religion has been implanted in a nation, the Lord leads that nation according to the precepts and dogmas of its own religion. He has provided that there shall be in every religion precepts like those in the Ten Commandments....The nation that regards these precepts as Divine and lives according to them from a religious motive is saved.\".','Jesus is a Buddha, God\'s Plan for Variety in Religion','','inherit','open','open','','2624-revision-3','','','2011-11-27 11:14:40','2011-11-27 19:14:40','',2624,'http://provoketive.com/2011/11/27/2624-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(1260,64,'2011-10-26 14:37:08','2011-10-26 21:37:08','<div>\n<blockquote>Feminism to me is the crazy belief that women and men are both created in God’s image and that each of us deserves a life of freedom and opportunity inside or outside the Church.</blockquote>\n</div>\n<strong>It began like any other day by l</strong><strong>ogging on to the internet, as I gratefully sipped my coffee and slowly woke up.</strong>\n\nScouring various sources, I saw a new book on women was out titled <a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fgp%2Fproduct%2F1414337302%2Fref%3Das_li_ss_tl%3Fie%3DUTF8%26tag%3Dhansresodevei-20%26linkCode%3Das2%26camp%3D217145%26creative%3D399373%26creativeASIN%3D1414337302&amp;h=cAQF09IvWAQHLC8jkQwJq03PMm3_t4ngP4ePDIj1gc6-nYg\" target=\"_blank\">The Resignation of Eve: What If Adam\'s Rib Is No Longer Willing to Be the Church\'s Backbone?</a> (I have to admit that is a clever title.)  It contains women’s stories of their experiences in the Church written <em>by a man</em>?  Giving it very little further thought, I wrote this comment on Facebook:\n<blockquote>“While I find it highly ironic that it requires a man to tell these women\'s stories to in order for them to be heard, and though I have not obviously read this book since it is not yet out, still there must be something important here if he does as he alleges and has <em>listened to women</em> talk about their experience in the Church.   It seems sketchy to me though ...”</blockquote>\nI copied a few friends and that began the banter, then discussion about women and access, why women don’t trust their own voices, why takes a man’s voice for women’s stories to be \"heard\", how men (may) self-promote more than women, and why the only thing women are invited to write and speak on are soft topics, and even our theological grounding for our perspectives.  It was <em>much</em> more civil than many internet discussions, as several of my friends across the globe, and locally, began to discuss!\n\n<strong>But I have to go back, even further.</strong>\n\nThis story really began a few weeks ago as I sat perched on the edge of my chair, once again at the computer.  I was trying to gather my thoughts.  Sighing deeply and knowing that being on the computer was the last thing I needed.  I needed time alone.\n\n<strong>And the<em> </em><em>lack of it</em><em> </em>was weighing heavily on my spirit. </strong> I knew that what I really needed was to turn it all off, especially the technological barrage, and find – time – to – think.  And <em>not</em> time while doing last night\'s dishes, or throwing another load in, or while picking up the endless socks, books and dog toys.  <em>Not</em> time driving my son to the doctor or waiting.  Time spent on the responsibilities of home life can be a meditation of sorts, but <em>not</em> what I needed.\n\n<strong>I needed noiseless, exclusive solitary time with Yahweh.  </strong>\n\n<strong></strong>How often do we really find this kind of time? I cannot underscore how important solitary thinking time is for me spiritually and creatively.  It helps me be less impulsive.  It centers me.  It makes the anxiety, anger, and disappointments of life fade away, lacking the importance I might have given them.  My priorities sift and sort and I am more circumspect.  In that place, I find my quavering voice.\n\n<strong>Here’s what I had been thinking about.  </strong>When it all first occurred I definitely tried to ignore it.  I kept thinking how <em>obsessive</em> I was being.  I kept telling myself I was being ridiculous, absurd, unreasonable, and even disagreeable.  Doubting my own inner voice is a frequent problem that I have.  I had been trying to ignore the nagging voice inside me until finally I accepted that this was not going away!\n\n<strong>I\'ve been thinking about</strong> <strong>the lack of </strong><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">presence and example</span></strong><strong> of</strong> <strong>women in <em>the Church</em>.</strong><strong>  That Sunday at my church in particular, women were </strong><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">simply spectators</span></em></strong><strong>, the audience, the bystanders, the recipients and beneficiaries.  </strong>\n\nAnd the more I thought I could not remember the last time one of the teaching pastors suggested a book they were reading written by a woman.  Women are never quoted in my church.  Female theologians or scholars are never referenced or even mentioned, probably because the pastors don’t read them.  I can\'t remember the last time, if ever, a pastor in my church has suggested or referred to or quoted a female theologian, religious author, or historian.  <em>Am I the only one that notices these things?</em>\n\n<strong><em>T</em><em>he entire thing</em><em> </em></strong><em><strong>makes me very sad</strong></em><strong>.  And so tired. <strong> I am tired of the male dominated culture on the platform, as authors, as experts, as theologians, as speakers at conferences and in the Church at large. </strong></strong>Considering women are half the church (some would say more) I do not buy the argument that there aren\'t capable women to select from, though I\'ve been told that very thing.  \"The women haven\'t risen up who have the gift of teaching.\"\n\n<strong><em>Risen up</em><em>?</em></strong>   To be honest, one would think in a service-by-gifts based church there must not<em> be</em> any qualified gifted female teachers.   I attend an EFCA church of 5,000. You do the math.\n\nI would guess that many people, but especially women, will not put themselves forward (i.e. rise up) because of self-doubt, true humility or a combination of motivations.\n\nI think it is very likely that <em>there are</em> gifted, wise articulate women who may not be comfortable yet with their own voice, but have natural instincts for leadership or teaching that could be taught, mentored, helped to find their voice.  Who knows?\n\n<strong><em>Will we ever know if they are not given the opportunity? And what a loss not to hear from them!  </em></strong>\n\nI believe it harms us to rarely hear the spiritual voices of women and for me personally, it hampers my faith and my journey with Christ.  Thank God that we have the example of Jesus who took risks for women, ministered with, received from and listened to women.  He was our example of reconciliation and grace in the lives of women.  If only the church modeled their behavior toward women after Jesus. Sadly the Church is ignoring the stories of women in the Bible, and of women historically and in the Church worldwide today.  Women have been actively participating in the work of the church since its inception.  Women are missionaries, teaching in seminaries, running nonprofits and leading in higher education.  Women are writing and want to write on more than “soft or women’s issues.”  But in the Church women are still finding their voice.\n\n<strong>I have to confess that I do not want my feminist radar (that\'s what my daughter calls it) to always go off in church.</strong>  It is distracting, sometimes painful and it is utterly exhausting.  It steals some of the joy out of my spiritual life, like recently when we attended a one man show at church.  The actor introduced us to eight characters (both in the Bible and fictional) who had met Jesus.  It was powerful.  <a title=\"Curt Cloninger\" href=\"http://curtcloninger.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Curt Cloninger</a> is supremely talented.  Sadly, in the entire two and a half hour show, women were invisible – utterly missing – other than being mentioned as briefly as whores and spinsters.  I tried hard, I really did.  I used all kind of energy that night trying to forget that I was <em>the invisible woman</em> and simply experience the show.  And it worked -- almost.\n\nYes, I tire of voicing what I believe.  And I have considered asking God to take it away – this feminist awareness – to either shut it up or get me out – but for now I stay.  And I continue to work to find my own voice and listen, getting those times alone so that I can have something solid to say with a circumspect and healthy heart.  I hold on tight to Jesus in those moments when I want to quit the Church.  And I consider that as long as I can think out loud on my <strong><a title=\"Logic and Imagination\" href=\"http://logicandimagination.wordpress.com/\" target=\"_blank\">blog</a></strong> and places like <strong>Provokotive</strong> and as long as I have a few people in my life that I can express my pain and rancor to, I\'ll survive, for now.','?? title ','','inherit','open','open','','1258-revision','','','2011-10-26 14:37:08','2011-10-26 21:37:08','',1258,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/26/1258-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(1261,20,'2011-10-26 14:34:27','2011-10-26 21:34:27','I’m usually pretty good about being conscious of what I buy and what I eat – taking an interest in where things are made, by who and for how much, etc.  And yet, I’m still a consumer.  In our environment it’s basically the air we breathe.  I might purchase fair trade coffee and chocolate, but I’m still addicted to coffee and chocolate.  My wife tries to shop only for clothes made in the U.S., but she still really likes to shop.  I started wondering how much of this is just human, and how much of it is culturally constructed.\n\nDespite the fact that many Christians themselves get caught up in this perpetual cycle, there seems to at least be some level of awareness in the church about the problem.  This is a good thing.  Less understood though is the extent to which societal messages are able to increasingly produce in us the insatiable desire for consumption in the first place.  In their genuine intent to encourage counter-culturalism, we might hear pastors talk about innate human drive to always want more.  But how much of this is a common anthropology vs. just a modern Western phenomenon?\n\nOf course Christians confess that there is an inherent hunger in people which cannot be satisfied by what the material world offers.  The human condition is such that we live with a kind of openness directed toward possibility in the world, always becoming.<a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn1\">[i]</a>  This does have to be a bad thing.  Some people have called it the God-shaped hole.  But there is another level of desire that is more artificial or at least less natural.  It’s the desire that is harnessed by the power of globalizing market forces in such a way as to induce complacency in our individualism and trivialize any concern about our unsustainable standard of living.  It’s akin to what Marx called fetishism and Freud later described as the surrogate object of desire.\n\nThe most troubling fact is that this desire is very difficult to control. In his book <em>No Rising Tide</em>, Perkins School of Theology professor Joerg Rieger discusses this very question.  The drive to consume is sustained by economic mechanisms and reinforced by the advertising industry.  Moreover, Rieger contends that economic and religious desires parallel each other.  This is illustrated by the way we often project our desires and ideals from the material world onto the divine and thus replace the transcendent God with an idol.  The German philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach made a similar argument in the 19<sup>th</sup> Century.\n\nAs Rieger further explains, desire is shaped by the production of wealth in a given society.  This process can have a subconscious effect on people’s deepest convictions and ultimate values.  This means that the way culture teaches us to view wealth has a tremendous impact on the kind of people we become.\n\nAs communities that are supposed to be convicting, healing and nurturing us on the path to holiness, churches have a vital part to play in resisting co-optation.  Sadly it’s not uncommon for churches to be complicit in this game – albeit sometimes in very subtle ways.  To a degree this might be unavoidable, but it’s imperative for us to be sensitized and attentive to how it happens.  I’m interested in how the church can be a place that enables Christians to subvert the status quo in this regard.  I know there are many tangible ways to do this, but I’m curious as to what others have seen and discovered about how our local practice can transcend systems that resist and suppress change.\n<div>\n\n<hr align=\"left\" size=\"1\" width=\"33%\" />\n\n<div>\n\n<a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref1\">[i]</a> Wolfhart Pannenberg and Duane A. Priebe, <em>What Is Man? Contemporary Anthropology in Theological Perspective.</em> (Fortress Press, 1970), 8.\n\n</div>\n</div>','That to Which Your Heart Clings, Part I: Diagnosing Consumerism   ','','inherit','open','open','','1148-revision-3','','','2011-10-26 14:34:27','2011-10-26 21:34:27','',1148,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/26/1148-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(1262,64,'2011-10-26 14:41:20','2011-10-26 21:41:20','<div>\n<blockquote>Feminism to me is the crazy belief that women and men are both created in God’s image and that each of us deserves a life of freedom and opportunity inside or outside the Church.</blockquote>\n</div>\n<strong>It began like any other day by </strong><strong>logging on to the internet, as I gratefully sipped my coffee and slowly woke up.</strong>\n\nScouring various sources, I saw a new book on women was out titled <a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fgp%2Fproduct%2F1414337302%2Fref%3Das_li_ss_tl%3Fie%3DUTF8%26tag%3Dhansresodevei-20%26linkCode%3Das2%26camp%3D217145%26creative%3D399373%26creativeASIN%3D1414337302&amp;h=cAQF09IvWAQHLC8jkQwJq03PMm3_t4ngP4ePDIj1gc6-nYg\" target=\"_blank\">The Resignation of Eve: What If Adam\'s Rib Is No Longer Willing to Be the Church\'s Backbone?</a> (I have to admit that is a clever title.)  It has women’s stories of their experiences in the Church written <em>by a man</em>?  Giving it very little further thought, I wrote this comment on Facebook:\n<blockquote>“While I find it highly ironic that it requires a man to tell these women\'s stories to in order for them to be heard, and though I have not obviously read this book since it is not yet out, still there must be something important here if he does as he alleges and has <em>listened to women</em> talk about their experience in the Church.   It seems sketchy to me though ...”</blockquote>\nI copied a few friends and that began the banter, then a lively discussion about women and access, why women don’t trust their own voices, why it takes a man for women’s stories to be \"heard\", how men (may) self-promote more than women, and why the only thing women are invited to write and speak on are soft topics, and we even discussed our theological grounding for our perspectives.  It was <em>much</em> more civil than many internet discussions, as several of my friends across the globe, and locally, began to discuss!\n\n<strong>But I have to go back, even further.</strong>\n\nThis story really began a few weeks ago as I sat perched on the edge of my chair, once again at the computer.  I was trying to gather my thoughts.  Sighing deeply and knowing that being on the computer was the last thing I needed.  I needed time alone.\n\n<strong>And the<em> </em><em>lack of it</em><em> </em>was weighing heavily on my spirit. </strong> I knew that what I really needed was to turn it all off, especially the technological barrage, and find – time – to – think.  And <em>not</em> time while doing last night\'s dishes, or throwing another load in, or while picking up the endless socks, books and dog toys.  <em>Not</em> time driving my son to the doctor or waiting.  Time spent on the responsibilities of home life can be a meditation, but <em>not</em> what I needed.\n\n<strong>I needed noiseless, exclusive solitary time with Yahweh.  </strong>\n\n<strong></strong>How often do we really find this kind of time? I cannot underscore how important solitary thinking time is for me spiritually and creatively.  It helps me be less impulsive.  It centers me.  It makes the anxiety, anger, and disappointments of life fade away, lacking the importance I might have given them.  My priorities sift and sort and I am more circumspect.  In that place, I find my quavering voice.\n\n<strong>Here’s what I had been thinking about.  </strong>When it all first occurred I definitely tried to ignore it.  I kept thinking how <em>obsessive</em> I was being.  I kept telling myself I was being ridiculous, absurd, unreasonable, and even disagreeable.  Doubting my own inner voice is a frequent problem that I have.  I had tried to ignore the nagging voice inside me until finally I accepted that this was not going away!\n\n<strong>I\'ve been thinking about</strong> <strong>the lack of </strong><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">presence and example</span></strong><strong> of</strong> <strong>women in <em>the Church</em>.</strong><strong>  That Sunday at my church in particular, women were </strong><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">simply spectators</span></em></strong><strong>, the audience, the bystanders, the recipients and beneficiaries.  </strong>\n\nAnd the more I thought I could not remember the last time one of the teaching pastors suggested a book they were reading written by a woman.  Women are never quoted in my church.  Female theologians or scholars are never referenced or even mentioned, probably because the pastors don’t read them.  I can\'t remember the last time, if ever, a pastor in my church has suggested or referred to or quoted a female theologian, religious author, or historian.  <em>Am I the only one that notices these things?</em>\n\n<strong><em>T</em><em>he entire thing</em><em> </em></strong><em><strong>makes me very sad</strong></em><strong>.  And so tired. <strong> I am tired of the male dominated culture on the platform, as authors, as experts, as theologians, as speakers at conferences and in the Church at large. </strong></strong>Considering women are half the church (some would say more) I do not buy the argument that there aren\'t capable women to select from, though I\'ve been told that very thing.  \"The women haven\'t risen up who have the gift of teaching.\"\n\n<strong><em>Risen up</em><em>?</em></strong>   To be honest, one would think in a service-by-gifts based church there must not<em> be</em> any qualified gifted female teachers.   I attend an EFCA church of 5,000. You do the math.\n\nI would guess that many people, but especially women, will not put themselves forward (i.e. rise up) because of self-doubt, true humility or a combination of motivations.\n\nI think it is very likely that <em>there are</em> gifted, wise articulate women who are not yet comfortable with their own voice, but have natural instincts for leadership or teaching that could be taught, mentored, helped to find their voice.  Who knows?\n\n<strong><em>Will we ever know if they are not given the opportunity? And what a loss not to hear from them!  </em></strong>\n\nI believe it harms us to rarely hear the spiritual voices of women and for me personally, it hampers my faith and my journey with Christ.  Thank God that we have the example of Jesus who took risks for women, ministered with, received from and listened to women.  He was our example of reconciliation and grace in the lives of women.  If only the church modeled their behavior toward women after Jesus. Sadly the Church is ignoring the stories of women in the Bible, and of women historically and in the Church worldwide today.  Women have been actively participating in the work of the church since its inception.  Women are missionaries, teaching in seminaries, running nonprofits and leading in higher education.  Women are writing and want to write on more than “soft or women’s issues.”  But in the Church women are still finding their voice.\n\n<strong>I have to confess that I do not want my feminist radar (that\'s what my daughter calls it) to always go off in church.</strong>  It is distracting, sometimes painful and it is utterly exhausting.  It steals some of the joy out of my spiritual life, like recently when we attended a one man show at church.  The actor introduced us to eight characters (both in the Bible and fictional) who had met Jesus.  It was powerful.  <a title=\"Curt Cloninger\" href=\"http://curtcloninger.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Curt Cloninger</a> is supremely talented.  Sadly, in the entire two and a half hour show, women were invisible – utterly missing – other than being mentioned as briefly as whores and spinsters.  I tried hard, I really did.  I used all kind of energy that night trying to forget that I was <em>the invisible woman</em> and simply experience the show.  And it worked -- almost.\n\nYes, I tire of voicing what I believe.  And I have considered asking God to take it away – this feminist awareness – to either shut it up or get me out – but for now I stay.  And I continue to work to find my own voice and listen, getting those times alone so that I can have something solid to say with a circumspect and healthy heart.  I hold on tight to Jesus in those moments when I want to quit the Church.  And I consider that as long as I can think out loud on my <strong><a title=\"Logic and Imagination\" href=\"http://logicandimagination.wordpress.com/\" target=\"_blank\">blog</a></strong> and places like <strong>Provokotive</strong> and as long as I have a few people in my life that I can express my pain and rancor to, I\'ll survive, for now.','?? title ??','','inherit','open','open','','1258-revision-2','','','2011-10-26 14:41:20','2011-10-26 21:41:20','',1258,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/26/1258-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(1263,1,'2011-10-28 11:28:19','2011-10-28 18:28:19','<div>\r\n\r\nFeminism to me is the crazy belief that women and men are both created in God’s image and that each of us deserves a life of freedom and opportunity inside or outside the Church.\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n<strong>It began like any other day by </strong><strong>logging on to the internet, as I gratefully sipped my coffee and slowly woke up.</strong>\r\n\r\nScouring various sources, I saw a new book on women was out titled <a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fgp%2Fproduct%2F1414337302%2Fref%3Das_li_ss_tl%3Fie%3DUTF8%26tag%3Dhansresodevei-20%26linkCode%3Das2%26camp%3D217145%26creative%3D399373%26creativeASIN%3D1414337302&amp;h=cAQF09IvWAQHLC8jkQwJq03PMm3_t4ngP4ePDIj1gc6-nYg\" target=\"_blank\">The Resignation of Eve: What If Adam\'s Rib Is No Longer Willing to Be the Church\'s Backbone?</a> (I have to admit that is a clever title.)  It has women’s stories of their experiences in the Church written <em>by a man</em>?  Giving it very little further thought, I wrote this comment on Facebook:\r\n<blockquote>“While I find it highly ironic that it requires a man to tell these women\'s stories to in order for them to be heard, and though I have not obviously read this book since it is not yet out, still there must be something important here if he does as he alleges and has <em>listened to women</em> talk about their experience in the Church.   It seems sketchy to me though ...”</blockquote>\r\nI copied a few friends and that began the banter, then a lively discussion about women and access, why women don’t trust their own voices, why it takes a man for women’s stories to be \"heard\", how men (may) self-promote more than women, and why the only thing women are invited to write and speak on are soft topics, and we even discussed our theological grounding for our perspectives.  It was <em>much</em> more civil than many internet discussions, as several of my friends across the globe, and locally, began to discuss!\r\n\r\n<strong>But I have to go back, even further.</strong>\r\n\r\nThis story really began a few weeks ago as I sat perched on the edge of my chair, once again at the computer.  I was trying to gather my thoughts.  Sighing deeply and knowing that being on the computer was the last thing I needed.  I needed time alone.\r\n\r\n<strong>And the<em> </em><em>lack of it</em><em> </em>was weighing heavily on my spirit. </strong> I knew that what I really needed was to turn it all off, especially the technological barrage, and find – time – to – think.  And <em>not</em> time while doing last night\'s dishes, or throwing another load in, or while picking up the endless socks, books and dog toys.  <em>Not</em> time driving my son to the doctor or waiting.  Time spent on the responsibilities of home life can be a meditation, but <em>not</em> what I needed.\r\n\r\n<strong>I needed noiseless, exclusive solitary time with Yahweh.  </strong>\r\n\r\n<strong></strong>How often do we really find this kind of time? I cannot underscore how important solitary thinking time is for me spiritually and creatively.  It helps me be less impulsive.  It centers me.  It makes the anxiety, anger, and disappointments of life fade away, lacking the importance I might have given them.  My priorities sift and sort and I am more circumspect.  In that place, I find my quavering voice.\r\n\r\n<strong>Here’s what I had been thinking about.  </strong>When it all first occurred I definitely tried to ignore it.  I kept thinking how <em>obsessive</em> I was being.  I kept telling myself I was being ridiculous, absurd, unreasonable, and even disagreeable.  Doubting my own inner voice is a frequent problem that I have.  I had tried to ignore the nagging voice inside me until finally I accepted that this was not going away!\r\n\r\n<strong>I\'ve been thinking about</strong> <strong>the lack of </strong><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">presence and example</span></strong><strong> of</strong> <strong>women in <em>the Church</em>.</strong><strong>  That Sunday at my church in particular, women were </strong><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">simply spectators</span></em></strong><strong>, the audience, the bystanders, the recipients and beneficiaries.  </strong>\r\n\r\nAnd the more I thought I could not remember the last time one of the teaching pastors suggested a book they were reading written by a woman.  Women are never quoted in my church.  Female theologians or scholars are never referenced or even mentioned, probably because the pastors don’t read them.  I can\'t remember the last time, if ever, a pastor in my church has suggested or referred to or quoted a female theologian, religious author, or historian.  <em>Am I the only one that notices these things?</em>\r\n\r\n<strong><em>T</em><em>he entire thing</em><em> </em></strong><em><strong>makes me very sad</strong></em><strong>.  And so tired. <strong> I am tired of the male dominated culture on the platform, as authors, as experts, as theologians, as speakers at conferences and in the Church at large. </strong></strong>Considering women are half the church (some would say more) I do not buy the argument that there aren\'t capable women to select from, though I\'ve been told that very thing.  \"The women haven\'t risen up who have the gift of teaching.\"\r\n\r\n<strong><em>Risen up</em><em>?</em></strong>   To be honest, one would think in a service-by-gifts based church there must not<em> be</em> any qualified gifted female teachers.   I attend an EFCA church of 5,000. You do the math.\r\n\r\nI would guess that many people, but especially women, will not put themselves forward (i.e. rise up) because of self-doubt, true humility or a combination of motivations.\r\n\r\nI think it is very likely that <em>there are</em> gifted, wise articulate women who are not yet comfortable with their own voice, but have natural instincts for leadership or teaching that could be taught, mentored, helped to find their voice.  Who knows?\r\n\r\n<strong><em>Will we ever know if they are not given the opportunity? And what a loss not to hear from them!  </em></strong>\r\n\r\nI believe it harms us to rarely hear the spiritual voices of women and for me personally, it hampers my faith and my journey with Christ.  Thank God that we have the example of Jesus who took risks for women, ministered with, received from and listened to women.  He was our example of reconciliation and grace in the lives of women.  If only the church modeled their behavior toward women after Jesus. Sadly the Church is ignoring the stories of women in the Bible, and of women historically and in the Church worldwide today.  Women have been actively participating in the work of the church since its inception.  Women are missionaries, teaching in seminaries, running nonprofits and leading in higher education.  Women are writing and want to write on more than “soft or women’s issues.”  But in the Church women are still finding their voice.\r\n\r\n<strong>I have to confess that I do not want my feminist radar (that\'s what my daughter calls it) to always go off in church.</strong>  It is distracting, sometimes painful and it is utterly exhausting.  It steals some of the joy out of my spiritual life, like recently when we attended a one man show at church.  The actor introduced us to eight characters (both in the Bible and fictional) who had met Jesus.  It was powerful.  <a title=\"Curt Cloninger\" href=\"http://curtcloninger.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Curt Cloninger</a> is supremely talented.  Sadly, in the entire two and a half hour show, women were invisible – utterly missing – other than being mentioned as briefly as whores and spinsters.  I tried hard, I really did.  I used all kind of energy that night trying to forget that I was <em>the invisible woman</em> and simply experience the show.  And it worked -- almost.\r\n\r\nYes, I tire of voicing what I believe.  And I have considered asking God to take it away – this feminist awareness – to either shut it up or get me out – but for now I stay.  And I continue to work to find my voice and listen, getting those times alone so that I can have something solid to say with a circumspect and healthy heart.  I hold on tight to Jesus in those moments when I want to quit the Church.  And I consider that as long as I can think out loud on my <strong><a title=\"Logic and Imagination\" href=\"http://logicandimagination.wordpress.com/\" target=\"_blank\">blog</a></strong> and places like <strong>Provoketive</strong> and as long as I have a few people in my life that I can express my pain and rancor to, I\'ll survive, for now.\r\n\r\n<em>Photo Credit: <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/llimaorosa/1351327769/\" target=\"_blank\">Llima Orosa</a></em>','The Voice Of The Feminine','','inherit','open','open','','1258-autosave','','','2011-10-28 11:28:19','2011-10-28 18:28:19','',1258,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/26/1258-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(1268,20,'2011-10-26 14:52:42','2011-10-26 21:52:42','I’m usually pretty good about being conscious of what I buy and what I eat – taking an interest in where things are made, by who, for how much, and so on.  And yet, I’m still a consumer.  Sometimes it just feels like the air we breathe.  I might purchase fair trade coffee and chocolate, but I’m still addicted to coffee and chocolate.  My wife tries to shop only for clothes made in the U.S., but she still really likes to shop.   So I started wondering how much of this is just human, and how much of it is culturally constructed.\r\n\r\nDespite the fact that many Christians themselves get caught up in this pattern of behavior, there seems to at least be some level of awareness in the church about the problem.  This is a good thing.  Less understood though is the extent to which societal messages are able to increasingly produce in us an insatiable desire for consumption in the first place.  In their genuine intent to encourage counter-culturalism, we might hear pastors talk about innate human drive to always want more.  But how much of this is rooted in a common anthropology vs. just a modern Western phenomenon?\r\n\r\nChristians confess that there is an inherent hunger in human beings that cannot be satisfied by what the material world offers.  The human condition is such that we live with a kind of openness directed toward possibility in the world, always becoming.<a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn1\">[i]</a>  This does have to be a bad thing.  Some have called it the \"God-shaped hole.\"  But there is another level of desire that is perhaps more artificial or at least less natural - namely, the desire that is harnessed by the power of globalizing market forces in such a way as to induce complacency in our individualism and trivialize any concern about our unsustainable standard of living.  It’s akin to what Marx called fetishism and Freud later described as the surrogate object of desire.\r\n\r\nThe most troubling fact is that this desire is very difficult to control. In his book <em>No Rising Tide</em>, Perkins School of Theology professor Joerg Rieger discusses this very question and argues that  the drive to consume is sustained by economic mechanisms and reinforced by the advertising industry.  Moreover, Rieger contends that economic and religious desires parallel each other.  This is illustrated by the way we often project our desires and ideals from the material world onto the divine and thus replace the transcendent God with an idol.  The German philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach made a similar argument in the 19<sup>th</sup> Century.\r\n\r\nAs Rieger further explains, desire is shaped by the production of wealth in a given society.  This process can have a subconscious effect on people’s deepest convictions and ultimate values.  This means that the way culture teaches us to view wealth has a tremendous impact on the kind of people we become.\r\n\r\nAs communities that are supposed to be convicting, healing and nurturing us on the path to holiness, churches have a vital part to play in resisting co-optation by the marketplace.  Sadly it’s not uncommon though for Christian congregations to become complicit in the cycle of consumption as well, even if only in very subtle ways.  To a degree this might be unavoidable - but it’s imperative for us to be sensitized and attentive to how we succumb to addictive desires.  I’m interested in how the church can be a place that enables Christians to subvert the status quo in this regard.  I know there are many tangible ways to do this, but I’m curious as to what others have seen and discovered about how our local practice can transcend systems that resist and suppress change.\r\n<div>\r\n\r\n<hr align=\"left\" size=\"1\" width=\"33%\" />\r\n\r\n<div>\r\n\r\n<a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref1\">[i]</a> Wolfhart Pannenberg and Duane A. Priebe, <em>What Is Man? Contemporary Anthropology in Theological Perspective.</em> (Fortress Press, 1970), 8.\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n</div>','That to Which Your Heart Clings, Part I: Diagnosing Consumerism   ','','inherit','open','open','','1148-revision-7','','','2011-10-26 14:52:42','2011-10-26 21:52:42','',1148,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/26/1148-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(1264,20,'2011-10-26 14:50:37','2011-10-26 21:50:37','I’m usually pretty good about being conscious of what I buy and what I eat – taking an interest in where things are made, by who, for how much, and so on.  And yet, I’m still a consumer.  Sometimes it just feels like the air we breathe.  I might purchase fair trade coffee and chocolate, but I’m still addicted to coffee and chocolate.  My wife tries to shop only for clothes made in the U.S., but she still really likes to shop.   So I started wondering how much of this is just human, and how much of it is culturally constructed.\n\nDespite the fact that many Christians themselves get caught up in this pattern of behavior, there seems to at least be some level of awareness in the church about the problem.  This is a good thing.  Less understood though is the extent to which societal messages are able to increasingly produce in us an insatiable desire for consumption in the first place.  In their genuine intent to encourage counter-culturalism, we might hear pastors talk about innate human drive to always want more.  But how much of this is rooted in a common anthropology vs. just a modern Western phenomenon?\n\nChristians confess that there is an inherent hunger in human beings that cannot be satisfied by what the material world offers.  The human condition is such that we live with a kind of openness directed toward possibility in the world, always becoming.<a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn1\">[i]</a>  This does have to be a bad thing.  Some have called it the \"God-shaped hole.\"  But there is another level of desire that is perhaps more artificial or at least less natural - namely, the desire that is harnessed by the power of globalizing market forces in such a way as to induce complacency in our individualism and trivialize any concern about our unsustainable standard of living.  It’s akin to what Marx called fetishism and Freud later described as the surrogate object of desire.\n\nThe most troubling fact is that this desire is very difficult to control. In his book <em>No Rising Tide</em>, Perkins School of Theology professor Joerg Rieger discusses this very question and argues that  the drive to consume is sustained by economic mechanisms and reinforced by the advertising industry.  Moreover, Rieger contends that economic and religious desires parallel each other.  This is illustrated by the way we often project our desires and ideals from the material world onto the divine and thus replace the transcendent God with an idol.  The German philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach made a similar argument in the 19<sup>th</sup> Century.\n\nAs Rieger further explains, desire is shaped by the production of wealth in a given society.  This process can have a subconscious effect on people’s deepest convictions and ultimate values.  This means that the way culture teaches us to view wealth has a tremendous impact on the kind of people we become.\n\nAs communities that are supposed to be convicting, healing and nurturing us on the path to holiness, churches have a vital part to play in resisting co-optation by the marketplace.  Sadly it’s not uncommon though for Christian congregations to become complicit in the cycle of consumption as well, even if only in very subtle ways.  To a degree this might be unavoidable - but it’s imperative for us to be sensitized and attentive to how we succumb to addictive desires.  I’m interested in how the church can be a place that enables Christians to subvert the status quo in this regard.  I know there are many tangible ways to do this, but I’m curious as to what others have seen and discovered about how our local practice can transcend systems that resist and suppress change.\n<div>\n\n<hr align=\"left\" size=\"1\" width=\"33%\" />\n\n<div>\n\n<a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref1\">[i]</a> Wolfhart Pannenberg and Duane A. Priebe, <em>What Is Man? Contemporary Anthropology in Theological Perspective.</em> (Fortress Press, 1970), 8.\n\n</div>\n</div>','That to Which Your Heart Clings, Part I: Diagnosing Consumerism   ','','inherit','open','open','','1148-revision-4','','','2011-10-26 14:50:37','2011-10-26 21:50:37','',1148,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/26/1148-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(1265,20,'2011-10-26 14:51:14','2011-10-26 21:51:14','I’m usually pretty good about being conscious of what I buy and what I eat – taking an interest in where things are made, by who, for how much, and so on.  And yet, I’m still a consumer.  Sometimes it just feels like the air we breathe.  I might purchase fair trade coffee and chocolate, but I’m still addicted to coffee and chocolate.  My wife tries to shop only for clothes made in the U.S., but she still really likes to shop.   So I started wondering how much of this is just human, and how much of it is culturally constructed.\r\n\r\nDespite the fact that many Christians themselves get caught up in this pattern of behavior, there seems to at least be some level of awareness in the church about the problem.  This is a good thing.  Less understood though is the extent to which societal messages are able to increasingly produce in us an insatiable desire for consumption in the first place.  In their genuine intent to encourage counter-culturalism, we might hear pastors talk about innate human drive to always want more.  But how much of this is rooted in a common anthropology vs. just a modern Western phenomenon?\r\n\r\nChristians confess that there is an inherent hunger in human beings that cannot be satisfied by what the material world offers.  The human condition is such that we live with a kind of openness directed toward possibility in the world, always becoming.<a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn1\">[i]</a>  This does have to be a bad thing.  Some have called it the \"God-shaped hole.\"  But there is another level of desire that is perhaps more artificial or at least less natural - namely, the desire that is harnessed by the power of globalizing market forces in such a way as to induce complacency in our individualism and trivialize any concern about our unsustainable standard of living.  It’s akin to what Marx called fetishism and Freud later described as the surrogate object of desire.\r\n\r\nThe most troubling fact is that this desire is very difficult to control. In his book <em>No Rising Tide</em>, Perkins School of Theology professor Joerg Rieger discusses this very question and argues that  the drive to consume is sustained by economic mechanisms and reinforced by the advertising industry.  Moreover, Rieger contends that economic and religious desires parallel each other.  This is illustrated by the way we often project our desires and ideals from the material world onto the divine and thus replace the transcendent God with an idol.  The German philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach made a similar argument in the 19<sup>th</sup> Century.\r\n\r\nAs Rieger further explains, desire is shaped by the production of wealth in a given society.  This process can have a subconscious effect on people’s deepest convictions and ultimate values.  This means that the way culture teaches us to view wealth has a tremendous impact on the kind of people we become.\r\n\r\nAs communities that are supposed to be convicting, healing and nurturing us on the path to holiness, churches have a vital part to play in resisting co-optation by the marketplace.  Sadly it’s not uncommon though for Christian congregations to become complicit in the cycle of consumption as well, even if only in very subtle ways.  To a degree this might be unavoidable - but it’s imperative for us to be sensitized and attentive to how we succumb to addictive desires.  I’m interested in how the church can be a place that enables Christians to subvert the status quo in this regard.  I know there are many tangible ways to do this, but I’m curious as to what others have seen and discovered about how our local practice can transcend systems that resist and suppress change.\r\n<div>\r\n\r\n<hr align=\"left\" size=\"1\" width=\"33%\" />\r\n\r\n<div>\r\n\r\n<a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref1\">[i]</a> Wolfhart Pannenberg and Duane A. Priebe, <em>What Is Man? Contemporary Anthropology in Theological Perspective.</em> (Fortress Press, 1970), 8.\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n</div>','That to Which Your Heart Clings, Part I: Diagnosing Consumerism   ','','inherit','open','open','','1148-revision-5','','','2011-10-26 14:51:14','2011-10-26 21:51:14','',1148,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/26/1148-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(1266,20,'2011-10-26 14:51:58','2011-10-26 21:51:58','I’m usually pretty good about being conscious of what I buy and what I eat – taking an interest in where things are made, by who, for how much, and so on.  And yet, I’m still a consumer.  Sometimes it just feels like the air we breathe.  I might purchase fair trade coffee and chocolate, but I’m still addicted to coffee and chocolate.  My wife tries to shop only for clothes made in the U.S., but she still really likes to shop.   So I started wondering how much of this is just human, and how much of it is culturally constructed.\r\n\r\nDespite the fact that many Christians themselves get caught up in this pattern of behavior, there seems to at least be some level of awareness in the church about the problem.  This is a good thing.  Less understood though is the extent to which societal messages are able to increasingly produce in us an insatiable desire for consumption in the first place.  In their genuine intent to encourage counter-culturalism, we might hear pastors talk about innate human drive to always want more.  But how much of this is rooted in a common anthropology vs. just a modern Western phenomenon?\r\n\r\nChristians confess that there is an inherent hunger in human beings that cannot be satisfied by what the material world offers.  The human condition is such that we live with a kind of openness directed toward possibility in the world, always becoming.<a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn1\">[i]</a>  This does have to be a bad thing.  Some have called it the \"God-shaped hole.\"  But there is another level of desire that is perhaps more artificial or at least less natural - namely, the desire that is harnessed by the power of globalizing market forces in such a way as to induce complacency in our individualism and trivialize any concern about our unsustainable standard of living.  It’s akin to what Marx called fetishism and Freud later described as the surrogate object of desire.\r\n\r\nThe most troubling fact is that this desire is very difficult to control. In his book <em>No Rising Tide</em>, Perkins School of Theology professor Joerg Rieger discusses this very question and argues that  the drive to consume is sustained by economic mechanisms and reinforced by the advertising industry.  Moreover, Rieger contends that economic and religious desires parallel each other.  This is illustrated by the way we often project our desires and ideals from the material world onto the divine and thus replace the transcendent God with an idol.  The German philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach made a similar argument in the 19<sup>th</sup> Century.\r\n\r\nAs Rieger further explains, desire is shaped by the production of wealth in a given society.  This process can have a subconscious effect on people’s deepest convictions and ultimate values.  This means that the way culture teaches us to view wealth has a tremendous impact on the kind of people we become.\r\n\r\nAs communities that are supposed to be convicting, healing and nurturing us on the path to holiness, churches have a vital part to play in resisting co-optation by the marketplace.  Sadly it’s not uncommon though for Christian congregations to become complicit in the cycle of consumption as well, even if only in very subtle ways.  To a degree this might be unavoidable - but it’s imperative for us to be sensitized and attentive to how we succumb to addictive desires.  I’m interested in how the church can be a place that enables Christians to subvert the status quo in this regard.  I know there are many tangible ways to do this, but I’m curious as to what others have seen and discovered about how our local practice can transcend systems that resist and suppress change.\r\n<div>\r\n\r\n<hr align=\"left\" size=\"1\" width=\"33%\" />\r\n\r\n<div>\r\n\r\n<a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref1\">[i]</a> Wolfhart Pannenberg and Duane A. Priebe, <em>What Is Man? Contemporary Anthropology in Theological Perspective.</em> (Fortress Press, 1970), 8.\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n</div>','That to Which Your Heart Clings, Part I: Diagnosing Consumerism   ','','inherit','open','open','','1148-revision-6','','','2011-10-26 14:51:58','2011-10-26 21:51:58','',1148,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/26/1148-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(1747,38,'2011-11-08 08:00:46','2011-11-08 16:00:46','For those of you who don’t live with gamers or who have not heard of <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_effect_2\" target=\"_blank\">Mass Effect 2</a>, it’s an action role-playing space epic video game. As any good space epic goes, there is a species that is the cause of full colonies disappearing overnight. Commander Shepherd, the main character, is tasked with stopping this relatively unknown destructive force by taking his eclectic team planet-hopping to save the galaxy. The graphics in the game are absolutely stunning, the dialogue between species is thoughtful and well done (which I learned to appreciate from my love of the <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Redwall-Book-1-Brian-Jacques/dp/0142302376/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1320295383&amp;sr=8-1\" target=\"_blank\">Redwall</a> books growing up), and your in-game actions and dialogue choices impact the characters around you and your relationships with them (and even carry through into the next game).  Some of you might even recognize one of the characters as Yvonne Strahovski, who plays Sarah Walker in the TV show “Chuck”.\r\n\r\nSo, now that I’ve outed myself as a nerd, or at the very least the wife of a gamer, what does this have anything to do with blame?\r\n\r\nOne of Shepherd’s team members is a woman named Jack. Jack was experimented on as a child by an elitist organization called Cerebus. She somehow managed to escape and ever since has been a very hard individual. She keeps to her quarters away from the main traffic areas of the ship. She is suspicious the moment anyone asks anything close to a personal question.\r\n\r\nFor those of you who might play the game, I don’t want spoil anything so I won’t tell you how this situation arises, but at some point in the game Jack runs into a friend, Aresh, who was another child who had been experimented during same time she was. They talk for a minute, re-establishing a connection and they start to talk about what happens when the conversation gets weird. As the conversation continues, Aresh reveals that he is trying to <em>rebuild</em> the set of experiments that were performed on him.\r\n\r\nWait, what? That’s crazy. Why would anyone try to duplicate the awful experimentation performed on him as an innocent, defenseless child?\r\n\r\n“I’m rebuilding [the experiments]. What they were looking for… It must have been important. So I’m going to try to find it myself. They must have had good reasons for what they did!”\r\n\r\nI was only half paying attention to what was happening on the TV screen until this moment. It struck me: what a fascinating take on how people process traumatic events. Aresh wasn’t trying to harm other people; he was only trying to find meaning in what happened.\r\n\r\nYou see two people who experienced the same situation growing up and it produced two different effects. One is inked from head to toe, is a loner out in the universe and keeps to herself. Another, haunted by what happened, seeks to try to find the good intentions from the perpetrators, even if they are buried deep. There must have been a good reason that they found it okay to experiment on kids. It must have been a case of sacrificing for the greater good. He was trying to discover the greater good so he could finally put his past to bed.\r\n\r\nI am aware that this is a very extreme analogy for people like you and me. We aren’t on a spaceship bringing justice to the universe, but the one thing we all have in common is that bad things happen to us and we all have to find a way to deal with it.\r\n\r\nSome people (like me) shove it way down into a jar inside and shut the lid. They keep filling the jar until it explodes. Some people deal with it head on and are abrasive to everyone around them until they can work it out. Some people give the past its space but keep everyone at a distance for the rest of their lives. Some people, like in the case of Aresh, go back to the scene of the crime and try to find evidence of a heart or conscience somewhere—anywhere!—even if there are only tiny scraps of it left.\r\n\r\nFrom the outside we all can see that Aresh has a few screws loose, but he can’t see that. To him, having lived through that, the only way he can come to terms with what happened is if he suffered for a greater cause. He is dealing with his lifelong pain the only way he knows how.\r\n\r\nWhat about you? Do you have a coping mechanism that you go back to in times of need? How does that mechanism affect you and the people around you in the long run? How do you come to terms with your memories?\r\n\r\nA lot of people I know would tell me to “give it to God.” But what does that really mean? How do I actually just give it to God? There is a measure of pain I need to work through on my own. Giving it to someone else so it can magically disappear feels like I’m giving up and letting the other party win. It feels like a cop-out and like I’m not strong enough to slay my own dragons. Sometimes I can’t tell if that’s a pride thing or a human thing.\r\n\r\nI can identify with Aresh on a level because I like to think that people carry around the same heart and brain that I do. So when people commit crimes without batting an eyelash or, as one of my friends said, “sit over their Wheaties in the morning trying to figure out ways to screw people,” I have no way of processing it. It’s outside of my understanding of how the universe is supposed to work.\r\n\r\nThankfully, there is no right or wrong way to handle grief or pain. Can you identify with Aresh? How do you process painful events? How do you put your past to rest and find peace?\r\n\r\n<em>Photo credit: <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/25722571@N08/5458462891/\" target=\"_blank\">JaseCurtis</a></em>','Finding Meaning In Our Trauma','','publish','open','open','','finding-meaning-in-our-trauma','','','2011-11-07 09:19:58','2011-11-07 17:19:58','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=1747',0,'post','',0),(1271,20,'2011-10-26 15:19:11','2011-10-26 22:19:11','I’m usually pretty good about being conscious of what I buy and what I eat – taking an interest in where things are made, by who, for how much, and so on.  And yet, I’m still a consumer.  Sometimes it just feels like the air we breathe.  I might purchase fair trade coffee and chocolate, but I’m still addicted to coffee and chocolate.  My wife tries to shop only for clothes made in the U.S., but she still really likes to shop.   So I started wondering how much of this is just human, and how much of it is culturally constructed.\n\nDespite the fact that many Christians themselves get caught up in this pattern of behavior, there seems to at least be some level of awareness in the church about the problem.  This is a good thing.  Less understood though is the extent to which societal messages are able to increasingly produce in us an insatiable desire for consumption in the first place.  In their genuine intent to encourage counter-culturalism, we might hear pastors talk about innate human drive to always want more.  But how much of this is rooted in a common anthropology vs. just a modern Western phenomenon now going viral?  The issue is also called materialism, but this could be a misnomer.  Material-ism implies the absolutization of the material, when in fact the lie we are fed is that the material will bring much more - happiness, fulfillment, an \"experience.\"\n\nChristians confess that there is an inherent hunger in human beings that cannot be satisfied by what the material world offers.  The human condition is such that we live with a kind of openness directed toward possibility in the world, always becoming.<a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn1\">[i]</a>  This does not have to be a bad thing.  Some have called it the \"God-shaped hole.\"  But there is another level of desire that is perhaps more artificial or at least less natural - namely, the desire that is harnessed by the power of globalizing market forces in such a way as to induce complacency in our individualism and trivialize any concern about our unsustainable standard of living.\n\nThe most troubling fact is that this desire is very difficult to control.  The drive to consume is sustained by economic mechanisms and reinforced by the advertising industry.  Moreover, economic and religious desires are often parallel each other.  This is illustrated by the way we often project our desires and ideals from the material world onto the divine and thus replace the transcendent God with an idol.  If desire is shaped by the production of wealth in a given society, this process can have a subconscious effect on people’s deepest convictions and ultimate values.  This means that the way culture teaches us to view wealth has a tremendous impact on the kind of people we become.\n\nAs communities that are supposed to be convicting, healing and nurturing us on the path to holiness, churches have a vital part to play in resisting co-optation by the marketplace.  Sadly it’s not uncommon though for Christian congregations to become complicit in the cycle of consumption as well, even if only in very subtle ways.  To a degree this might be unavoidable - but it’s imperative for us to be sensitized and attentive to how we succumb to addictive desires.  I’m interested in how the church can be a place that enables Christians to subvert the status quo in this regard.  I know there are many tangible ways to do this, but I’m curious as to what others have seen and discovered about how our local practice can transcend systems that resist and suppress change.\n<div>\n\n<hr align=\"left\" size=\"1\" width=\"33%\" />\n\n<div>\n\n<a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref1\">[i]</a> Wolfhart Pannenberg and Duane A. Priebe, <em>What Is Man? Contemporary Anthropology in Theological Perspective.</em> (Fortress Press, 1970), 8.\n\n</div>\n</div>','That to Which Your Heart Clings, Part I: Diagnosing Consumerism   ','','inherit','open','open','','1148-revision-8','','','2011-10-26 15:19:11','2011-10-26 22:19:11','',1148,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/26/1148-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(1269,1,'2011-10-26 15:15:04','2011-10-26 22:15:04','','female_voice','','inherit','open','open','','female_voice','','','2011-10-26 15:15:04','2011-10-26 22:15:04','',1258,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/female_voice.png',0,'attachment','image/png',0),(1270,1,'2011-10-26 14:42:12','2011-10-26 21:42:12','<div>\r\n<blockquote>Feminism to me is the crazy belief that women and men are both created in God’s image and that each of us deserves a life of freedom and opportunity inside or outside the Church.</blockquote>\r\n</div>\r\n<strong>It began like any other day by </strong><strong>logging on to the internet, as I gratefully sipped my coffee and slowly woke up.</strong>\r\n\r\nScouring various sources, I saw a new book on women was out titled <a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fgp%2Fproduct%2F1414337302%2Fref%3Das_li_ss_tl%3Fie%3DUTF8%26tag%3Dhansresodevei-20%26linkCode%3Das2%26camp%3D217145%26creative%3D399373%26creativeASIN%3D1414337302&amp;h=cAQF09IvWAQHLC8jkQwJq03PMm3_t4ngP4ePDIj1gc6-nYg\" target=\"_blank\">The Resignation of Eve: What If Adam\'s Rib Is No Longer Willing to Be the Church\'s Backbone?</a> (I have to admit that is a clever title.)  It has women’s stories of their experiences in the Church written <em>by a man</em>?  Giving it very little further thought, I wrote this comment on Facebook:\r\n<blockquote>“While I find it highly ironic that it requires a man to tell these women\'s stories to in order for them to be heard, and though I have not obviously read this book since it is not yet out, still there must be something important here if he does as he alleges and has <em>listened to women</em> talk about their experience in the Church.   It seems sketchy to me though ...”</blockquote>\r\nI copied a few friends and that began the banter, then a lively discussion about women and access, why women don’t trust their own voices, why it takes a man for women’s stories to be \"heard\", how men (may) self-promote more than women, and why the only thing women are invited to write and speak on are soft topics, and we even discussed our theological grounding for our perspectives.  It was <em>much</em> more civil than many internet discussions, as several of my friends across the globe, and locally, began to discuss!\r\n\r\n<strong>But I have to go back, even further.</strong>\r\n\r\nThis story really began a few weeks ago as I sat perched on the edge of my chair, once again at the computer.  I was trying to gather my thoughts.  Sighing deeply and knowing that being on the computer was the last thing I needed.  I needed time alone.\r\n\r\n<strong>And the<em> </em><em>lack of it</em><em> </em>was weighing heavily on my spirit. </strong> I knew that what I really needed was to turn it all off, especially the technological barrage, and find – time – to – think.  And <em>not</em> time while doing last night\'s dishes, or throwing another load in, or while picking up the endless socks, books and dog toys.  <em>Not</em> time driving my son to the doctor or waiting.  Time spent on the responsibilities of home life can be a meditation, but <em>not</em> what I needed.\r\n\r\n<strong>I needed noiseless, exclusive solitary time with Yahweh.  </strong>\r\n\r\n<strong></strong>How often do we really find this kind of time? I cannot underscore how important solitary thinking time is for me spiritually and creatively.  It helps me be less impulsive.  It centers me.  It makes the anxiety, anger, and disappointments of life fade away, lacking the importance I might have given them.  My priorities sift and sort and I am more circumspect.  In that place, I find my quavering voice.\r\n\r\n<strong>Here’s what I had been thinking about.  </strong>When it all first occurred I definitely tried to ignore it.  I kept thinking how <em>obsessive</em> I was being.  I kept telling myself I was being ridiculous, absurd, unreasonable, and even disagreeable.  Doubting my own inner voice is a frequent problem that I have.  I had tried to ignore the nagging voice inside me until finally I accepted that this was not going away!\r\n\r\n<strong>I\'ve been thinking about</strong> <strong>the lack of </strong><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">presence and example</span></strong><strong> of</strong> <strong>women in <em>the Church</em>.</strong><strong>  That Sunday at my church in particular, women were </strong><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">simply spectators</span></em></strong><strong>, the audience, the bystanders, the recipients and beneficiaries.  </strong>\r\n\r\nAnd the more I thought I could not remember the last time one of the teaching pastors suggested a book they were reading written by a woman.  Women are never quoted in my church.  Female theologians or scholars are never referenced or even mentioned, probably because the pastors don’t read them.  I can\'t remember the last time, if ever, a pastor in my church has suggested or referred to or quoted a female theologian, religious author, or historian.  <em>Am I the only one that notices these things?</em>\r\n\r\n<strong><em>T</em><em>he entire thing</em><em> </em></strong><em><strong>makes me very sad</strong></em><strong>.  And so tired. <strong> I am tired of the male dominated culture on the platform, as authors, as experts, as theologians, as speakers at conferences and in the Church at large. </strong></strong>Considering women are half the church (some would say more) I do not buy the argument that there aren\'t capable women to select from, though I\'ve been told that very thing.  \"The women haven\'t risen up who have the gift of teaching.\"\r\n\r\n<strong><em>Risen up</em><em>?</em></strong>   To be honest, one would think in a service-by-gifts based church there must not<em> be</em> any qualified gifted female teachers.   I attend an EFCA church of 5,000. You do the math.\r\n\r\nI would guess that many people, but especially women, will not put themselves forward (i.e. rise up) because of self-doubt, true humility or a combination of motivations.\r\n\r\nI think it is very likely that <em>there are</em> gifted, wise articulate women who are not yet comfortable with their own voice, but have natural instincts for leadership or teaching that could be taught, mentored, helped to find their voice.  Who knows?\r\n\r\n<strong><em>Will we ever know if they are not given the opportunity? And what a loss not to hear from them!  </em></strong>\r\n\r\nI believe it harms us to rarely hear the spiritual voices of women and for me personally, it hampers my faith and my journey with Christ.  Thank God that we have the example of Jesus who took risks for women, ministered with, received from and listened to women.  He was our example of reconciliation and grace in the lives of women.  If only the church modeled their behavior toward women after Jesus. Sadly the Church is ignoring the stories of women in the Bible, and of women historically and in the Church worldwide today.  Women have been actively participating in the work of the church since its inception.  Women are missionaries, teaching in seminaries, running nonprofits and leading in higher education.  Women are writing and want to write on more than “soft or women’s issues.”  But in the Church women are still finding their voice.\r\n\r\n<strong>I have to confess that I do not want my feminist radar (that\'s what my daughter calls it) to always go off in church.</strong>  It is distracting, sometimes painful and it is utterly exhausting.  It steals some of the joy out of my spiritual life, like recently when we attended a one man show at church.  The actor introduced us to eight characters (both in the Bible and fictional) who had met Jesus.  It was powerful.  <a title=\"Curt Cloninger\" href=\"http://curtcloninger.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Curt Cloninger</a> is supremely talented.  Sadly, in the entire two and a half hour show, women were invisible – utterly missing – other than being mentioned as briefly as whores and spinsters.  I tried hard, I really did.  I used all kind of energy that night trying to forget that I was <em>the invisible woman</em> and simply experience the show.  And it worked -- almost.\r\n\r\nYes, I tire of voicing what I believe.  And I have considered asking God to take it away – this feminist awareness – to either shut it up or get me out – but for now I stay.  And I continue to work to find my voice and listen, getting those times alone so that I can have something solid to say with a circumspect and healthy heart.  I hold on tight to Jesus in those moments when I want to quit the Church.  And I consider that as long as I can think out loud on my <strong><a title=\"Logic and Imagination\" href=\"http://logicandimagination.wordpress.com/\" target=\"_blank\">blog</a></strong> and places like <strong>Provokotive</strong> and as long as I have a few people in my life that I can express my pain and rancor to, I\'ll survive, for now.','?? title ??','','inherit','open','open','','1258-revision-3','','','2011-10-26 14:42:12','2011-10-26 21:42:12','',1258,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/26/1258-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(1272,20,'2011-10-26 15:20:35','2011-10-26 22:20:35','I’m usually pretty good about being conscious of what I buy and what I eat – taking an interest in where things are made, by who, for how much, and so on.  And yet, I’m still a consumer.  Sometimes it just feels like the air we breathe.  I might purchase fair trade coffee and chocolate, but I’m still addicted to coffee and chocolate.  My wife tries to shop only for clothes made in the U.S., but she still really likes to shop.   So I started wondering how much of this is just human, and how much of it is culturally constructed.\n\nDespite the fact that many Christians themselves get caught up in this pattern of behavior, there seems to at least be some level of awareness in the church about the problem.  This is a good thing.  Less understood though is the extent to which societal messages are able to increasingly produce in us an insatiable desire for consumption in the first place.  In their genuine intent to encourage counter-culturalism, we might hear pastors talk about innate human drive to always want more.  But how much of this is rooted in a common anthropology vs. just a modern Western phenomenon now going viral?  The issue is also called materialism, but this could be a misnomer.  Material-ism implies the absolutization of the material, when in fact the lie we are fed is that the material will bring much more - happiness, fulfillment, an \"experience.\"\n\nChristians confess that there is an inherent hunger in human beings that cannot be satisfied by what the material world offers.  The human condition is such that we live with a kind of openness directed toward possibility in the world, always becoming.<a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn1\">[i]</a>  This does not have to be a bad thing.  Some have called it the \"God-shaped hole.\"  But there is another level of desire that is perhaps more artificial or at least less natural - namely, the desire that is harnessed by the power of globalizing market forces in such a way as to induce complacency in our individualism and trivialize any concern about our unsustainable standard of living.\n\nThe most troubling fact is that this desire is very difficult to control.  The drive to consume is sustained by economic mechanisms and reinforced by the advertising industry.  Moreover, economic and religious desires are often parallel each other.  This is illustrated by the way we often project our desires and ideals from the material world onto the divine and thus replace the transcendent God with an idol.  If desire is shaped by the production of wealth in a given society, this process can have a subconscious effect on people’s deepest convictions and ultimate values.  This means that the way culture teaches us to view wealth has a tremendous impact on the kind of people we become.\n\nAs communities that are supposed to be convicting, healing and nurturing us on the path to holiness, churches have a vital part to play in resisting co-optation by the marketplace.  Sadly it’s not uncommon though for Christian congregations to become complicit in the cycle of consumption as well, even if only in very subtle ways.  To a degree this might be unavoidable - but it’s imperative for us to be sensitized and attentive to how we succumb to addictive desires.  I’m interested in how the church can be a place that enables Christians to subvert the status quo in this regard.  I know there are many tangible ways to do this, but I’m curious as to what others have seen and discovered about how our local practice can transcend systems that resist and suppress change.\n<div>\n\n<hr align=\"left\" size=\"1\" width=\"33%\" />\n\n<div>\n\n<a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref1\">[i]</a> Wolfhart Pannenberg and Duane A. Priebe, <em>What Is Man? Contemporary Anthropology in Theological Perspective.</em> (Fortress Press, 1970), 8.\n\n</div>\n</div>','That to Which Your Heart Clings, Part I: Diagnosing Consumerism   ','','inherit','open','open','','1148-revision-9','','','2011-10-26 15:20:35','2011-10-26 22:20:35','',1148,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/26/1148-revision-9/',0,'revision','',0),(1273,1,'2011-10-26 13:00:04','2011-10-26 20:00:04','What does this image say to you?','Banksy On Violence','','inherit','open','open','','1252-revision-2','','','2011-10-26 13:00:04','2011-10-26 20:00:04','',1252,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/26/1252-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(1274,1,'2011-10-26 15:45:18','2011-10-26 22:45:18','Banksy has such a beautiful way of saying the obscene.','Banksy On Violence','','inherit','open','open','','1252-revision-3','','','2011-10-26 15:45:18','2011-10-26 22:45:18','',1252,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/26/1252-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(1275,20,'2011-10-26 15:22:29','2011-10-26 22:22:29','I’m usually pretty good about being conscious of what I buy and what I eat – taking an interest in where things are made, by who, for how much, and so on.  And yet, I’m still a consumer.  Sometimes it just feels like the air we breathe.  I might purchase fair trade coffee and chocolate, but I’m still addicted to coffee and chocolate.  My wife tries to shop only for clothes made in the U.S., but she still really likes to shop.   So I started wondering how much of this is just human, and how much of it is culturally constructed.\n\nDespite the fact that many Christians themselves get caught up in this pattern of behavior, there seems to at least be some level of awareness in the church about the problem.  This is a good thing.  Less understood though is the extent to which societal messages are able to increasingly produce in us an insatiable desire for consumption in the first place.  In their genuine intent to encourage counter-culturalism, we might hear pastors talk about innate human drive to always want more.  But how much of this is rooted in a common anthropology vs. just a modern Western phenomenon now going viral?  The issue is also called materialism, but this could be a misnomer.  Material-ism implies the absolutization of the material, when in fact the lie we are fed is that the material will bring much more - happiness, fulfillment, an \"experience.\"\n\nChristians confess that there is an inherent hunger in human beings that cannot be satisfied by what the material world offers.  The human condition is such that we live with a kind of openness directed toward possibility in the world, always becoming.<a title=\"\" href=\"#_edn1\">[i]</a>  This does not have to be a bad thing.  Some have called it the \"God-shaped hole.\"  But there is another level of desire that is perhaps more artificial or at least less natural - namely, the desire that is harnessed by the power of globalizing market forces in such a way as to induce complacency in our individualism and trivialize any concern about our unsustainable standard of living.\n\nThe most troubling fact is that this desire is very difficult to control.  The drive to consume is sustained by economic mechanisms and reinforced by the advertising industry.  Moreover, economic and religious desires are often parallel each other.  This is illustrated by the way we often project our desires and ideals from the material world onto the divine and thus replace the transcendent God with an idol.  If desire is shaped by the production of wealth in a given society, this process can have a subconscious effect on people’s deepest convictions and ultimate values.  This means that the way culture teaches us to view wealth has a tremendous impact on the kind of people we become.\n\nAs communities that are supposed to be convicting, healing and nurturing us on the path to holiness, churches have a vital part to play in resisting co-optation by the marketplace.  Sadly it’s not uncommon though for Christian congregations to become complicit in the cycle of consumption as well, even if only in very subtle ways.  To a degree this might be unavoidable - but it’s imperative for us to be sensitized and attentive to how we succumb to addictive desires.  I’m interested in how the church can be a place that enables Christians to subvert the status quo in this regard.  I know there are many tangible ways to do this, but I’m curious as to what others have seen and discovered about how our local practice can transcend systems that resist and suppress change.\n<div>\n\n<hr align=\"left\" size=\"1\" width=\"33%\" />\n\n<div>\n\n<a title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref1\">[i]</a> Wolfhart Pannenberg and Duane A. Priebe, <em>What Is Man? Contemporary Anthropology in Theological Perspective.</em> (Fortress Press, 1970), 8.\n\n</div>\n</div>','That to Which Your Heart Clings, Part I: Diagnosing Consumerism   ','','inherit','open','open','','1148-revision-10','','','2011-10-26 15:22:29','2011-10-26 22:22:29','',1148,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/26/1148-revision-10/',0,'revision','',0),(1277,20,'2011-10-26 16:16:43','2011-10-26 23:16:43','I’m usually pretty good about being conscious of what I buy and what I eat – taking an interest in where things are made, by who, for how much, and so on.  And yet, I’m still a consumer.  Sometimes it just feels like the air we breathe.  I might purchase fair trade coffee and chocolate, but I’m still addicted to coffee and chocolate.  My wife tries to shop only for clothes made in the U.S., but she still really likes to shop.   So I started wondering how much of this is just human, and how much of it is culturally constructed.\n\nDespite the fact that many Christians themselves get caught up in this pattern of behavior, there seems to at least be some level of awareness in the church about the problem.  This is a good thing.  Less understood though is the extent to which societal messages are able to increasingly produce in us an insatiable desire for consumption in the first place.  In their genuine intent to encourage counter-culturalism, we might hear pastors talk about innate human drive to always want more.  But how much of this is rooted in a common anthropology vs. just a modern Western phenomenon now going viral?  The issue is also called materialism, but this could be a misnomer.  Material-ism implies the absolutization of the material, when in fact the lie we are fed is that the material will bring much more - happiness, fulfillment, an \"experience.\"\n\nChristians confess that there is an inherent hunger in human beings that cannot be satisfied by what the material world offers.  The human condition is such that we live with a kind of openness directed toward possibility in the world, always becoming.  This does not have to be a bad thing.  Some have called it the \"God-shaped hole.\"  But there is another level of desire that is perhaps more artificial or at least less natural - namely, the desire that is harnessed by the power of globalizing market forces in such a way as to induce complacency in our individualism and trivialize any concern about our unsustainable standard of living.\n\nThe most troubling fact is that this desire is very difficult to control.  Theologian <a title=\"Joerg Rieger homepage\" href=\"http://www.joergrieger.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Joerg Rieger</a> argues that the drive to consume is sustained by economic mechanisms and reinforced by the advertising industry.  The deceit of this system is increasingly taken for granted.  My former seminary professor Roger Olson recently wrote a blog post <a title=\"Roger Olson: Can a Christian Work in the marketing field?\" href=\"http://http://www.patheos.com/blogs/rogereolson/2011/10/can-a-christian-work-in-the-marketing-field/\" target=\"_blank\">here</a> asking whether in many cases Christians can even work in the marketing field with integrity in the first place!  Moreover, Rieger contends that economic and religious desires often parallel each other.  This is illustrated by the way we often project our desires and ideals from the material world onto the divine and thus replace the transcendent God with an idol.  If desire is shaped by the production of wealth in a given society, this process can have a subconscious effect on people’s deepest convictions and ultimate values.  This means that the way culture teaches us to view wealth has a tremendous impact on the kind of people we become - not to even mention the irreversible social costs incurred on society as a whole.\n\nAs communities that are supposed to be convicting, healing and nurturing us on the path to holiness, churches have a vital part to play in resisting co-optation by the marketplace.  Sadly it’s not uncommon though for Christian congregations to become complicit in the cycle of consumption as well, even if only in very subtle ways.  To a degree this might be unavoidable - but it’s imperative for us to be sensitized and attentive to how we succumb to addictive desires.  I’m interested in how the church can be a place that enables Christians to subvert the status quo in this regard.  I know there are many tangible ways to do this, but I’m curious as to what others have seen and discovered about how our local practice can transcend systems that resist and suppress change.   This is the other questions I\'m really wrestling with right now: should our faith communities primarily strive to create alternative economies under the shadow of empire, so to speak, or should we actually strive to have transformative agency at the state political realm?  or both?  Would the latter risk being too divisive?','That to Which Your Heart Clings, Part I: Diagnosing Consumerism   ','','inherit','open','open','','1148-revision-12','','','2011-10-26 16:16:43','2011-10-26 23:16:43','',1148,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/26/1148-revision-12/',0,'revision','',0),(1278,20,'2011-10-26 16:18:43','2011-10-26 23:18:43','I’m usually pretty good about being conscious of what I buy and what I eat – taking an interest in where things are made, by who, for how much, and so on.  And yet, I’m still a consumer.  Sometimes it just feels like the air we breathe.  I might purchase fair trade coffee and chocolate, but I’m still addicted to coffee and chocolate.  My wife tries to shop only for clothes made in the U.S., but she still really likes to shop.   So I started wondering how much of this is just human, and how much of it is culturally constructed.\n\nDespite the fact that many Christians themselves get caught up in this pattern of behavior, there seems to at least be some level of awareness in the church about the problem.  This is a good thing.  Less understood though is the extent to which societal messages are able to increasingly produce in us an insatiable desire for consumption in the first place.  In their genuine intent to encourage counter-culturalism, we might hear pastors talk about innate human drive to always want more.  But how much of this is rooted in a common anthropology vs. just a modern Western phenomenon now going viral?  The issue is also called materialism, but this could be a misnomer.  Material-ism implies the absolutization of the material, when in fact the lie we are fed is that the material will bring much more - happiness, fulfillment, an \"experience.\"\n\nChristians confess that there is an inherent hunger in human beings that cannot be satisfied by what the material world offers.  The human condition is such that we live with a kind of openness directed toward possibility in the world, always becoming.  This does not have to be a bad thing.  Some have called it the \"God-shaped hole.\"  But there is another level of desire that is perhaps more artificial or at least less natural - namely, the desire that is harnessed by the power of globalizing market forces in such a way as to induce complacency in our individualism and trivialize any concern about our unsustainable standard of living.\n\nThe most troubling fact is that this desire is very difficult to control.  Theologian <a title=\"Joerg Rieger homepage\" href=\"http://www.joergrieger.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Joerg Rieger</a> argues that the drive to consume is sustained by economic mechanisms and reinforced by the advertising industry.  The deceit of this system is increasingly taken for granted.  My former seminary professor Roger Olson recently wrote a blog post <a title=\"Roger Olson: Can a Christian Work in the marketing field?\" href=\"http://http://www.patheos.com/blogs/rogereolson/2011/10/can-a-christian-work-in-the-marketing-field/\" target=\"_blank\">here</a> asking whether in many cases Christians can even work in the marketing field with integrity in the first place!  Moreover, Rieger contends that economic and religious desires often parallel each other.  This is illustrated by the way we often project our desires and ideals from the material world onto the divine and thus replace the transcendent God with an idol.  If desire is shaped by the production of wealth in a given society, this process can have a subconscious effect on people’s deepest convictions and ultimate values.  This means that the way culture teaches us to view wealth has a tremendous impact on the kind of people we become - not to even mention the irreversible social costs incurred on society as a whole.\n\nAs communities that are supposed to be convicting, healing and nurturing us on the path to holiness, churches have a vital part to play in resisting co-optation by the marketplace.  Sadly it’s not uncommon though for Christian congregations to become complicit in the cycle of consumption as well, even if only in very subtle ways.  To a degree this might be unavoidable - but it’s imperative for us to be sensitized and attentive to how we succumb to addictive desires.  I’m interested in how the church can be a place that enables Christians to subvert the status quo in this regard.  I know there are many tangible ways to do this, but I’m curious as to what others have seen and discovered about how our local practice can transcend systems that resist and suppress change.   This is the other questions I\'m really wrestling with right now: should our faith communities primarily strive to create alternative economies under the shadow of empire, so to speak, or should we actually strive to have transformative agency at the state political realm?  or both?  Does the latter usually risk too much division/compromise?','That to Which Your Heart Clings, Part I: Diagnosing Consumerism   ','','inherit','open','open','','1148-revision-13','','','2011-10-26 16:18:43','2011-10-26 23:18:43','',1148,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/26/1148-revision-13/',0,'revision','',0),(1279,20,'2011-10-26 16:25:07','2011-10-26 23:25:07','I’m usually pretty good about being conscious of what I buy and what I eat – taking an interest in where things are made, by who, for how much, and so on.  And yet, I’m still a consumer.  Sometimes it just feels like the air we breathe.  I might purchase fair trade coffee and chocolate, but I’m still addicted to coffee and chocolate.  My wife tries to shop only for clothes made in the U.S., but she still really likes to shop.   So I started wondering how much of this is just human, and how much of it is culturally constructed.\r\n\r\nDespite the fact that many Christians themselves get caught up in this pattern of behavior, there seems to at least be some level of awareness in the church about the problem.  This is a good thing.  Less understood though is the extent to which societal messages are able to increasingly produce in us an insatiable desire for consumption in the first place.  In their genuine intent to encourage counter-culturalism, we might hear pastors talk about innate human drive to always want more.  But how much of this is rooted in a common anthropology vs. just a modern Western phenomenon now going viral?  The issue is also called materialism, but this could be a misnomer.  Material-ism implies the absolutization of the material, when in fact the lie we are fed is that the material will bring much more - happiness, fulfillment, an \"experience.\"\r\n\r\nChristians confess that there is an inherent hunger in human beings that cannot be satisfied by what the material world offers.  The human condition is such that we live with a kind of openness directed toward possibility in the world, always becoming.  This does not have to be a bad thing.  Some have called it the \"God-shaped hole.\"  But there is another level of desire that is perhaps more artificial or at least less natural - namely, the desire that is harnessed by the power of globalizing market forces in such a way as to induce complacency in our individualism and trivialize any concern about our unsustainable standard of living.\r\n\r\nThe most troubling fact is that this desire is very difficult to control.  Theologian <a title=\"Joerg Rieger homepage\" href=\"http://www.joergrieger.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Joerg Rieger</a> argues that the drive to consume is sustained by economic mechanisms and reinforced by the advertising industry.  The deceit of this system is increasingly taken for granted.  My former seminary professor Roger Olson recently wrote a blog post <a title=\"Roger Olson: Can a Christian Work in the marketing field?\" href=\"http://http://www.patheos.com/blogs/rogereolson/2011/10/can-a-christian-work-in-the-marketing-field/\" target=\"_blank\">here</a> asking whether in many cases Christians can even work in the marketing field with integrity in the first place!  Moreover, Rieger contends that economic and religious desires often parallel each other.  This is illustrated by the way we often project our desires and ideals from the material world onto the divine and thus replace the transcendent God with an idol.  If desire is shaped by the production of wealth in a given society, this process can have a subconscious effect on people’s deepest convictions and ultimate values.  This means that the way culture teaches us to view wealth has a tremendous impact on the kind of people we become - not to even mention the irreversible social costs incurred on society as a whole.\r\n\r\nAs communities that are supposed to be convicting, healing and nurturing us on the path to holiness, churches have a vital part to play in resisting co-optation by the marketplace.  Sadly it’s not uncommon though for Christian congregations to become complicit in the cycle of consumption as well, even if only in very subtle ways.  To a degree this might be unavoidable - but it’s imperative for us to be sensitized and attentive to how we succumb to addictive desires.  I’m interested in how the church can be a place that enables Christians to subvert the status quo in this regard.  I know there are many tangible ways to do this, but I’m curious as to what others have seen and discovered about how our local practice can transcend systems that resist and suppress change.   This is the other questions I\'m really wrestling with right now: should our faith communities primarily strive to create alternative economies under the shadow of empire, so to speak, or should we actually strive to have transformative agency at the state political realm?  or both?  Does the latter usually risk too much division/compromise?','That to Which Your Heart Clings, Part I: Diagnosing Consumerism   ','','inherit','open','open','','1148-revision-14','','','2011-10-26 16:25:07','2011-10-26 23:25:07','',1148,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/26/1148-revision-14/',0,'revision','',0),(1373,20,'2011-10-28 15:18:58','2011-10-28 22:18:58','I’m usually pretty good about being conscious of what I buy and what I eat – taking an interest in where things are made, by who, for how much, and so on.  And yet, I’m still a consumer.  I might purchase fair trade coffee and chocolate, but I’m still addicted to coffee and chocolate.  My wife tries to shop only for clothes made in the U.S., but she still really likes to shop.   So I started wondering how much of this is just human, and how much of it is culturally constructed.\n\nDespite the fact that many Christians themselves get caught up in this pattern of behavior, there seems to at least be some level of awareness in the church about the problem.  This is a good thing.  Less understood though is the extent to which society is able to increasingly produce in us an insatiable desire for consumption in the first place.  You also hear the word materialism, but this could be a misnomer.  Material-ism implies the absolutization of the material, when in fact the lie we are fed is that the material offers something else: happiness, fulfillment... a certain image or experience.In their genuine intent to encourage counter-culturalism, we might hear pastors talk about the innate human drive to always want more.  But how much of this is rooted in a universal anthropology vs. just a modern Western phenomenon now gone viral?  I mean, people aren\'t just born with preferences for television sets.  Our preferences typically  emerge from a context of social relations.\n\nOf course there is a difference between our basic needs and deepest desires.  Theological anthropology has said that human beings live with a kind of openness directed toward possibility in the world, always becoming and searching.  Some people say there is a \"God-shaped hole\" in each us - a void.  This too can be a good a thing.But this desire can be distorted.  It can be harnessed by globalizing market forces in such a way as to induce complacency in our individualism and trivialize any concern about our unsustainable standard of living.\n\nEven more troubling, this desire is very difficult to control.  Theologian <a title=\"Joerg Rieger homepage\" href=\"http://www.joergrieger.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Joerg Rieger</a> argues that in today\'s world the drive to consume is frequently propelled by economic mechanisms and reinforced by the advertising industry.  The deceit of this system is increasingly taken for granted.  Obviously recognizing this, one of my former seminary professors Roger Olson recently wrote a <a title=\"Can a Christian Work in the Marketing Field?\" href=\"www.patheos.com/blogs/rogereolson/2011/10/can-a-christian-work-in-the-marketing-field/\" target=\"_blank\">blog post</a> asking if Christians should even work in the marketing field at all!  Rieger further contends that economic and religious desires often parallel each other.  This is illustrated by the way we tend to project our desires and ideals from the physical world onto the divine and thus replace the transcendent God with an idol.  If desire is shaped by the production of wealth in a given society, this process can have a subconscious effect on people’s deepest convictions and ultimate values.  This means that the way culture teaches us to view wealth has a tremendous impact on the kind of people we become - not to even mention the potential social costs that can be incurred on society\'s most vulnerable citizens as a result.\n\nAs communities that are supposed to be convicting, healing and nurturing us on the path to holiness, churches have a vital part to play in resisting co-optation by the marketplace.  Sadly it’s not uncommon, however, for Christian congregations to become complicit in the cycle of consuming and selling as well, even if only in very subtle ways.  To a degree this might be unavoidable, but it’s imperative for us to be sensitized and attentive to how we succumb to various addictive, superimposed desires.  I’m interested in how the church can be a place that enables Christians to subvert the status quo in this regard.  I know there are many tangible ways to do this, but I’m curious as to what others have seen and discovered about how our local practice can transcend systems that resist and suppress change.   And this is the other questions I\'m really wrestling with right now: should our faith communities primarily strive to create alternative economies under the shadow of empire, so to speak, or should we actually strive to have transformative agency at the state-political level?  Is it both/and?  Does the latter usually risk too much division and compromise?  What am I missing?','That to Which Your Heart Clings, Part I: Diagnosing Consumerism   ','','inherit','open','open','','1148-revision-24','','','2011-10-28 15:18:58','2011-10-28 22:18:58','',1148,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/28/1148-revision-24/',0,'revision','',0),(1280,20,'2011-10-26 16:36:31','2011-10-26 23:36:31','I’m usually pretty good about being conscious of what I buy and what I eat – taking an interest in where things are made, by who, for how much, and so on.  And yet, I’m still a consumer.  Sometimes it just feels like the air we breathe.  I might purchase fair trade coffee and chocolate, but I’m still addicted to coffee and chocolate.  My wife tries to shop only for clothes made in the U.S., but she still really likes to shop.   So I started wondering how much of this is just human, and how much of it is culturally constructed.\r\n\r\nDespite the fact that many Christians themselves get caught up in this pattern of behavior, there seems to at least be some level of awareness in the church about the problem.  This is a good thing.  Less understood though is the extent to which societal messages are able to increasingly produce in us an insatiable desire for consumption in the first place.  In their genuine intent to encourage counter-culturalism, we might hear pastors talk about innate human drive to always want more.  But how much of this is rooted in a universal anthropology vs. just a modern Western phenomenon now gone viral?  The issue is also called materialism, but this could be a misnomer.  Material-ism implies the absolutization of the material, when in fact the lie we are fed is that the material will bring much more - happiness, fulfillment... a certain image or experience.\r\n\r\nChristians confess that there is an inherent hunger in human beings that cannot be satisfied by what the material world offers.  There is a difference between our basic needs and our desires.  Accordingly, the human condition is such that we live with a kind of openness directed toward possibility in the world, always becoming.  This does not have to be a bad thing.  Some have called it the \"God-shaped hole.\"  But there is another level of desire that is perhaps more artificial or at least less natural - namely, the desire that is harnessed by the power of globalizing market forces in such a way as to induce complacency in our individualism and trivialize any concern about our unsustainable standard of living.\r\n\r\nThe most troubling fact is that this desire is very difficult to control or restrain.  Theologian <a title=\"Joerg Rieger homepage\" href=\"http://www.joergrieger.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Joerg Rieger</a> argues that the drive to consume is propelled by economic mechanisms and reinforced by the advertising industry.  The deceit of this system is increasingly taken for granted - so much so that one of my former seminary professors Roger Olson recently felt compelled to write a blog post <a title=\"Roger Olson: Can a Christian Work in the marketing field?\" href=\"http://http://www.patheos.com/blogs/rogereolson/2011/10/can-a-christian-work-in-the-marketing-field/\" target=\"_blank\">here</a> raising the question of whether Christians should even work in the marketing field at all!  Moreover, Rieger further contends that economic and religious desires often parallel each other.  This is illustrated by the way we often project our desires and ideals from the material world onto the divine and thus replace the transcendent God with an idol.  If desire is shaped by the production of wealth in a given society, this process can have a subconscious effect on people’s deepest convictions and ultimate values.  This means that the way culture teaches us to view wealth has a tremendous impact on the kind of people we become - not to even mention the irreversible social costs incurred on society as a whole.\r\n\r\nAs communities that are supposed to be convicting, healing and nurturing us on the path to holiness, churches have a vital part to play in resisting co-optation by the marketplace.  Sadly it’s not uncommon though for Christian congregations to become complicit in the cycle of consumption as well, even if only in very subtle ways.  To a degree this might be unavoidable - but it’s imperative for us to be sensitized and attentive to how we succumb to addictive desires.  I’m interested in how the church can be a place that enables Christians to subvert the status quo in this regard.  I know there are many tangible ways to do this, but I’m curious as to what others have seen and discovered about how our local practice can transcend systems that resist and suppress change.   This is the other questions I\'m really wrestling with right now: should our faith communities primarily strive to create alternative economies under the shadow of empire, so to speak, or should we actually strive to have transformative agency at the state political realm?  or both?  Does the latter usually risk too much division/compromise?','That to Which Your Heart Clings, Part I: Diagnosing Consumerism   ','','inherit','open','open','','1148-revision-15','','','2011-10-26 16:36:31','2011-10-26 23:36:31','',1148,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/26/1148-revision-15/',0,'revision','',0),(1281,20,'2011-10-26 16:36:37','2011-10-26 23:36:37','<p>I’m usually pretty good about being conscious of what I buy and what I eat – taking an interest in where things are made, by who, for how much, and so on.  And yet, I’m still a consumer.  Sometimes it just feels like the air we breathe.  I might purchase fair trade coffee and chocolate, but I’m still addicted to coffee and chocolate.  My wife tries to shop only for clothes made in the U.S., but she still really likes to shop.   So I started wondering how much of this is just human, and how much of it is culturally constructed.</p>\r\n<p>Despite the fact that many Christians themselves get caught up in this pattern of behavior, there seems to at least be some level of awareness in the church about the problem.  This is a good thing.  Less understood though is the extent to which societal messages are able to increasingly produce in us an insatiable desire for consumption in the first place.  In their genuine intent to encourage counter-culturalism, we might hear pastors talk about innate human drive to always want more.  But how much of this is rooted in a universal anthropology vs. just a modern Western phenomenon now gone viral?  The issue is also called materialism, but this could be a misnomer.  Material-ism implies the absolutization of the material, when in fact the lie we are fed is that the material will bring much more - happiness, fulfillment... a certain image or experience.</p>\r\n<p>Christians confess that there is an inherent hunger in human beings that cannot be satisfied by what the material world offers.  There is a difference between our basic needs and our desires.  Accordingly, the human condition is such that we live with a kind of openness directed toward possibility in the world, always becoming.  This does not have to be a bad thing.  Some have called it the \"God-shaped hole.\"  But there is another level of desire that is perhaps more artificial or at least less natural - namely, the desire that is harnessed by the power of globalizing market forces in such a way as to induce complacency in our individualism and trivialize any concern about our unsustainable standard of living.</p>\r\n<p>The most troubling fact is that this desire is very difficult to control or restrain.  Theologian <a title=\"Joerg Rieger homepage\" href=\"http://www.joergrieger.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Joerg Rieger</a> argues that the drive to consume is propelled by economic mechanisms and reinforced by the advertising industry.  The deceit of this system is increasingly taken for granted - so much so that one of my former seminary professors Roger Olson recently felt compelled to write a blog post <a title=\"Roger Olson: Can a Christian Work in the marketing field?\" href=\"http://http://www.patheos.com/blogs/rogereolson/2011/10/can-a-christian-work-in-the-marketing-field/\" target=\"_blank\">here</a> raising the question of whether Christians should even work in the marketing field at all!  Moreover, Rieger further contends that economic and religious desires often parallel each other.  This is illustrated by the way we often project our desires and ideals from the material world onto the divine and thus replace the transcendent God with an idol.  If desire is shaped by the production of wealth in a given society, this process can have a subconscious effect on people’s deepest convictions and ultimate values.  This means that the way culture teaches us to view wealth has a tremendous impact on the kind of people we become - not to even mention the irreversible social costs incurred on society as a whole.</p>\r\n<p>As communities that are supposed to be convicting, healing and nurturing us on the path to holiness, churches have a vital part to play in resisting co-optation by the marketplace.  Sadly it’s not uncommon though for Christian congregations to become complicit in the cycle of consumption as well, even if only in very subtle ways.  To a degree this might be unavoidable - but it’s imperative for us to be sensitized and attentive to how we succumb to addictive desires.  I’m interested in how the church can be a place that enables Christians to subvert the status quo in this regard.  I know there are many tangible ways to do this, but I’m curious as to what others have seen and discovered about how our local practice can transcend systems that resist and suppress change.   This is the other questions I\'m really wrestling with right now: should our faith communities primarily strive to create alternative economies under the shadow of empire, so to speak, or should we actually strive to have transformative agency at the state political realm?  or both?  Does the latter usually risk too much division/compromise?</p>\r\n','That to Which Your Heart Clings, Part I: Diagnosing Consumerism   ','','inherit','open','open','','1148-revision-16','','','2011-10-26 16:36:37','2011-10-26 23:36:37','',1148,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/26/1148-revision-16/',0,'revision','',0),(1282,20,'2011-10-26 16:54:50','2011-10-26 23:54:50','I’m usually pretty good about being conscious of what I buy and what I eat – taking an interest in where things are made, by who, for how much, and so on.  And yet, I’m still a consumer.  I might purchase fair trade coffee and chocolate, but I’m still addicted to coffee and chocolate.  My wife tries to shop only for clothes made in the U.S., but she still really likes to shop.   So I started wondering how much of this is just human, and how much of it is culturally constructed.\n\nDespite the fact that many Christians themselves get caught up in this pattern of behavior, there seems to at least be some level of awareness in the church about the problem.  This is a good thing.  Less understood though is the extent to which society is able to increasingly produce in us an insatiable desire for consumption in the first place.  In their genuine intent to encourage counter-culturalism, we might hear pastors talk about the innate human drive to always want more.  But how much of this is rooted in a universal anthropology vs. just a modern Western phenomenon now gone viral?  You also hear the word materialism, but this could be a misnomer.  Material-ism implies the absolutization of the material, when in fact the lie we are fed is that the material offers something else - happiness, fulfillment... a certain image or experience.\n\nIt is true that Christians have traditionally confessed to having an inherent hunger that cannot be satisfied by anything in this world.  There is a difference between our basic needs and our desires.  Accordingly, we could say that the human condition is such that we live with a kind of openness directed toward possibility in the world, always becoming.  This does not have to be a bad thing.  Some have called it the \"God-shaped hole.\"  But there is another level of desire that is perhaps more artificial or at least less natural - namely, the desire that is harnessed by the power of globalizing market forces in such a way as to induce complacency in our individualism and trivialize any concern about our unsustainable standard of living.\n\nThe most troubling fact is that this desire is very difficult to control or restrain.  Theologian <a title=\"Joerg Rieger homepage\" href=\"http://www.joergrieger.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Joerg Rieger</a> argues that the drive to consume is propelled by economic mechanisms and reinforced by the advertising industry.  The deceit of this system is increasingly taken for granted - so much so that one of my former seminary professors Roger Olson recently felt compelled to write a blog post <a title=\"Roger Olson: Can a Christian Work in the marketing field?\" href=\"http://http://www.patheos.com/blogs/rogereolson/2011/10/can-a-christian-work-in-the-marketing-field/\" target=\"_blank\">here</a> raising the question of whether Christians should even work in the marketing field at all!  Moreover, Rieger further contends that economic and religious desires often parallel each other.  This is illustrated by the way we often project our desires and ideals from the physical world onto the divine and thus replace the transcendent God with an idol.  If desire is shaped by the production of wealth in a given society, this process can have a subconscious effect on people’s deepest convictions and ultimate values.  This means that the way culture teaches us to view wealth has a tremendous impact on the kind of people we become - not to even mention the potential social costs that can be incurred on society\'s most vulnerable citizens as a result.\n\nAs communities that are supposed to be convicting, healing and nurturing us on the path to holiness, churches have a vital part to play in resisting co-optation by the marketplace.  Sadly it’s not uncommon, however, for Christian congregations to become complicit in the cycle of consuming and selling as well, even if only in very subtle ways.  To a degree this might be unavoidable, but it’s imperative for us to be sensitized and attentive to how we succumb to various addictive, superimposed desires.  I’m interested in how the church can be a place that enables Christians to subvert the status quo in this regard.  I know there are many tangible ways to do this, but I’m curious as to what others have seen and discovered about how our local practice can transcend systems that resist and suppress change.   And this is the other questions I\'m really wrestling with right now: should our faith communities primarily strive to create alternative economies under the shadow of empire, so to speak, or should we actually strive to have transformative agency at the state-political level?  Is it both/and?  Does the latter usually risk too much division and compromise?  What am I missing?','That to Which Your Heart Clings, Part I: Diagnosing Consumerism   ','','inherit','open','open','','1148-revision-17','','','2011-10-26 16:54:50','2011-10-26 23:54:50','',1148,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/26/1148-revision-17/',0,'revision','',0),(1371,20,'2011-10-28 14:59:02','2011-10-28 21:59:02','I’m usually pretty good about being conscious of what I buy and what I eat – taking an interest in where things are made, by who, for how much, and so on.  And yet, I’m still a consumer.  I might purchase fair trade coffee and chocolate, but I’m still addicted to coffee and chocolate.  My wife tries to shop only for clothes made in the U.S., but she still really likes to shop.   So I started wondering how much of this is just human, and how much of it is culturally constructed.\n\nDespite the fact that many Christians themselves get caught up in this pattern of behavior, there seems to at least be some level of awareness in the church about the problem.  This is a good thing.  Less understood though is the extent to which society is able to increasingly produce in us an insatiable desire for consumption in the first place.  You also hear the word materialism, but this could be a misnomer.  Material-ism implies the absolutization of the material, when in fact the lie we are fed is that the material offers something else: happiness, fulfillment... a certain image or experience.In their genuine intent to encourage counter-culturalism, we might hear pastors talk about the innate human drive to always want more.  But how much of this is rooted in a universal anthropology vs. just a modern Western phenomenon now gone viral?  I mean, people aren\'t just born with preferences for television sets.  Our preferences typically  emerge from a context of social relations.\n\nIt is true that Christians have traditionally confessed to having an inherent hunger that cannot be satisfied by anything in this world; there is a difference between our basic needs and our desires.  Accordingly, we could say that the human condition is such that we live with a kind of openness directed toward possibility in the world, always becoming.  This does not have to be a bad thing.  Some have called it the \"God-shaped hole.\"  But there is another level of desire that is perhaps more artificial or at least less natural - a desire that is harnessed by the power of globalizing market forces in such a way as to induce complacency in our individualism and trivialize any concern about our unsustainable standard of living.\n\nEven more troubling, this desire is very difficult to control.  Theologian <a title=\"Joerg Rieger homepage\" href=\"http://www.joergrieger.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Joerg Rieger</a> argues that in today\'s world the drive to consume is frequently propelled by economic mechanisms and reinforced by the advertising industry.  The deceit of this system is increasingly taken for granted.  Obviously recognizing this, one of my former seminary professors Roger Olson recently wrote a <a title=\"Can a Christian Work in the Marketing Field?\" href=\"www.patheos.com/blogs/rogereolson/2011/10/can-a-christian-work-in-the-marketing-field/\" target=\"_blank\">blog post</a> asking if Christians should even work in the marketing field at all!  Moreover, Rieger further contends that economic and religious desires often parallel each other.  This is illustrated by the way we often project our desires and ideals from the physical world onto the divine and thus replace the transcendent God with an idol.  If desire is shaped by the production of wealth in a given society, this process can have a subconscious effect on people’s deepest convictions and ultimate values.  This means that the way culture teaches us to view wealth has a tremendous impact on the kind of people we become - not to even mention the potential social costs that can be incurred on society\'s most vulnerable citizens as a result.\n\nAs communities that are supposed to be convicting, healing and nurturing us on the path to holiness, churches have a vital part to play in resisting co-optation by the marketplace.  Sadly it’s not uncommon, however, for Christian congregations to become complicit in the cycle of consuming and selling as well, even if only in very subtle ways.  To a degree this might be unavoidable, but it’s imperative for us to be sensitized and attentive to how we succumb to various addictive, superimposed desires.  I’m interested in how the church can be a place that enables Christians to subvert the status quo in this regard.  I know there are many tangible ways to do this, but I’m curious as to what others have seen and discovered about how our local practice can transcend systems that resist and suppress change.   And this is the other questions I\'m really wrestling with right now: should our faith communities primarily strive to create alternative economies under the shadow of empire, so to speak, or should we actually strive to have transformative agency at the state-political level?  Is it both/and?  Does the latter usually risk too much division and compromise?  What am I missing?','That to Which Your Heart Clings, Part I: Diagnosing Consumerism   ','','inherit','open','open','','1148-revision-23','','','2011-10-28 14:59:02','2011-10-28 21:59:02','',1148,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/28/1148-revision-23/',0,'revision','',0),(1283,20,'2011-10-26 17:20:14','2011-10-27 00:20:14','I’m usually pretty good about being conscious of what I buy and what I eat – taking an interest in where things are made, by who, for how much, and so on.  And yet, I’m still a consumer.  I might purchase fair trade coffee and chocolate, but I’m still addicted to coffee and chocolate.  My wife tries to shop only for clothes made in the U.S., but she still really likes to shop.   So I started wondering how much of this is just human, and how much of it is culturally constructed.\n\nDespite the fact that many Christians themselves get caught up in this pattern of behavior, there seems to at least be some level of awareness in the church about the problem.  This is a good thing.  Less understood though is the extent to which society is able to increasingly produce in us an insatiable desire for consumption in the first place.  In their genuine intent to encourage counter-culturalism, we might hear pastors talk about the innate human drive to always want more.  But how much of this is rooted in a universal anthropology vs. just a modern Western phenomenon now gone viral?  You also hear the word materialism, but this could be a misnomer.  Material-ism implies the absolutization of the material, when in fact the lie we are fed is that the material offers something else: happiness, fulfillment... a certain image or experience.\n\nIt is true that Christians have traditionally confessed to having an inherent hunger that cannot be satisfied by anything in this world; there is a difference between our basic needs and our desires.  Accordingly, we could say that the human condition is such that we live with a kind of openness directed toward possibility in the world, always becoming.  This does not have to be a bad thing.  Some have called it the \"God-shaped hole.\"  But there is another level of desire that is perhaps more artificial or at least less natural - namely, the desire that is harnessed by the power of globalizing market forces in such a way as to induce complacency in our individualism and trivialize any concern about our unsustainable standard of living.  It too has some other names.  To oversimplify, it\'s akin to what Marx called fetishism and Freud later described as the surrogate object of desire.  For Kierkegaard it was a type of despair.  Buddhists might just refer to it as attachment.\n\nMost troubling is that this desire is very difficult to control or restrain.  Theologian <a title=\"Joerg Rieger homepage\" href=\"http://www.joergrieger.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Joerg Rieger</a> argues that the drive to consume is propelled by economic mechanisms and reinforced by the advertising industry.  The deceit of this system is increasingly taken for granted - so much so that one of my former seminary professors Roger Olson recently felt compelled to write a blog post <a title=\"Roger Olson: Can a Christian Work in the marketing field?\" href=\"http://http://www.patheos.com/blogs/rogereolson/2011/10/can-a-christian-work-in-the-marketing-field/\" target=\"_blank\">here</a> raising the question of whether Christians should even work in the marketing field at all!  Moreover, Rieger further contends that economic and religious desires often parallel each other.  This is illustrated by the way we often project our desires and ideals from the physical world onto the divine and thus replace the transcendent God with an idol.  If desire is shaped by the production of wealth in a given society, this process can have a subconscious effect on people’s deepest convictions and ultimate values.  This means that the way culture teaches us to view wealth has a tremendous impact on the kind of people we become - not to even mention the potential social costs that can be incurred on society\'s most vulnerable citizens as a result.\n\nAs communities that are supposed to be convicting, healing and nurturing us on the path to holiness, churches have a vital part to play in resisting co-optation by the marketplace.  Sadly it’s not uncommon, however, for Christian congregations to become complicit in the cycle of consuming and selling as well, even if only in very subtle ways.  To a degree this might be unavoidable, but it’s imperative for us to be sensitized and attentive to how we succumb to various addictive, superimposed desires.  I’m interested in how the church can be a place that enables Christians to subvert the status quo in this regard.  I know there are many tangible ways to do this, but I’m curious as to what others have seen and discovered about how our local practice can transcend systems that resist and suppress change.   And this is the other questions I\'m really wrestling with right now: should our faith communities primarily strive to create alternative economies under the shadow of empire, so to speak, or should we actually strive to have transformative agency at the state-political level?  Is it both/and?  Does the latter usually risk too much division and compromise?  What am I missing?','That to Which Your Heart Clings, Part I: Diagnosing Consumerism   ','','inherit','open','open','','1148-revision-18','','','2011-10-26 17:20:14','2011-10-27 00:20:14','',1148,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/26/1148-revision-18/',0,'revision','',0),(1284,20,'2011-10-26 17:21:41','2011-10-27 00:21:41','I’m usually pretty good about being conscious of what I buy and what I eat – taking an interest in where things are made, by who, for how much, and so on.  And yet, I’m still a consumer.  I might purchase fair trade coffee and chocolate, but I’m still addicted to coffee and chocolate.  My wife tries to shop only for clothes made in the U.S., but she still really likes to shop.   So I started wondering how much of this is just human, and how much of it is culturally constructed.\n\nDespite the fact that many Christians themselves get caught up in this pattern of behavior, there seems to at least be some level of awareness in the church about the problem.  This is a good thing.  Less understood though is the extent to which society is able to increasingly produce in us an insatiable desire for consumption in the first place.  In their genuine intent to encourage counter-culturalism, we might hear pastors talk about the innate human drive to always want more.  But how much of this is rooted in a universal anthropology vs. just a modern Western phenomenon now gone viral?  You also hear the word materialism, but this could be a misnomer.  Material-ism implies the absolutization of the material, when in fact the lie we are fed is that the material offers something else: happiness, fulfillment... a certain image or experience.\n\nIt is true that Christians have traditionally confessed to having an inherent hunger that cannot be satisfied by anything in this world; there is a difference between our basic needs and our desires.  Accordingly, we could say that the human condition is such that we live with a kind of openness directed toward possibility in the world, always becoming.  This does not have to be a bad thing.  Some have called it the \"God-shaped hole.\"  But there is another level of desire that is perhaps more artificial or at least less natural - namely, the desire that is harnessed by the power of globalizing market forces in such a way as to induce complacency in our individualism and trivialize any concern about our unsustainable standard of living.  It too has some other names.  To oversimplify, it\'s akin to what Marx called fetishism and Freud later described as the surrogate object of desire.  For Kierkegaard it was a type of despair.  Buddhists might just refer to it as attachment.\n\nMost troubling is that this desire is very difficult to control or restrain.  Theologian <a title=\"Joerg Rieger homepage\" href=\"http://www.joergrieger.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Joerg Rieger</a> argues that the drive to consume is propelled by economic mechanisms and reinforced by the advertising industry.  The deceit of this system is increasingly taken for granted - so much so that one of my former seminary professors Roger Olson recently felt compelled to write a blog post <a title=\"Roger Olson: Can a Christian Work in the marketing field?\" href=\"http://http://www.patheos.com/blogs/rogereolson/2011/10/can-a-christian-work-in-the-marketing-field/\" target=\"_blank\">here</a> raising the question of whether Christians should even work in the marketing field at all!  Moreover, Rieger further contends that economic and religious desires often parallel each other.  This is illustrated by the way we often project our desires and ideals from the physical world onto the divine and thus replace the transcendent God with an idol.  If desire is shaped by the production of wealth in a given society, this process can have a subconscious effect on people’s deepest convictions and ultimate values.  This means that the way culture teaches us to view wealth has a tremendous impact on the kind of people we become - not to even mention the potential social costs that can be incurred on society\'s most vulnerable citizens as a result.\n\nAs communities that are supposed to be convicting, healing and nurturing us on the path to holiness, churches have a vital part to play in resisting co-optation by the marketplace.  Sadly it’s not uncommon, however, for Christian congregations to become complicit in the cycle of consuming and selling as well, even if only in very subtle ways.  To a degree this might be unavoidable, but it’s imperative for us to be sensitized and attentive to how we succumb to various addictive, superimposed desires.  I’m interested in how the church can be a place that enables Christians to subvert the status quo in this regard.  I know there are many tangible ways to do this, but I’m curious as to what others have seen and discovered about how our local practice can transcend systems that resist and suppress change.   And this is the other questions I\'m really wrestling with right now: should our faith communities primarily strive to create alternative economies under the shadow of empire, so to speak, or should we actually strive to have transformative agency at the state-political level?  Is it both/and?  Does the latter usually risk too much division and compromise?  What am I missing?','That to Which Your Heart Clings, Part I: Diagnosing Consumerism   ','','inherit','open','open','','1148-revision-19','','','2011-10-26 17:21:41','2011-10-27 00:21:41','',1148,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/26/1148-revision-19/',0,'revision','',0),(1285,20,'2011-10-26 17:24:54','2011-10-27 00:24:54','I’m usually pretty good about being conscious of what I buy and what I eat – taking an interest in where things are made, by who, for how much, and so on.  And yet, I’m still a consumer.  I might purchase fair trade coffee and chocolate, but I’m still addicted to coffee and chocolate.  My wife tries to shop only for clothes made in the U.S., but she still really likes to shop.   So I started wondering how much of this is just human, and how much of it is culturally constructed.\n\nDespite the fact that many Christians themselves get caught up in this pattern of behavior, there seems to at least be some level of awareness in the church about the problem.  This is a good thing.  Less understood though is the extent to which society is able to increasingly produce in us an insatiable desire for consumption in the first place.  In their genuine intent to encourage counter-culturalism, we might hear pastors talk about the innate human drive to always want more.  But how much of this is rooted in a universal anthropology vs. just a modern Western phenomenon now gone viral?  You also hear the word materialism, but this could be a misnomer.  Material-ism implies the absolutization of the material, when in fact the lie we are fed is that the material offers something else: happiness, fulfillment... a certain image or experience.\n\nIt is true that Christians have traditionally confessed to having an inherent hunger that cannot be satisfied by anything in this world; there is a difference between our basic needs and our desires.  Accordingly, we could say that the human condition is such that we live with a kind of openness directed toward possibility in the world, always becoming.  This does not have to be a bad thing.  Some have called it the \"God-shaped hole.\"  But there is another level of desire that is perhaps more artificial or at least less natural - namely, the desire that is harnessed by the power of globalizing market forces in such a way as to induce complacency in our individualism and trivialize any concern about our unsustainable standard of living.  It too has some other names.  To oversimplify, it\'s akin to what Marx called fetishism and Freud later described as the surrogate object of desire.  For Kierkegaard it was a type of despair.  Contemplates in the Christian tradition have talked about it as the \"false self.\"  Buddhists might just refer to it as attachment.\n\nMost troubling is that this desire is very difficult to control or restrain.  Theologian <a title=\"Joerg Rieger homepage\" href=\"http://www.joergrieger.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Joerg Rieger</a> argues that the drive to consume is propelled by economic mechanisms and reinforced by the advertising industry.  The deceit of this system is increasingly taken for granted - so much so that one of my former seminary professors Roger Olson recently felt compelled to write a blog post <a title=\"Roger Olson: Can a Christian Work in the marketing field?\" href=\"http://http://www.patheos.com/blogs/rogereolson/2011/10/can-a-christian-work-in-the-marketing-field/\" target=\"_blank\">here</a> raising the question of whether Christians should even work in the marketing field at all!  Moreover, Rieger further contends that economic and religious desires often parallel each other.  This is illustrated by the way we often project our desires and ideals from the physical world onto the divine and thus replace the transcendent God with an idol.  If desire is shaped by the production of wealth in a given society, this process can have a subconscious effect on people’s deepest convictions and ultimate values.  This means that the way culture teaches us to view wealth has a tremendous impact on the kind of people we become - not to even mention the potential social costs that can be incurred on society\'s most vulnerable citizens as a result.\n\nAs communities that are supposed to be convicting, healing and nurturing us on the path to holiness, churches have a vital part to play in resisting co-optation by the marketplace.  Sadly it’s not uncommon, however, for Christian congregations to become complicit in the cycle of consuming and selling as well, even if only in very subtle ways.  To a degree this might be unavoidable, but it’s imperative for us to be sensitized and attentive to how we succumb to various addictive, superimposed desires.  I’m interested in how the church can be a place that enables Christians to subvert the status quo in this regard.  I know there are many tangible ways to do this, but I’m curious as to what others have seen and discovered about how our local practice can transcend systems that resist and suppress change.   And this is the other questions I\'m really wrestling with right now: should our faith communities primarily strive to create alternative economies under the shadow of empire, so to speak, or should we actually strive to have transformative agency at the state-political level?  Is it both/and?  Does the latter usually risk too much division and compromise?  What am I missing?','That to Which Your Heart Clings, Part I: Diagnosing Consumerism   ','','inherit','open','open','','1148-revision-20','','','2011-10-26 17:24:54','2011-10-27 00:24:54','',1148,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/26/1148-revision-20/',0,'revision','',0),(1288,0,'2011-10-26 22:52:17','2011-10-27 05:52:17','Topics related to culture and faith\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Sara Haniz\nAUTHOR EMAIL: Sara.Haniz@yahoo.com\nAUTHOR URL: http://www.shaniz.tumblr.com\nSUBJECT: Provoketive Magazine Writing For Provoketive\nIP: 119.56.124.203\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Sara Haniz \n    [Email] =&gt; Sara.Haniz@yahoo.com\n    [Existing Blog or Website] =&gt; http://www.shaniz.tumblr.com\n    [List the topic you are interested writing about] =&gt; Topics related to culture and faith\n    [Current or New WordPress Login Name (We\'ll send you a password.)] =&gt; shaniz054\n)\n','Sara Haniz - 2011-10-26 22:52:17','','publish','open','open','','1938c94fa7c0c760fed64944d04d7214','','','2011-10-26 22:52:17','2011-10-27 05:52:17','',358,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=1288',0,'feedback','',0),(1286,0,'2011-10-26 18:20:43','2011-10-27 01:20:43','Social justice, faith, mission, marriage... and more.\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Hannah Starkey\nAUTHOR EMAIL: thoughtandmusing@gmail.com\nAUTHOR URL: http://thoughtandmusing.com\nSUBJECT: Provoketive Magazine Writing For Provoketive\nIP: 202.134.24.226\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Hannah Starkey\n    [Email] =&gt; thoughtandmusing@gmail.com\n    [Existing Blog or Website] =&gt; thoughtandmusing.com\n    [List the topic you are interested writing about] =&gt; Social justice, faith, mission, marriage... and more. \n    [Current or New WordPress Login Name (We\'ll send you a password.)] =&gt; hstarkey\n)\n','Hannah Starkey - 2011-10-26 18:20:43','','publish','open','open','','8ac606d21a8bf02aff87184fc784ed89','','','2011-10-26 18:20:43','2011-10-27 01:20:43','',358,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=1286',0,'feedback','',0),(1287,20,'2011-10-26 17:26:45','2011-10-27 00:26:45','I’m usually pretty good about being conscious of what I buy and what I eat – taking an interest in where things are made, by who, for how much, and so on.  And yet, I’m still a consumer.  I might purchase fair trade coffee and chocolate, but I’m still addicted to coffee and chocolate.  My wife tries to shop only for clothes made in the U.S., but she still really likes to shop.   So I started wondering how much of this is just human, and how much of it is culturally constructed.\n\nDespite the fact that many Christians themselves get caught up in this pattern of behavior, there seems to at least be some level of awareness in the church about the problem.  This is a good thing.  Less understood though is the extent to which society is able to increasingly produce in us an insatiable desire for consumption in the first place.  In their genuine intent to encourage counter-culturalism, we might hear pastors talk about the innate human drive to always want more.  But how much of this is rooted in a universal anthropology vs. just a modern Western phenomenon now gone viral?  You also hear the word materialism, but this could be a misnomer.  Material-ism implies the absolutization of the material, when in fact the lie we are fed is that the material offers something else: happiness, fulfillment... a certain image or experience.\n\nIt is true that Christians have traditionally confessed to having an inherent hunger that cannot be satisfied by anything in this world; there is a difference between our basic needs and our desires.  Accordingly, we could say that the human condition is such that we live with a kind of openness directed toward possibility in the world, always becoming.  This does not have to be a bad thing.  Some have called it the \"God-shaped hole.\"  But there is another level of desire that is perhaps more artificial or at least less natural - namely, the desire that is harnessed by the power of globalizing market forces in such a way as to induce complacency in our individualism and trivialize any concern about our unsustainable standard of living.  It too has some other names.  To oversimplify, it\'s akin to what Marx called fetishism and Freud later described as the surrogate object of desire.  For Kierkegaard it was a type of despair.  Contemplates in the Christian tradition have talked about it as the \"false self.\"  Buddhists might just refer to it as attachment.\n\nMost troubling is that this desire is very difficult to control or restrain.  Theologian <a title=\"Joerg Rieger homepage\" href=\"http://www.joergrieger.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Joerg Rieger</a> argues that in today\'s world the drive to consume is frequently propelled by economic mechanisms and reinforced by the advertising industry.  The deceit of this system is increasingly taken for granted - so much so that one of my former seminary professors Roger Olson recently felt compelled to write a blog post <a title=\"Roger Olson: Can a Christian Work in the marketing field?\" href=\"http://http://www.patheos.com/blogs/rogereolson/2011/10/can-a-christian-work-in-the-marketing-field/\" target=\"_blank\">here</a> raising the question of whether Christians should even work in the marketing field at all!  Moreover, Rieger further contends that economic and religious desires often parallel each other.  This is illustrated by the way we often project our desires and ideals from the physical world onto the divine and thus replace the transcendent God with an idol.  If desire is shaped by the production of wealth in a given society, this process can have a subconscious effect on people’s deepest convictions and ultimate values.  This means that the way culture teaches us to view wealth has a tremendous impact on the kind of people we become - not to even mention the potential social costs that can be incurred on society\'s most vulnerable citizens as a result.\n\nAs communities that are supposed to be convicting, healing and nurturing us on the path to holiness, churches have a vital part to play in resisting co-optation by the marketplace.  Sadly it’s not uncommon, however, for Christian congregations to become complicit in the cycle of consuming and selling as well, even if only in very subtle ways.  To a degree this might be unavoidable, but it’s imperative for us to be sensitized and attentive to how we succumb to various addictive, superimposed desires.  I’m interested in how the church can be a place that enables Christians to subvert the status quo in this regard.  I know there are many tangible ways to do this, but I’m curious as to what others have seen and discovered about how our local practice can transcend systems that resist and suppress change.   And this is the other questions I\'m really wrestling with right now: should our faith communities primarily strive to create alternative economies under the shadow of empire, so to speak, or should we actually strive to have transformative agency at the state-political level?  Is it both/and?  Does the latter usually risk too much division and compromise?  What am I missing?','That to Which Your Heart Clings, Part I: Diagnosing Consumerism   ','','inherit','open','open','','1148-revision-21','','','2011-10-26 17:26:45','2011-10-27 00:26:45','',1148,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/26/1148-revision-21/',0,'revision','',0),(2658,1,'2011-11-28 07:06:03','2011-11-28 15:06:03','While recently visiting a (Won) Buddhist temple, I heard one practitioner refer to Jesus as a Buddha. I was struck by the generosity of calling the leader of another faith one’s most cherished, revered term. In Won Buddhism, as I understand it, there is an effort for each person to embrace their Buddhahood and see the Buddha in another, so the statement was not at all unusual in that context. However it did lead me to a place of introspection about my own faith path. Could I, raised a Christian, return the favor? Could I say “Buddha is a Savior, Redeemer”?\r\n\r\nI have been frustrated and turned off by the churches I have visited that seem to place their God high above any other God. If there truly is one God, isn’t that one God as high as any God can be?\r\n\r\nI recently attended a conference at a megachurch in the Midwest. And I was disturbed by two of the things I experienced there. One of those things was the lead pastor (who I have followed and respected for many years) saying that “Christianity was the only Religion about Love”. Really? Really? Have you explored any other religions? My personal experience with other, non-Christian religions is they really are about love. They are about getting out negativity so the love can flow in. The second thing that disturbed me during my megachurch experience was surprisingly, the music. Although the music was inspiring and energetic, the lyrics were anything but. One song in particular featured the message: “Our God is stronger than your God, Our God is greater than Your God, etc.” Really? Are we in seventh grade or something? Are we really that competitive?\r\n\r\nTo me it seems when you have to tell someone your God is better, stronger, greater, more loving…than perhaps deep down you have some doubts on this topic?\r\n\r\nWhat if there is only one God, and this one God is manifested in many beautiful names? Those names could include Jesus Christ, Wonderful, Counselor Allah, Buddha, and scores of other names.\r\n\r\nIf we believe in one God, let’s start living and talking like it, and stop being so competitive. Start accepting that that one God is so brilliant that he made many ways to show himself before us all.\r\n\r\nThere are passages in the Bible that really resonate with me around this issue, for instance, this one from John (10:16) As Jesus said, \"And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd\".\r\n\r\nPerhaps the variety in religion is part of God’s big plan, and we should start showing some respect. Why wouldn’t God show up differently in the varied landscape of world culture. In this quote by theologian Emanuel Swedenborg (Divine Providence 254) he seems to call this idea out quite clearly. \"When a religion has been implanted in a nation, the Lord leads that nation according to the precepts and dogmas of its own religion. He has provided that there shall be in every religion precepts like those in the Ten Commandments....The nation that regards these precepts as Divine and lives according to them from a religious motive is saved.\".','Jesus is a Buddha','','inherit','open','open','','2624-revision-6','','','2011-11-28 07:06:03','2011-11-28 15:06:03','',2624,'http://provoketive.com/2011/11/28/2624-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(1292,1,'2011-10-27 09:00:02','2011-10-27 16:00:02','Virtually <a href=\"https://www.google.com/search?q=occupy+oakland&amp;ie=utf-8&amp;oe=utf-8&amp;aq=t&amp;rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&amp;client=firefox-a#q=occupy+oakland&amp;hl=en&amp;client=firefox-a&amp;hs=trS&amp;rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&amp;prmd=imvnsu&amp;source=lnms&amp;tbm=nws&amp;ei=HnipTpvbAY6asgLJ0L2iDw&amp;sa=X&amp;oi=mode_link&amp;ct=mode&amp;cd=5&amp;ved=0CBkQ_AUoBA&amp;bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.,cf.osb&amp;fp=2662daf986d7c86a&amp;biw=1202&amp;bih=756\" target=\"_blank\">every major news source</a> is being forced to deal with the events in Occupy Oakland.  The following account is from <a href=\"http://www.occupytogether.org/2011/10/26/occupy-oakland-will-continue-to-stand/\" target=\"_blank\">Occupy Together</a>.\r\n<blockquote>\"<a href=\"http://occupiedmedia.com/2011/10/occupy-oakland-raided/\">Police tore down the Occupy Oakland encampment</a> early Tuesday morning around 5:00am. There were estimated to be over 200 officers in riot gear present to remove protesters, set up a barricades and clear the encampment. About 75 arrests were made and bail was set at $10,000 each protestor, holding them until their arraignment. After, police shut down the second encampment at Snow Park.\r\n\r\nAs demonstrators returned to Oscar Grant Plaza, the police read them the Riot Act and gave them a five minute warning to leave. Shortly after the warning, ABCs helicopter news coverage ended their live broadcast. Moments later tear gas, flash bangs, and beanbags were launched at the crowd.\"</blockquote>\r\nScott Olsen, Iraq war vet, is reported to be in <a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/26/occupy-oakland-veteran-critical-condition?newsfeed=true\" target=\"_blank\">critical condition</a> with a fractured skull and brain swelling from the events. Scott was hit with a tear gas canister as the events unfolded.\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/OZLyUK0t0vQ\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"500\" height=\"284\"></iframe>\r\n\r\nIn many ways these scenes unfold like a scene from Al Jazeera and the streets of Beirut.  One writer even compares Olsen to <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohamed_Bouazizi\" target=\"_blank\">Mohamed Bouazizi</a>, a street vendor who set himself on fire in December 2010 to protest how he was mistreated by state police.  It\'s sad at the same time it\'s tragic.\r\n\r\nBut my question is this.  <strong>How does the Occupy movement make you feel?</strong>  Are we seeing revolution in a nation that was born out of revolution?  It\'s far from being a small movement anymore. Oakland will only create fuel for the movement. <strong>But how will you act?</strong>','Occupy Oakland','','publish','open','open','','occupy-oakland','','\nhttp://www.occupytogether.org/2011/10/26/occupy-oakland-will-continue-to-stand/','2011-10-27 09:00:02','2011-10-27 16:00:02','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=1292',0,'post','',7),(1293,1,'2011-10-27 08:25:16','2011-10-27 15:25:16','','Occupy_Together','','inherit','open','open','','occupy_together','','','2011-10-27 08:25:16','2011-10-27 15:25:16','',1292,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Occupy_Together.png',0,'attachment','image/png',0),(2076,1,'2011-11-10 12:12:39','2011-11-10 20:12:39','A six-part series exploring sex before marriage by Ally Spotts, author of <em><a href=\"http://www.allyspotts.com/asking-all-the-wrong-questions\" target=\"_blank\">Asking All The Wrong Questions</a></em>.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/11/09/why-are-christians-saving-sex-for-marriage-part-1/\">Why Are Christians Saving Sex For Marriage: Part 1 - Questions</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/2011/11/11/why-are-christians-saving-sex-for-marriage-part-2/\">Why Are Christians Saving Sex For Marriage: Part 2 - Trust</a>\r\n\r\nWhy Are Christians Saving Sex For Marriage: Part 3 - Friends\r\n\r\nWhy Are Christians Saving Sex For Marriage: Part 4 - Happiness\r\n\r\nWhy Are Christians Saving Sex For Marriage: Part 5 - Value\r\n\r\nWhy Are Christians Saving Sex For Marriage: Part 6 - Lust','Why Are Christians Saving Sex For Marriage','','publish','open','open','','why-are-christians-saving-sex-for-marriage','','http://provoketive.com/2011/11/09/why-are-christians-saving-sex-for-marriage-part-1/\nhttp://www.allyspotts.com/asking-all-the-wrong-questions\nhttp://provoketive.com/2011/11/11/why-are-christians-saving-sex-for-marriage-part-2/','2011-11-11 11:42:33','2011-11-11 19:42:33','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=2076',0,'post','',0),(1295,1,'2011-10-27 08:53:44','2011-10-27 15:53:44','Virtually <a href=\"https://www.google.com/search?q=occupy+oakland&amp;ie=utf-8&amp;oe=utf-8&amp;aq=t&amp;rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&amp;client=firefox-a#q=occupy+oakland&amp;hl=en&amp;client=firefox-a&amp;hs=trS&amp;rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&amp;prmd=imvnsu&amp;source=lnms&amp;tbm=nws&amp;ei=HnipTpvbAY6asgLJ0L2iDw&amp;sa=X&amp;oi=mode_link&amp;ct=mode&amp;cd=5&amp;ved=0CBkQ_AUoBA&amp;bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.,cf.osb&amp;fp=2662daf986d7c86a&amp;biw=1202&amp;bih=756\" target=\"_blank\">every major news source</a> is being forced to deal with the events in Occupy Oakland.  The following account is from <a href=\"http://www.occupytogether.org/2011/10/26/occupy-oakland-will-continue-to-stand/\" target=\"_blank\">Occupy Together</a>.\n<blockquote>\"<a href=\"http://occupiedmedia.com/2011/10/occupy-oakland-raided/\">Police tore down the Occupy Oakland encampment</a> early Tuesday morning around 5:00am. There were estimated to be over 200 officers in riot gear present to remove protesters, set up a barricades and clear the encampment. About 75 arrests were made and bail was set at $10,000 each protestor, holding them until their arraignment. After, police shut down the second encampment at Snow Park.\n\nAs demonstrators returned to Oscar Grant Plaza, the police read them the Riot Act and gave them a five minute warning to leave. Shortly after the warning, ABCs helicopter news coverage ended their live broadcast. Moments later tear gas, flash bangs, and beanbags were launched at the crowd.\"</blockquote>\nScott Olsen, Iraq war vet, is reported to be in <a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/26/occupy-oakland-veteran-critical-condition?newsfeed=true\" target=\"_blank\">critical condition</a> with a fractured skull and brain swelling from the events. Scott was hit with a tear gas canister as the events unfolded.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIn many ways these scenes unfold like a scene from Al Jazeera and the streets of Beirut.  One writer even compares Olsen to <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohamed_Bouazizi\" target=\"_blank\">Mohamed Bouazizi</a>, a street vendor who set himself on fire in December 2010 to protest how he was mistreated by state police.  It\'s sad at the same time it\'s tragic.\n\nBut my question is this.  <strong>How does the Occupy movement make you feel?</strong>  It\'s far from being a small movement anymore. Some of the <a href=\"https://www.google.com/search?q=occupy+wall+street&amp;hl=en&amp;client=firefox-a&amp;hs=9dn&amp;rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&amp;prmd=imvnsu&amp;source=lnms&amp;tbm=isch&amp;ei=zXmpTpH9Mq_gsQLaoKnoCw&amp;sa=X&amp;oi=mode_link&amp;ct=mode&amp;cd=2&amp;ved=0CCUQ_AUoAQ&amp;biw=1202&amp;bih=756#hl=en&amp;client=firefox-a&amp;hs=Cen&amp;rls=org.mozilla:en-US%3Aofficial&amp;tbm=isch&amp;sa=1&amp;q=occupy+wall+street+comic&amp;pbx=1&amp;oq=occupy+wall+street+com&amp;aq=1&amp;aqi=g3g-S1g-sS1g-S5&amp;aql=1&amp;gs_sm=e&amp;gs_upl=1294l9086l0l11692l4l3l0l0l0l0l255l721l2-3l3l0&amp;bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&amp;fp=7f9bd0d8e2ff78e7&amp;biw=1202&amp;bih=756\" target=\"_blank\">editorial comics</a> are absolutely <a href=\"http://judicial-corruption.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/wallst_facebook.jpg\" target=\"_blank\">brilliant</a>.  Oakland will only create fuel for the movement.','Occupy Oakland','','inherit','open','open','','1292-revision','','','2011-10-27 08:53:44','2011-10-27 15:53:44','',1292,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1292-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(1296,1,'2011-10-27 08:54:44','2011-10-27 15:54:44','Virtually <a href=\"https://www.google.com/search?q=occupy+oakland&amp;ie=utf-8&amp;oe=utf-8&amp;aq=t&amp;rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&amp;client=firefox-a#q=occupy+oakland&amp;hl=en&amp;client=firefox-a&amp;hs=trS&amp;rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&amp;prmd=imvnsu&amp;source=lnms&amp;tbm=nws&amp;ei=HnipTpvbAY6asgLJ0L2iDw&amp;sa=X&amp;oi=mode_link&amp;ct=mode&amp;cd=5&amp;ved=0CBkQ_AUoBA&amp;bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.,cf.osb&amp;fp=2662daf986d7c86a&amp;biw=1202&amp;bih=756\" target=\"_blank\">every major news source</a> is being forced to deal with the events in Occupy Oakland.  The following account is from <a href=\"http://www.occupytogether.org/2011/10/26/occupy-oakland-will-continue-to-stand/\" target=\"_blank\">Occupy Together</a>.\n<blockquote>\"<a href=\"http://occupiedmedia.com/2011/10/occupy-oakland-raided/\">Police tore down the Occupy Oakland encampment</a> early Tuesday morning around 5:00am. There were estimated to be over 200 officers in riot gear present to remove protesters, set up a barricades and clear the encampment. About 75 arrests were made and bail was set at $10,000 each protestor, holding them until their arraignment. After, police shut down the second encampment at Snow Park.\n\nAs demonstrators returned to Oscar Grant Plaza, the police read them the Riot Act and gave them a five minute warning to leave. Shortly after the warning, ABCs helicopter news coverage ended their live broadcast. Moments later tear gas, flash bangs, and beanbags were launched at the crowd.\"</blockquote>\nScott Olsen, Iraq war vet, is reported to be in <a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/26/occupy-oakland-veteran-critical-condition?newsfeed=true\" target=\"_blank\">critical condition</a> with a fractured skull and brain swelling from the events. Scott was hit with a tear gas canister as the events unfolded.\n\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/OZLyUK0t0vQ\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"500\" height=\"284\"></iframe>\n\nIn many ways these scenes unfold like a scene from Al Jazeera and the streets of Beirut.  One writer even compares Olsen to <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohamed_Bouazizi\" target=\"_blank\">Mohamed Bouazizi</a>, a street vendor who set himself on fire in December 2010 to protest how he was mistreated by state police.  It\'s sad at the same time it\'s tragic.\n\nBut my question is this.  <strong>How does the Occupy movement make you feel?</strong>  It\'s far from being a small movement anymore. Some of the <a href=\"https://www.google.com/search?q=occupy+wall+street&amp;hl=en&amp;client=firefox-a&amp;hs=9dn&amp;rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&amp;prmd=imvnsu&amp;source=lnms&amp;tbm=isch&amp;ei=zXmpTpH9Mq_gsQLaoKnoCw&amp;sa=X&amp;oi=mode_link&amp;ct=mode&amp;cd=2&amp;ved=0CCUQ_AUoAQ&amp;biw=1202&amp;bih=756#hl=en&amp;client=firefox-a&amp;hs=Cen&amp;rls=org.mozilla:en-US%3Aofficial&amp;tbm=isch&amp;sa=1&amp;q=occupy+wall+street+comic&amp;pbx=1&amp;oq=occupy+wall+street+com&amp;aq=1&amp;aqi=g3g-S1g-sS1g-S5&amp;aql=1&amp;gs_sm=e&amp;gs_upl=1294l9086l0l11692l4l3l0l0l0l0l255l721l2-3l3l0&amp;bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&amp;fp=7f9bd0d8e2ff78e7&amp;biw=1202&amp;bih=756\" target=\"_blank\">editorial comics</a> are absolutely <a href=\"http://judicial-corruption.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/wallst_facebook.jpg\" target=\"_blank\">brilliant</a>.  Oakland will only create fuel for the movement.','Occupy Oakland','','inherit','open','open','','1292-revision-2','','','2011-10-27 08:54:44','2011-10-27 15:54:44','',1292,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1292-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(1297,1,'2011-10-27 08:54:48','2011-10-27 15:54:48','Virtually <a href=\"https://www.google.com/search?q=occupy+oakland&amp;ie=utf-8&amp;oe=utf-8&amp;aq=t&amp;rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&amp;client=firefox-a#q=occupy+oakland&amp;hl=en&amp;client=firefox-a&amp;hs=trS&amp;rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&amp;prmd=imvnsu&amp;source=lnms&amp;tbm=nws&amp;ei=HnipTpvbAY6asgLJ0L2iDw&amp;sa=X&amp;oi=mode_link&amp;ct=mode&amp;cd=5&amp;ved=0CBkQ_AUoBA&amp;bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.,cf.osb&amp;fp=2662daf986d7c86a&amp;biw=1202&amp;bih=756\" target=\"_blank\">every major news source</a> is being forced to deal with the events in Occupy Oakland.  The following account is from <a href=\"http://www.occupytogether.org/2011/10/26/occupy-oakland-will-continue-to-stand/\" target=\"_blank\">Occupy Together</a>.\r\n<blockquote>\"<a href=\"http://occupiedmedia.com/2011/10/occupy-oakland-raided/\">Police tore down the Occupy Oakland encampment</a> early Tuesday morning around 5:00am. There were estimated to be over 200 officers in riot gear present to remove protesters, set up a barricades and clear the encampment. About 75 arrests were made and bail was set at $10,000 each protestor, holding them until their arraignment. After, police shut down the second encampment at Snow Park.\r\n\r\nAs demonstrators returned to Oscar Grant Plaza, the police read them the Riot Act and gave them a five minute warning to leave. Shortly after the warning, ABCs helicopter news coverage ended their live broadcast. Moments later tear gas, flash bangs, and beanbags were launched at the crowd.\"</blockquote>\r\nScott Olsen, Iraq war vet, is reported to be in <a href=\"http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/26/occupy-oakland-veteran-critical-condition?newsfeed=true\" target=\"_blank\">critical condition</a> with a fractured skull and brain swelling from the events. Scott was hit with a tear gas canister as the events unfolded.\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/OZLyUK0t0vQ\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"500\" height=\"284\"></iframe>\r\n\r\nIn many ways these scenes unfold like a scene from Al Jazeera and the streets of Beirut.  One writer even compares Olsen to <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohamed_Bouazizi\" target=\"_blank\">Mohamed Bouazizi</a>, a street vendor who set himself on fire in December 2010 to protest how he was mistreated by state police.  It\'s sad at the same time it\'s tragic.\r\n\r\nBut my question is this.  <strong>How does the Occupy movement make you feel?</strong>  It\'s far from being a small movement anymore. Some of the <a href=\"https://www.google.com/search?q=occupy+wall+street&amp;hl=en&amp;client=firefox-a&amp;hs=9dn&amp;rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&amp;prmd=imvnsu&amp;source=lnms&amp;tbm=isch&amp;ei=zXmpTpH9Mq_gsQLaoKnoCw&amp;sa=X&amp;oi=mode_link&amp;ct=mode&amp;cd=2&amp;ved=0CCUQ_AUoAQ&amp;biw=1202&amp;bih=756#hl=en&amp;client=firefox-a&amp;hs=Cen&amp;rls=org.mozilla:en-US%3Aofficial&amp;tbm=isch&amp;sa=1&amp;q=occupy+wall+street+comic&amp;pbx=1&amp;oq=occupy+wall+street+com&amp;aq=1&amp;aqi=g3g-S1g-sS1g-S5&amp;aql=1&amp;gs_sm=e&amp;gs_upl=1294l9086l0l11692l4l3l0l0l0l0l255l721l2-3l3l0&amp;bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&amp;fp=7f9bd0d8e2ff78e7&amp;biw=1202&amp;bih=756\" target=\"_blank\">editorial comics</a> are absolutely <a href=\"http://judicial-corruption.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/wallst_facebook.jpg\" target=\"_blank\">brilliant</a>.  Oakland will only create fuel for the movement.','Occupy Oakland','','inherit','open','open','','1292-revision-3','','','2011-10-27 08:54:48','2011-10-27 15:54:48','',1292,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1292-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(1307,64,'2011-10-27 09:47:07','2011-10-27 16:47:07','<strong>I Never Thought</strong>\n\nMy trick-or-treating years were in the 70\'s.  Back then, I honestly never thought about whether it was okay to dress up as a Hobo which was my costume of choice.  Thinking back, though essentially it is a homeless person, I did not consider my costume in any terms other than it was <em>cheap and convenient</em>.  You see my parents didn\'t have the money to buy costumes nor were they so rampantly available as they are today.  Is it just me or have costume stores been increasing?  It has made Halloween less creative and more expensive, though admittedly more convenient.\n\n<strong><em>But that does not mean </em><em>that we can turn of our brains and close our hearts when we walk into Halloween Superstores</em>.</strong>\n\nI realize now that a Hobo was a horrible thing to be for Halloween.  Those that find themselves homeless are real people, many of whom are certainly down on their luck and are oppressed by a society that makes assumptions about their worth.  Our stereotypes about the homeless are in many cases downright wrong. No-one would choose to be unshaven, dirty or poorly dressed and they are not all alcoholics.  But I digress.\n\n<strong>“We are a culture not a costume.”</strong>\n\nI read those words recently and it broke my heart that college kids have to actually utter them.  They were students at Ohio University who went so far as to develop an awareness campaign “We are culture not a costume” to educate other students and to fight the use of hurtful Halloween costumes that stereotype ethnic groups and cultures.   For their brave effort they have been mocked and criticized, but the haters are so wrong.\n\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/li-halloween-stars-620.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1299\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/li-halloween-stars-620.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"620\" height=\"349\" /></a>\n\nThe problem is that there are many beautiful cultures and people groups that are parodied, mocked and imitated today by unthinking or ignorant people.  (Not to mention how women are sexualized in every single profession and identity imaginable but that is not what this is about.)  Some of these are: <a href=\"http://education.byu.edu/diversity/culture.html#african\">African American &amp; African</a>, <a href=\"http://education.byu.edu/diversity/culture.html#asian\">Asian American, Asian, &amp; Pacific Islander</a>, <a href=\"http://education.byu.edu/diversity/culture.html#nativeamerican\">Native American</a>, <a href=\"http://education.byu.edu/diversity/culture.html#hispanic\">Hispanic &amp; Latino Americans</a>\n\nIf like me, you<em><strong> just never thought</strong></em>, I would encourage you to start thinking.  I cannot let another Halloween pass without writing this essay.\n\n<strong>Any costume that dresses you up as a real person, culture or people group implying that identity can be boiled down to a recognizable outfit is wrong.  It is white people creating symbols to define other races and then appropriating those symbols without any acknowledgment of their history.</strong> There is no part of any culture or history that should become a synonym or a stereotype.  Here are a few examples:\n<ul>\n	<li>Native indigenous cultures -- Anything Native American or “tribal” or for example<a title=\"Big Kahuna\" href=\"//www.amazon.com/Kahuna-Tribal-Tiki-Warrior-Costume/dp/B000EIGZ5C%3FSubscriptionId%3D19BAZMZQFZJ6G2QYGCG2%26tag%3Dsquidooa32991-\" target=\"_blank\"> this</a> “Big Kahuna Fat Tribal Tiki Warrior.</li>\n	<li>Or the use of “Asian” stereotypes of any sort.b Asian Americans are highly diverse, with dozens of ethnic backgrounds and languages, including individuals from Chinese, Japanes, Korean, Indonesian, Laotion, Philippine, Thai, and Vietnamese ancestry.  How can this be summed up, for example by these <a title=\"Glasses\" href=\"http://www.motifake.com/20741\">Chop Suey Specs</a>.   Or if you sound it out phonetically to make it “Asian-sounding” like the \'Fee Ling Yu Asian Man Halloween Mask.\' <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ILLEGAL-ALIEN-400.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-1301 alignleft\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ILLEGAL-ALIEN-400-240x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"192\" height=\"240\" /></a></li>\n	<li>Mexicans and other immigrants are not “illegal aliens” nor do all the other Latinos in the U.S. do not wear sombreros, over-sized mustache, and a poncho. I’m no <a title=\"Understanding Hispanic Culture\" href=\"http://old.diocesephoenix.org/fc/CatecheticalLeadership/ChurchDocs/UnderstandingtheHispanicCulture.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">expert</a>, but I think people that we call “Hispanics” or Latinos in the US come from <em>at least</em> 20 different countries and cultures including Colombian, Venezuelan, Mexican.  In the US we tend to lump them all together but they have beautiful and distinct languages, cultures and heritages.</li>\n	<li>Ghetto or Gangsta are in and of themselves parts of American culture that should not be mocked or stereotyped, if we don’t understand them.  I will be the first to admit the impulse to pull up or pull down the pants of young men that I see wearing their belt at their knees.  I find it silly, but even so things like the puzzling \"Tighty Whitey\" costume complete with a \"jumpsuit that makes it appear you are wearing your pants around your knees\" are wrong.  Rappers are culture in and of themselves whether you or I value it or not.</li>\n</ul>\nUniversity of Toronto researcher of stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination, Alison Chasteen <a href=\"http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/10/26/halloween-racist-costumes.html\" target=\"_blank\">noted</a>:\n<blockquote>\"We know from past research that exposure to stereotypical images can activate stereotypes in people\'s minds and influence their subsequent behavior…That is why efforts such as this one in Ohio are needed to educate people about racist images in an attempt to reduce stereotypical portrayals of minority groups.\"</blockquote>\nSome may say lighten up Melody!  It’s only in fun.  I’m not laughing.  And neither should you.  We cannot be a part of perpetuating racism and bigotry, no matter our reasons and especially not \"in fun.\"\n\nIt’s just not funny. This Halloween let’s respect and honor those that are different from us.  And, here\'s a crazy thought perhaps even learn more about that which we do not at first glance understand.\n\nOur friends deserve our respect.  And perhaps one day we will treasure them as much as our Lord did, for they (too) are made in God’s image.\n\nThen God said, \"Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.\" Genesis 1:26 NIV\n\nThe bottom line here:  Just think!\n\nOther Resources:\n\nKudos to <a title=\"The Root\" href=\"http://www.theroot.com/multimedia/racially-insensitive-halloween-costumes\" target=\"_blank\">The Root</a> for pointing out these racially and culturally insensitive costumes.  If you don’t read The Root, you should.\n\nThanks to <a href=\"http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jarrah-hodge\">Jarrah Hodge</a> for some <a title=\"Cool Costume Ideas\" href=\"http://www.gender-focus.com/?s=costume&amp;searchbutton=go%21\" target=\"_blank\">cool costume ideas </a> and I can’t resist adding her list of<a title=\"Feminist Costumes\" href=\"http://www.gender-focus.com/2010/10/21/feminist-halloween-costumes/\" target=\"_blank\"> Feminist costume choices.\n</a>','??? title????','','inherit','open','open','','1298-revision-7','','','2011-10-27 09:47:07','2011-10-27 16:47:07','',1298,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1298-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(1301,64,'2011-10-27 09:31:02','2011-10-27 16:31:02','','ILLEGAL ALIEN-400','','inherit','open','open','','illegal-alien-400','','','2011-10-27 09:31:02','2011-10-27 16:31:02','',1298,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ILLEGAL-ALIEN-400.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(1299,64,'2011-10-27 09:22:46','2011-10-27 16:22:46','','li-halloween-stars-620','','inherit','open','open','','li-halloween-stars-620','','','2011-10-27 09:22:46','2011-10-27 16:22:46','',1298,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/li-halloween-stars-620.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(1302,64,'2011-10-27 09:37:48','2011-10-27 16:37:48','<strong>I Never Thought</strong>\n\nMy trick-or-treating years were in the 70\'s.  Back then, I honestly never thought about whether it was okay to dress up as a Hobo which was my costume of choice.  Thinking back, though essentially a homeless person, I didn’t think about my costume in any terms other than it was cheap and convenient.  You see my parents didn\'t have the money to buy costumes nor do were they so rampantly available as they are today.  Is it just me, or have costume stores been increasing?  It has made Halloween less creative and more expensive, though admittedly more convenient.  <em>But that does not mean </em><em>that we can turn of our brains and close our hearts when we walk into Halloween Superstores</em>.\n\nI realize now that a Hobo was a horrible thing to be for Halloween.  Those that find themselves homeless are real people, many of whom are certainly down on their luck and are oppressed by a society that makes assumptions about their worth.  Our stereotypes about the homeless are in many cases downright wrong. No-one would choose to be unshaven, dirty or poorly dressed and they are not all alcoholics.  But I digress.\n\n<strong>“We are a culture not a costume.”</strong>\n\nI read those words recently and it broke my heart that college kids have to actually say those words.  They were students at Ohio University who went so far as to develop an awareness campaign “We are culture not a costume” to educate other student and to fight the use of hurtful Halloween costumes that stereotype ethnic groups and cultures.   For their brave effort they have been mocked and criticized, but the haters are so wrong.\n\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/li-halloween-stars-620.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1299\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/li-halloween-stars-620.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"620\" height=\"349\" /></a>\n\nThe problem is that there are many beautiful cultures and people groups that are parodied, mocked and imitated today by unthinking or ignorant people.  (Not to mention how women are sexualized in every single profession and identity imaginable but that is not what this is about.)  Some of these are:\n\n<a href=\"http://education.byu.edu/diversity/culture.html#african\">African American &amp; African</a>\n<a href=\"http://education.byu.edu/diversity/culture.html#asian\">Asian American, Asian, &amp; Pacific Islander</a>\n<a href=\"http://education.byu.edu/diversity/culture.html#nativeamerican\">Native American</a>\n<a href=\"http://education.byu.edu/diversity/culture.html#hispanic\">Hispanic &amp; Latino Americans</a>\n\nIf like me, you<em><strong> just never thought</strong></em>, I would encourage you to start thinking.  I cannot let another Halloween pass without writing this essay.\n\n<strong>Any costume that dresses you up as a real person, culture or people group implying that racial identity can be boiled down to a recognizable outfit is wrong.  It is white people creating symbols to define other races, and then appropriating those symbols without any acknowledgment of their history.</strong> There is no part of any culture or history that should become a synonym or a stereotype.  This includes:\n<ul>\n	<li>Native indigenous cultures -- Anything Native American or “tribal” or for example<a title=\"Big Kahuna\" href=\"//www.amazon.com/Kahuna-Tribal-Tiki-Warrior-Costume/dp/B000EIGZ5C%3FSubscriptionId%3D19BAZMZQFZJ6G2QYGCG2%26tag%3Dsquidooa32991-\" target=\"_blank\"> this</a> “Big Kahuna Fat Tribal Tiki Warrior.</li>\n	<li>Or the use of “Asian” stereotypes of any sort.b Asian Americans are highly diverse, with dozens of ethnic backgrounds and languages, including individuals from Chinese, Japanes, Korean, Indonesian, Laotion, Philippine, Thai, and Vietnamese ancestry.  How can this be summed up, for example by these <a title=\"Glasses\" href=\"http://www.motifake.com/20741\">Chop Suey Specs</a>.   Or if you sound it out phonetically to make it “Asian-sounding” like the \'Fee Ling Yu Asian Man Halloween Mask.\' <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ILLEGAL-ALIEN-400.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-1301 alignleft\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ILLEGAL-ALIEN-400-240x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"192\" height=\"240\" /></a></li>\n	<li>Mexicans and other immigrants are not “illegal aliens” nor do all the other Latinos in the U.S. do not wear sombreros, over-sized mustache, and a poncho. I’m no <a title=\"Understanding Hispanic Culture\" href=\"http://old.diocesephoenix.org/fc/CatecheticalLeadership/ChurchDocs/UnderstandingtheHispanicCulture.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">expert</a>, but I think people that we call “Hispanics” or Latinos in the US come from <em>at least</em> 20 different countries and cultures including Colombian, Venezuelan, Mexican.  In the US we tend to lump them all together but they have beautiful and distinct languages, cultures and heritages.</li>\n	<li>Ghetto or Gangsta are in and of themselves parts of American culture that should not be mocked or stereotyped, if we don’t understand them.  I will be the first to admit the impulse to pull up or pull down the pants of young men that I see wearing their belt at their knees.  I find it silly, but even so things like the puzzling \"Tighty Whitey\" costume complete with a \"jumpsuit that makes it appear you are wearing your pants around your knees\" are wrong.  Rappers are culture in and of themselves whether you or I value it or not.</li>\n</ul>\nUniversity of Toronto researcher of stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination, Alison Chasteen <a href=\"http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/10/26/halloween-racist-costumes.html\" target=\"_blank\">noted</a>:\n<blockquote>\"We know from past research that exposure to stereotypical images can activate stereotypes in people\'s minds and influence their subsequent behavior…That is why efforts such as this one in Ohio are needed to educate people about racist images in an attempt to reduce stereotypical portrayals of minority groups.\"</blockquote>\nSome may say lighten up Melody!  It’s only in fun.  I’m not laughing.  And neither should you.  We cannot be a part of perpetuating racism and bigotry, no matter our reasons and especially not \"in fun.\"\n\nIt’s just not funny. This Halloween let’s respect and honor those that are different from us.  And, here\'s a crazy thought perhaps even learn more about that which we do not at first glance understand.\n\nOur friends deserve our respect.  And perhaps one day we will treasure them as much as our Lord did, for they (too) are made in God’s image.\n\nThen God said, \"Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.\" Genesis 1:26 NIV\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOther Resources:\n\nKudos to <a title=\"The Root\" href=\"http://www.theroot.com/multimedia/racially-insensitive-halloween-costumes\" target=\"_blank\">The Root</a> for pointing out these racially and culturally insensitive costumes.  If you don’t read The Root, you should.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.gender-focus.com/?s=costume&amp;searchbutton=go%21\">http://www.gender-focus.com/?s=costume&amp;searchbutton=go%21</a> Thanks to <strong><a href=\"http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jarrah-hodge\">Jarrah Hodge</a> for </strong>some cool costume ideas and I can’t resist adding her list of Feminist costume choices <a href=\"http://www.gender-focus.com/2010/10/21/feminist-halloween-costumes/\">http://www.gender-focus.com/2010/10/21/feminist-halloween-costumes/</a>\n\nHere’s something I found about understanding Hispanic Culture. <a href=\"http://old.diocesephoenix.org/fc/CatecheticalLeadership/ChurchDocs/UnderstandingtheHispanicCulture.pdf\">http://old.diocesephoenix.org/fc/CatecheticalLeadership/ChurchDocs/UnderstandingtheHispanicCulture.pdf</a>','??? title????','','inherit','open','open','','1298-revision-2','','','2011-10-27 09:37:48','2011-10-27 16:37:48','',1298,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1298-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(1300,64,'2011-10-27 09:24:54','2011-10-27 16:24:54','<strong>I Never Thought</strong>\n\nMy trick-or-treating years were in the 70\'s.  Back then, I honestly never thought about whether it was okay to dress up as a Hobo which was my costume of choice.  Thinking back, though essentially a homeless person, I didn’t think about my costume in any terms other than it was cheap and convenient.  You see my parents didn\'t have the money to buy costumes nor do were they so rampantly available as they are today.  Is it just me, or have costume stores been increasing?  It has made Halloween less creative and more expensive, though admittedly more convenient.  <em>But that does not mean </em><em>that we can turn of our brains and close our hearts when we walk into Halloween Superstores</em>.\n\nI realize now that a Hobo was a horrible thing to be for Halloween.  Those that find themselves homeless are real people, many of whom are certainly down on their luck and are oppressed by a society that makes assumptions about their worth.  Our stereotypes about the homeless are in many cases downright wrong. No-one would choose to be unshaven, dirty or poorly dressed and they are not all alcoholics.  But I digress.\n\n<strong>“We are a culture not a costume.”</strong>\n\nI read those words recently and it broke my heart that college kids have to actually say those words.  They were students at Ohio University who went so far as to develop an awareness campaign “We are culture not a costume” to educate other student and to fight the use of hurtful Halloween costumes that stereotype ethnic groups and cultures.   For their brave effort they have been mocked and criticized, but the haters are so wrong.\n\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/li-halloween-stars-620.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1299\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/li-halloween-stars-620.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"620\" height=\"349\" /></a>\n\nThe problem is that there are many beautiful cultures and people groups that are parodied, mocked and imitated today by unthinking or ignorant people.  (Not to mention how women are sexualized in every single profession and identity imaginable but that is not what this is about.)  Some of these are:\n\n<a href=\"http://education.byu.edu/diversity/culture.html#african\">African American &amp; African</a>\n<a href=\"http://education.byu.edu/diversity/culture.html#asian\">Asian American, Asian, &amp; Pacific Islander</a>\n<a href=\"http://education.byu.edu/diversity/culture.html#nativeamerican\">Native American</a>\n<a href=\"http://education.byu.edu/diversity/culture.html#hispanic\">Hispanic &amp; Latino Americans</a>\n\nIf like me, you<em><strong> just never thought</strong></em>, I would encourage you to start thinking.  I cannot let another Halloween pass without writing this essay.\n\n<strong>Any costume that dresses you up as a real person, culture or people group implying that racial identity can be boiled down to a recognizable outfit is wrong.  It is white people creating symbols to define other races, and then appropriating those symbols without any acknowledgment of their history.</strong> There is no part of any culture or history that should become a synonym or a stereotype.  This includes:\n<ul>\n	<li>Native indigenous cultures -- Anything Native American or “tribal” or for example this “Big Kahuna Fat Tribal Tiki Warrior.</li>\n	<li>Or the use of “Asian” stereotypes of any sort. Asian Americans are highly diverse, with dozens of ethnic backgrounds and languages, including individuals from Chinese, Japanses, Korean, Indonesian, Laotion, Philippine, Thai, and Vietnamese ancestry.  How can this be summed up, for example by these Chop Suey Specs\' <a href=\"http://www.motifake.com/20741\">http://www.motifake.com/20741</a>   Or if you sound it out phonetically that makes it “Asian-sounding” like the \'Fee Ling Yu Asian Man Halloween Mask\' <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Fee-Ling-Asian-Halloween-Mask/dp/B000VP79LC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&amp;s=apparel&amp;qid=1256223149&amp;sr=8-3;\">http://www.amazon.com/Fee-Ling-Asian-Halloween-Mask/dp/B000VP79LC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&amp;s=apparel&amp;qid=1256223149&amp;sr=8-3;</a></li>\n	<li>Mexicans and other immigrants are not “illegal aliens” nor do all the other Latinos in the U.S. do not wear \"<a href=\"http://www.zoogstercostumes.com/products/fm59543.html\" target=\"_blank\">a sombrero, oversized moustache, poncho and pants</a>.”  I’m no expert, <a href=\"http://old.diocesephoenix.org/fc/CatecheticalLeadership/ChurchDocs/UnderstandingtheHispanicCulture.pdf\">http://old.diocesephoenix.org/fc/CatecheticalLeadership/ChurchDocs/UnderstandingtheHispanicCulture.pdf</a>  but I think people that we call “Hispanics” or Latinos in the US come from at least 20 different countries and cultures including Colombian, Venezuelan, Mexican.  In the US we tend to lump them all together but they are beautiful and distinct cultures and heritages.</li>\n	<li>Ghetto or Gangsta are in and of themselves parts of American culture that should not be mocked or stereotyped, if we don’t understand them.  I will be the first to admit the impulse to pull up or pull down the pants of young men that I see wearing their belt at their knees.  I find it silly, but even so things like this puzzling \"<a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Tighty-Whitey-Costume-Child-Large/dp/B001F7P52K\" target=\"_blank\">Tighty Whitey\"</a> outfit (complete with a \"jumpsuit that makes it appear you are wearing your pants around your knees\") is wrong.  Rappers are culture in and of themselves whether you value it or not.</li>\n</ul>\nUniversity of Toronto researcher of stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination, Alison Chasteen <a href=\"http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/10/26/halloween-racist-costumes.html\" target=\"_blank\">noted</a>:\n\n\"We know from past research that exposure to stereotypical images can activate stereotypes in people\'s minds and influence their subsequent behavior…That is why efforts such as this one in Ohio are needed to educate people about racist images in an attempt to reduce stereotypical portrayals of minority groups.\"\n\nSome may say lighten up.  It’s only in fun.  I’m not laughing.  And neither should you.  We cannot be a part of perpetuating racism and bigotry, no matter our reasons and especially not in fun.\n\nIt’s not funny. This Halloween let’s respect and honor those that are different and perhaps even learn more about what we do not at first glance understand.  Our friends deserve our respect.  And perhaps one day we will treasure them as much as our Lord did, for they are made in God’s image.\n\nThen God said, \"Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.\" Genesis 1:26 NIV\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOther Resources:\n\nKudos to <a title=\"The Root\" href=\"http://www.theroot.com/multimedia/racially-insensitive-halloween-costumes\" target=\"_blank\">The Root</a> for pointing out these racially and culturally insensitive costumes.  If you don’t read The Root, you should.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.gender-focus.com/?s=costume&amp;searchbutton=go%21\">http://www.gender-focus.com/?s=costume&amp;searchbutton=go%21</a> Thanks to <strong><a href=\"http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jarrah-hodge\">Jarrah Hodge</a> for </strong>some cool costume ideas and I can’t resist adding her list of Feminist costume choices <a href=\"http://www.gender-focus.com/2010/10/21/feminist-halloween-costumes/\">http://www.gender-focus.com/2010/10/21/feminist-halloween-costumes/</a>\n\nHere’s something I found about understanding Hispanic Culture. <a href=\"http://old.diocesephoenix.org/fc/CatecheticalLeadership/ChurchDocs/UnderstandingtheHispanicCulture.pdf\">http://old.diocesephoenix.org/fc/CatecheticalLeadership/ChurchDocs/UnderstandingtheHispanicCulture.pdf</a>','??? title????','','inherit','open','open','','1298-revision','','','2011-10-27 09:24:54','2011-10-27 16:24:54','',1298,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1298-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(1303,64,'2011-10-27 09:38:41','2011-10-27 16:38:41','<strong>I Never Thought</strong>\r\n\r\nMy trick-or-treating years were in the 70\'s.  Back then, I honestly never thought about whether it was okay to dress up as a Hobo which was my costume of choice.  Thinking back, though essentially a homeless person, I didn’t think about my costume in any terms other than it was cheap and convenient.  You see my parents didn\'t have the money to buy costumes nor do were they so rampantly available as they are today.  Is it just me, or have costume stores been increasing?  It has made Halloween less creative and more expensive, though admittedly more convenient.  <em>But that does not mean </em><em>that we can turn of our brains and close our hearts when we walk into Halloween Superstores</em>.\r\n\r\nI realize now that a Hobo was a horrible thing to be for Halloween.  Those that find themselves homeless are real people, many of whom are certainly down on their luck and are oppressed by a society that makes assumptions about their worth.  Our stereotypes about the homeless are in many cases downright wrong. No-one would choose to be unshaven, dirty or poorly dressed and they are not all alcoholics.  But I digress.\r\n\r\n<strong>“We are a culture not a costume.”</strong>\r\n\r\nI read those words recently and it broke my heart that college kids have to actually say those words.  They were students at Ohio University who went so far as to develop an awareness campaign “We are culture not a costume” to educate other student and to fight the use of hurtful Halloween costumes that stereotype ethnic groups and cultures.   For their brave effort they have been mocked and criticized, but the haters are so wrong.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/li-halloween-stars-620.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1299\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/li-halloween-stars-620.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"620\" height=\"349\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe problem is that there are many beautiful cultures and people groups that are parodied, mocked and imitated today by unthinking or ignorant people.  (Not to mention how women are sexualized in every single profession and identity imaginable but that is not what this is about.)  Some of these are:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://education.byu.edu/diversity/culture.html#african\">African American &amp; African</a>\r\n<a href=\"http://education.byu.edu/diversity/culture.html#asian\">Asian American, Asian, &amp; Pacific Islander</a>\r\n<a href=\"http://education.byu.edu/diversity/culture.html#nativeamerican\">Native American</a>\r\n<a href=\"http://education.byu.edu/diversity/culture.html#hispanic\">Hispanic &amp; Latino Americans</a>\r\n\r\nIf like me, you<em><strong> just never thought</strong></em>, I would encourage you to start thinking.  I cannot let another Halloween pass without writing this essay.\r\n\r\n<strong>Any costume that dresses you up as a real person, culture or people group implying that racial identity can be boiled down to a recognizable outfit is wrong.  It is white people creating symbols to define other races, and then appropriating those symbols without any acknowledgment of their history.</strong> There is no part of any culture or history that should become a synonym or a stereotype.  This includes:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Native indigenous cultures -- Anything Native American or “tribal” or for example<a title=\"Big Kahuna\" href=\"//www.amazon.com/Kahuna-Tribal-Tiki-Warrior-Costume/dp/B000EIGZ5C%3FSubscriptionId%3D19BAZMZQFZJ6G2QYGCG2%26tag%3Dsquidooa32991-\" target=\"_blank\"> this</a> “Big Kahuna Fat Tribal Tiki Warrior.</li>\r\n	<li>Or the use of “Asian” stereotypes of any sort.b Asian Americans are highly diverse, with dozens of ethnic backgrounds and languages, including individuals from Chinese, Japanes, Korean, Indonesian, Laotion, Philippine, Thai, and Vietnamese ancestry.  How can this be summed up, for example by these <a title=\"Glasses\" href=\"http://www.motifake.com/20741\">Chop Suey Specs</a>.   Or if you sound it out phonetically to make it “Asian-sounding” like the \'Fee Ling Yu Asian Man Halloween Mask.\' <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ILLEGAL-ALIEN-400.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-1301 alignleft\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ILLEGAL-ALIEN-400-240x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"192\" height=\"240\" /></a></li>\r\n	<li>Mexicans and other immigrants are not “illegal aliens” nor do all the other Latinos in the U.S. do not wear sombreros, over-sized mustache, and a poncho. I’m no <a title=\"Understanding Hispanic Culture\" href=\"http://old.diocesephoenix.org/fc/CatecheticalLeadership/ChurchDocs/UnderstandingtheHispanicCulture.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">expert</a>, but I think people that we call “Hispanics” or Latinos in the US come from <em>at least</em> 20 different countries and cultures including Colombian, Venezuelan, Mexican.  In the US we tend to lump them all together but they have beautiful and distinct languages, cultures and heritages.</li>\r\n	<li>Ghetto or Gangsta are in and of themselves parts of American culture that should not be mocked or stereotyped, if we don’t understand them.  I will be the first to admit the impulse to pull up or pull down the pants of young men that I see wearing their belt at their knees.  I find it silly, but even so things like the puzzling \"Tighty Whitey\" costume complete with a \"jumpsuit that makes it appear you are wearing your pants around your knees\" are wrong.  Rappers are culture in and of themselves whether you or I value it or not.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nUniversity of Toronto researcher of stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination, Alison Chasteen <a href=\"http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/10/26/halloween-racist-costumes.html\" target=\"_blank\">noted</a>:\r\n<blockquote>\"We know from past research that exposure to stereotypical images can activate stereotypes in people\'s minds and influence their subsequent behavior…That is why efforts such as this one in Ohio are needed to educate people about racist images in an attempt to reduce stereotypical portrayals of minority groups.\"</blockquote>\r\nSome may say lighten up Melody!  It’s only in fun.  I’m not laughing.  And neither should you.  We cannot be a part of perpetuating racism and bigotry, no matter our reasons and especially not \"in fun.\"\r\n\r\nIt’s just not funny. This Halloween let’s respect and honor those that are different from us.  And, here\'s a crazy thought perhaps even learn more about that which we do not at first glance understand.\r\n\r\nOur friends deserve our respect.  And perhaps one day we will treasure them as much as our Lord did, for they (too) are made in God’s image.\r\n\r\nThen God said, \"Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.\" Genesis 1:26 NIV\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOther Resources:\r\n\r\nKudos to <a title=\"The Root\" href=\"http://www.theroot.com/multimedia/racially-insensitive-halloween-costumes\" target=\"_blank\">The Root</a> for pointing out these racially and culturally insensitive costumes.  If you don’t read The Root, you should.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.gender-focus.com/?s=costume&amp;searchbutton=go%21\">http://www.gender-focus.com/?s=costume&amp;searchbutton=go%21</a> Thanks to <strong><a href=\"http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jarrah-hodge\">Jarrah Hodge</a> for </strong>some cool costume ideas and I can’t resist adding her list of Feminist costume choices <a href=\"http://www.gender-focus.com/2010/10/21/feminist-halloween-costumes/\">http://www.gender-focus.com/2010/10/21/feminist-halloween-costumes/</a>\r\n\r\nHere’s something I found about understanding Hispanic Culture. <a href=\"http://old.diocesephoenix.org/fc/CatecheticalLeadership/ChurchDocs/UnderstandingtheHispanicCulture.pdf\">http://old.diocesephoenix.org/fc/CatecheticalLeadership/ChurchDocs/UnderstandingtheHispanicCulture.pdf</a>','??? title????','','inherit','open','open','','1298-revision-3','','','2011-10-27 09:38:41','2011-10-27 16:38:41','',1298,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1298-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(1304,64,'2011-10-27 09:38:48','2011-10-27 16:38:48','<strong>I Never Thought</strong>\r\n\r\nMy trick-or-treating years were in the 70\'s.  Back then, I honestly never thought about whether it was okay to dress up as a Hobo which was my costume of choice.  Thinking back, though essentially a homeless person, I didn’t think about my costume in any terms other than it was cheap and convenient.  You see my parents didn\'t have the money to buy costumes nor do were they so rampantly available as they are today.  Is it just me, or have costume stores been increasing?  It has made Halloween less creative and more expensive, though admittedly more convenient.  <em>But that does not mean </em><em>that we can turn of our brains and close our hearts when we walk into Halloween Superstores</em>.\r\n\r\nI realize now that a Hobo was a horrible thing to be for Halloween.  Those that find themselves homeless are real people, many of whom are certainly down on their luck and are oppressed by a society that makes assumptions about their worth.  Our stereotypes about the homeless are in many cases downright wrong. No-one would choose to be unshaven, dirty or poorly dressed and they are not all alcoholics.  But I digress.\r\n\r\n<strong>“We are a culture not a costume.”</strong>\r\n\r\nI read those words recently and it broke my heart that college kids have to actually say those words.  They were students at Ohio University who went so far as to develop an awareness campaign “We are culture not a costume” to educate other student and to fight the use of hurtful Halloween costumes that stereotype ethnic groups and cultures.   For their brave effort they have been mocked and criticized, but the haters are so wrong.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/li-halloween-stars-620.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1299\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/li-halloween-stars-620.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"620\" height=\"349\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe problem is that there are many beautiful cultures and people groups that are parodied, mocked and imitated today by unthinking or ignorant people.  (Not to mention how women are sexualized in every single profession and identity imaginable but that is not what this is about.)  Some of these are:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://education.byu.edu/diversity/culture.html#african\">African American &amp; African</a>\r\n<a href=\"http://education.byu.edu/diversity/culture.html#asian\">Asian American, Asian, &amp; Pacific Islander</a>\r\n<a href=\"http://education.byu.edu/diversity/culture.html#nativeamerican\">Native American</a>\r\n<a href=\"http://education.byu.edu/diversity/culture.html#hispanic\">Hispanic &amp; Latino Americans</a>\r\n\r\nIf like me, you<em><strong> just never thought</strong></em>, I would encourage you to start thinking.  I cannot let another Halloween pass without writing this essay.\r\n\r\n<strong>Any costume that dresses you up as a real person, culture or people group implying that racial identity can be boiled down to a recognizable outfit is wrong.  It is white people creating symbols to define other races, and then appropriating those symbols without any acknowledgment of their history.</strong> There is no part of any culture or history that should become a synonym or a stereotype.  This includes:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Native indigenous cultures -- Anything Native American or “tribal” or for example<a title=\"Big Kahuna\" href=\"//www.amazon.com/Kahuna-Tribal-Tiki-Warrior-Costume/dp/B000EIGZ5C%3FSubscriptionId%3D19BAZMZQFZJ6G2QYGCG2%26tag%3Dsquidooa32991-\" target=\"_blank\"> this</a> “Big Kahuna Fat Tribal Tiki Warrior.</li>\r\n	<li>Or the use of “Asian” stereotypes of any sort.b Asian Americans are highly diverse, with dozens of ethnic backgrounds and languages, including individuals from Chinese, Japanes, Korean, Indonesian, Laotion, Philippine, Thai, and Vietnamese ancestry.  How can this be summed up, for example by these <a title=\"Glasses\" href=\"http://www.motifake.com/20741\">Chop Suey Specs</a>.   Or if you sound it out phonetically to make it “Asian-sounding” like the \'Fee Ling Yu Asian Man Halloween Mask.\' <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ILLEGAL-ALIEN-400.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-1301 alignleft\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ILLEGAL-ALIEN-400-240x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"192\" height=\"240\" /></a></li>\r\n	<li>Mexicans and other immigrants are not “illegal aliens” nor do all the other Latinos in the U.S. do not wear sombreros, over-sized mustache, and a poncho. I’m no <a title=\"Understanding Hispanic Culture\" href=\"http://old.diocesephoenix.org/fc/CatecheticalLeadership/ChurchDocs/UnderstandingtheHispanicCulture.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">expert</a>, but I think people that we call “Hispanics” or Latinos in the US come from <em>at least</em> 20 different countries and cultures including Colombian, Venezuelan, Mexican.  In the US we tend to lump them all together but they have beautiful and distinct languages, cultures and heritages.</li>\r\n	<li>Ghetto or Gangsta are in and of themselves parts of American culture that should not be mocked or stereotyped, if we don’t understand them.  I will be the first to admit the impulse to pull up or pull down the pants of young men that I see wearing their belt at their knees.  I find it silly, but even so things like the puzzling \"Tighty Whitey\" costume complete with a \"jumpsuit that makes it appear you are wearing your pants around your knees\" are wrong.  Rappers are culture in and of themselves whether you or I value it or not.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nUniversity of Toronto researcher of stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination, Alison Chasteen <a href=\"http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/10/26/halloween-racist-costumes.html\" target=\"_blank\">noted</a>:\r\n<blockquote>\"We know from past research that exposure to stereotypical images can activate stereotypes in people\'s minds and influence their subsequent behavior…That is why efforts such as this one in Ohio are needed to educate people about racist images in an attempt to reduce stereotypical portrayals of minority groups.\"</blockquote>\r\nSome may say lighten up Melody!  It’s only in fun.  I’m not laughing.  And neither should you.  We cannot be a part of perpetuating racism and bigotry, no matter our reasons and especially not \"in fun.\"\r\n\r\nIt’s just not funny. This Halloween let’s respect and honor those that are different from us.  And, here\'s a crazy thought perhaps even learn more about that which we do not at first glance understand.\r\n\r\nOur friends deserve our respect.  And perhaps one day we will treasure them as much as our Lord did, for they (too) are made in God’s image.\r\n\r\nThen God said, \"Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.\" Genesis 1:26 NIV\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOther Resources:\r\n\r\nKudos to <a title=\"The Root\" href=\"http://www.theroot.com/multimedia/racially-insensitive-halloween-costumes\" target=\"_blank\">The Root</a> for pointing out these racially and culturally insensitive costumes.  If you don’t read The Root, you should.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.gender-focus.com/?s=costume&amp;searchbutton=go%21\">http://www.gender-focus.com/?s=costume&amp;searchbutton=go%21</a> Thanks to <strong><a href=\"http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jarrah-hodge\">Jarrah Hodge</a> for </strong>some cool costume ideas and I can’t resist adding her list of Feminist costume choices <a href=\"http://www.gender-focus.com/2010/10/21/feminist-halloween-costumes/\">http://www.gender-focus.com/2010/10/21/feminist-halloween-costumes/</a>\r\n\r\nHere’s something I found about understanding Hispanic Culture. <a href=\"http://old.diocesephoenix.org/fc/CatecheticalLeadership/ChurchDocs/UnderstandingtheHispanicCulture.pdf\">http://old.diocesephoenix.org/fc/CatecheticalLeadership/ChurchDocs/UnderstandingtheHispanicCulture.pdf</a>','??? title????','','inherit','open','open','','1298-revision-4','','','2011-10-27 09:38:48','2011-10-27 16:38:48','',1298,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1298-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(1305,64,'2011-10-27 09:40:45','2011-10-27 16:40:45','<strong>I Never Thought</strong>\r\n\r\nMy trick-or-treating years were in the 70\'s.  Back then, I honestly never thought about whether it was okay to dress up as a Hobo which was my costume of choice.  Thinking back, though essentially it is a homeless person, I did not consider my costume in any terms other than it was <em>cheap and convenient</em>.  You see my parents didn\'t have the money to buy costumes nor were they so rampantly available as they are today.  Is it just me or have costume stores been increasing?  It has made Halloween less creative and more expensive, though admittedly more convenient.\r\n\r\n<strong><em>But that does not mean </em><em>that we can turn of our brains and close our hearts when we walk into Halloween Superstores</em>.</strong>\r\n\r\nI realize now that a Hobo was a horrible thing to be for Halloween.  Those that find themselves homeless are real people, many of whom are certainly down on their luck and are oppressed by a society that makes assumptions about their worth.  Our stereotypes about the homeless are in many cases downright wrong. No-one would choose to be unshaven, dirty or poorly dressed and they are not all alcoholics.  But I digress.\r\n\r\n<strong>“We are a culture not a costume.”</strong>\r\n\r\nI read those words recently and it broke my heart that college kids have to actually say those words.  They were students at Ohio University who went so far as to develop an awareness campaign “We are culture not a costume” to educate other student and to fight the use of hurtful Halloween costumes that stereotype ethnic groups and cultures.   For their brave effort they have been mocked and criticized, but the haters are so wrong.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/li-halloween-stars-620.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1299\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/li-halloween-stars-620.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"620\" height=\"349\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe problem is that there are many beautiful cultures and people groups that are parodied, mocked and imitated today by unthinking or ignorant people.  (Not to mention how women are sexualized in every single profession and identity imaginable but that is not what this is about.)  Some of these are:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://education.byu.edu/diversity/culture.html#african\">African American &amp; African</a>\r\n<a href=\"http://education.byu.edu/diversity/culture.html#asian\">Asian American, Asian, &amp; Pacific Islander</a>\r\n<a href=\"http://education.byu.edu/diversity/culture.html#nativeamerican\">Native American</a>\r\n<a href=\"http://education.byu.edu/diversity/culture.html#hispanic\">Hispanic &amp; Latino Americans</a>\r\n\r\nIf like me, you<em><strong> just never thought</strong></em>, I would encourage you to start thinking.  I cannot let another Halloween pass without writing this essay.\r\n\r\n<strong>Any costume that dresses you up as a real person, culture or people group implying that racial identity can be boiled down to a recognizable outfit is wrong.  It is white people creating symbols to define other races, and then appropriating those symbols without any acknowledgment of their history.</strong> There is no part of any culture or history that should become a synonym or a stereotype.  This includes:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Native indigenous cultures -- Anything Native American or “tribal” or for example<a title=\"Big Kahuna\" href=\"//www.amazon.com/Kahuna-Tribal-Tiki-Warrior-Costume/dp/B000EIGZ5C%3FSubscriptionId%3D19BAZMZQFZJ6G2QYGCG2%26tag%3Dsquidooa32991-\" target=\"_blank\"> this</a> “Big Kahuna Fat Tribal Tiki Warrior.</li>\r\n	<li>Or the use of “Asian” stereotypes of any sort.b Asian Americans are highly diverse, with dozens of ethnic backgrounds and languages, including individuals from Chinese, Japanes, Korean, Indonesian, Laotion, Philippine, Thai, and Vietnamese ancestry.  How can this be summed up, for example by these <a title=\"Glasses\" href=\"http://www.motifake.com/20741\">Chop Suey Specs</a>.   Or if you sound it out phonetically to make it “Asian-sounding” like the \'Fee Ling Yu Asian Man Halloween Mask.\' <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ILLEGAL-ALIEN-400.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-1301 alignleft\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ILLEGAL-ALIEN-400-240x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"192\" height=\"240\" /></a></li>\r\n	<li>Mexicans and other immigrants are not “illegal aliens” nor do all the other Latinos in the U.S. do not wear sombreros, over-sized mustache, and a poncho. I’m no <a title=\"Understanding Hispanic Culture\" href=\"http://old.diocesephoenix.org/fc/CatecheticalLeadership/ChurchDocs/UnderstandingtheHispanicCulture.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">expert</a>, but I think people that we call “Hispanics” or Latinos in the US come from <em>at least</em> 20 different countries and cultures including Colombian, Venezuelan, Mexican.  In the US we tend to lump them all together but they have beautiful and distinct languages, cultures and heritages.</li>\r\n	<li>Ghetto or Gangsta are in and of themselves parts of American culture that should not be mocked or stereotyped, if we don’t understand them.  I will be the first to admit the impulse to pull up or pull down the pants of young men that I see wearing their belt at their knees.  I find it silly, but even so things like the puzzling \"Tighty Whitey\" costume complete with a \"jumpsuit that makes it appear you are wearing your pants around your knees\" are wrong.  Rappers are culture in and of themselves whether you or I value it or not.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nUniversity of Toronto researcher of stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination, Alison Chasteen <a href=\"http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/10/26/halloween-racist-costumes.html\" target=\"_blank\">noted</a>:\r\n<blockquote>\"We know from past research that exposure to stereotypical images can activate stereotypes in people\'s minds and influence their subsequent behavior…That is why efforts such as this one in Ohio are needed to educate people about racist images in an attempt to reduce stereotypical portrayals of minority groups.\"</blockquote>\r\nSome may say lighten up Melody!  It’s only in fun.  I’m not laughing.  And neither should you.  We cannot be a part of perpetuating racism and bigotry, no matter our reasons and especially not \"in fun.\"\r\n\r\nIt’s just not funny. This Halloween let’s respect and honor those that are different from us.  And, here\'s a crazy thought perhaps even learn more about that which we do not at first glance understand.\r\n\r\nOur friends deserve our respect.  And perhaps one day we will treasure them as much as our Lord did, for they (too) are made in God’s image.\r\n\r\nThen God said, \"Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.\" Genesis 1:26 NIV\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOther Resources:\r\n\r\nKudos to <a title=\"The Root\" href=\"http://www.theroot.com/multimedia/racially-insensitive-halloween-costumes\" target=\"_blank\">The Root</a> for pointing out these racially and culturally insensitive costumes.  If you don’t read The Root, you should.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.gender-focus.com/?s=costume&amp;searchbutton=go%21\">http://www.gender-focus.com/?s=costume&amp;searchbutton=go%21</a> Thanks to <strong><a href=\"http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jarrah-hodge\">Jarrah Hodge</a> for </strong>some cool costume ideas and I can’t resist adding her list of Feminist costume choices <a href=\"http://www.gender-focus.com/2010/10/21/feminist-halloween-costumes/\">http://www.gender-focus.com/2010/10/21/feminist-halloween-costumes/</a>\r\n\r\nHere’s something I found about understanding Hispanic Culture. <a href=\"http://old.diocesephoenix.org/fc/CatecheticalLeadership/ChurchDocs/UnderstandingtheHispanicCulture.pdf\">http://old.diocesephoenix.org/fc/CatecheticalLeadership/ChurchDocs/UnderstandingtheHispanicCulture.pdf</a>','??? title????','','inherit','open','open','','1298-revision-5','','','2011-10-27 09:40:45','2011-10-27 16:40:45','',1298,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1298-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(1306,64,'2011-10-27 09:40:51','2011-10-27 16:40:51','<strong>I Never Thought</strong>\r\n\r\nMy trick-or-treating years were in the 70\'s.  Back then, I honestly never thought about whether it was okay to dress up as a Hobo which was my costume of choice.  Thinking back, though essentially it is a homeless person, I did not consider my costume in any terms other than it was <em>cheap and convenient</em>.  You see my parents didn\'t have the money to buy costumes nor were they so rampantly available as they are today.  Is it just me or have costume stores been increasing?  It has made Halloween less creative and more expensive, though admittedly more convenient.\r\n\r\n<strong><em>But that does not mean </em><em>that we can turn of our brains and close our hearts when we walk into Halloween Superstores</em>.</strong>\r\n\r\nI realize now that a Hobo was a horrible thing to be for Halloween.  Those that find themselves homeless are real people, many of whom are certainly down on their luck and are oppressed by a society that makes assumptions about their worth.  Our stereotypes about the homeless are in many cases downright wrong. No-one would choose to be unshaven, dirty or poorly dressed and they are not all alcoholics.  But I digress.\r\n\r\n<strong>“We are a culture not a costume.”</strong>\r\n\r\nI read those words recently and it broke my heart that college kids have to actually say those words.  They were students at Ohio University who went so far as to develop an awareness campaign “We are culture not a costume” to educate other student and to fight the use of hurtful Halloween costumes that stereotype ethnic groups and cultures.   For their brave effort they have been mocked and criticized, but the haters are so wrong.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/li-halloween-stars-620.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1299\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/li-halloween-stars-620.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"620\" height=\"349\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe problem is that there are many beautiful cultures and people groups that are parodied, mocked and imitated today by unthinking or ignorant people.  (Not to mention how women are sexualized in every single profession and identity imaginable but that is not what this is about.)  Some of these are:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://education.byu.edu/diversity/culture.html#african\">African American &amp; African</a>\r\n<a href=\"http://education.byu.edu/diversity/culture.html#asian\">Asian American, Asian, &amp; Pacific Islander</a>\r\n<a href=\"http://education.byu.edu/diversity/culture.html#nativeamerican\">Native American</a>\r\n<a href=\"http://education.byu.edu/diversity/culture.html#hispanic\">Hispanic &amp; Latino Americans</a>\r\n\r\nIf like me, you<em><strong> just never thought</strong></em>, I would encourage you to start thinking.  I cannot let another Halloween pass without writing this essay.\r\n\r\n<strong>Any costume that dresses you up as a real person, culture or people group implying that racial identity can be boiled down to a recognizable outfit is wrong.  It is white people creating symbols to define other races, and then appropriating those symbols without any acknowledgment of their history.</strong> There is no part of any culture or history that should become a synonym or a stereotype.  This includes:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Native indigenous cultures -- Anything Native American or “tribal” or for example<a title=\"Big Kahuna\" href=\"//www.amazon.com/Kahuna-Tribal-Tiki-Warrior-Costume/dp/B000EIGZ5C%3FSubscriptionId%3D19BAZMZQFZJ6G2QYGCG2%26tag%3Dsquidooa32991-\" target=\"_blank\"> this</a> “Big Kahuna Fat Tribal Tiki Warrior.</li>\r\n	<li>Or the use of “Asian” stereotypes of any sort.b Asian Americans are highly diverse, with dozens of ethnic backgrounds and languages, including individuals from Chinese, Japanes, Korean, Indonesian, Laotion, Philippine, Thai, and Vietnamese ancestry.  How can this be summed up, for example by these <a title=\"Glasses\" href=\"http://www.motifake.com/20741\">Chop Suey Specs</a>.   Or if you sound it out phonetically to make it “Asian-sounding” like the \'Fee Ling Yu Asian Man Halloween Mask.\' <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ILLEGAL-ALIEN-400.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-1301 alignleft\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ILLEGAL-ALIEN-400-240x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"192\" height=\"240\" /></a></li>\r\n	<li>Mexicans and other immigrants are not “illegal aliens” nor do all the other Latinos in the U.S. do not wear sombreros, over-sized mustache, and a poncho. I’m no <a title=\"Understanding Hispanic Culture\" href=\"http://old.diocesephoenix.org/fc/CatecheticalLeadership/ChurchDocs/UnderstandingtheHispanicCulture.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">expert</a>, but I think people that we call “Hispanics” or Latinos in the US come from <em>at least</em> 20 different countries and cultures including Colombian, Venezuelan, Mexican.  In the US we tend to lump them all together but they have beautiful and distinct languages, cultures and heritages.</li>\r\n	<li>Ghetto or Gangsta are in and of themselves parts of American culture that should not be mocked or stereotyped, if we don’t understand them.  I will be the first to admit the impulse to pull up or pull down the pants of young men that I see wearing their belt at their knees.  I find it silly, but even so things like the puzzling \"Tighty Whitey\" costume complete with a \"jumpsuit that makes it appear you are wearing your pants around your knees\" are wrong.  Rappers are culture in and of themselves whether you or I value it or not.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nUniversity of Toronto researcher of stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination, Alison Chasteen <a href=\"http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/10/26/halloween-racist-costumes.html\" target=\"_blank\">noted</a>:\r\n<blockquote>\"We know from past research that exposure to stereotypical images can activate stereotypes in people\'s minds and influence their subsequent behavior…That is why efforts such as this one in Ohio are needed to educate people about racist images in an attempt to reduce stereotypical portrayals of minority groups.\"</blockquote>\r\nSome may say lighten up Melody!  It’s only in fun.  I’m not laughing.  And neither should you.  We cannot be a part of perpetuating racism and bigotry, no matter our reasons and especially not \"in fun.\"\r\n\r\nIt’s just not funny. This Halloween let’s respect and honor those that are different from us.  And, here\'s a crazy thought perhaps even learn more about that which we do not at first glance understand.\r\n\r\nOur friends deserve our respect.  And perhaps one day we will treasure them as much as our Lord did, for they (too) are made in God’s image.\r\n\r\nThen God said, \"Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.\" Genesis 1:26 NIV\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOther Resources:\r\n\r\nKudos to <a title=\"The Root\" href=\"http://www.theroot.com/multimedia/racially-insensitive-halloween-costumes\" target=\"_blank\">The Root</a> for pointing out these racially and culturally insensitive costumes.  If you don’t read The Root, you should.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.gender-focus.com/?s=costume&amp;searchbutton=go%21\">http://www.gender-focus.com/?s=costume&amp;searchbutton=go%21</a> Thanks to <strong><a href=\"http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jarrah-hodge\">Jarrah Hodge</a> for </strong>some cool costume ideas and I can’t resist adding her list of Feminist costume choices <a href=\"http://www.gender-focus.com/2010/10/21/feminist-halloween-costumes/\">http://www.gender-focus.com/2010/10/21/feminist-halloween-costumes/</a>\r\n\r\nHere’s something I found about understanding Hispanic Culture. <a href=\"http://old.diocesephoenix.org/fc/CatecheticalLeadership/ChurchDocs/UnderstandingtheHispanicCulture.pdf\">http://old.diocesephoenix.org/fc/CatecheticalLeadership/ChurchDocs/UnderstandingtheHispanicCulture.pdf</a>','??? title????','','inherit','open','open','','1298-revision-6','','','2011-10-27 09:40:51','2011-10-27 16:40:51','',1298,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1298-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(1308,64,'2011-10-27 09:52:10','2011-10-27 16:52:10','<strong>I Never Thought</strong>\n\nMy trick-or-treating years were in the 70\'s.  Back then, I honestly never thought about whether it was okay to dress up as a Hobo which was my costume of choice.  Thinking back, though essentially it is a homeless person, I did not consider my costume in any terms other than it was <em>cheap and convenient</em>.  You see my parents didn\'t have the money to buy costumes nor were they so rampantly available as they are today.  Is it just me or have costume stores been increasing?  It has made Halloween less creative and more expensive, though admittedly more convenient.\n\n<strong><em>But that does not mean </em><em>that we can turn of our brains and close our hearts when we walk into Halloween Superstores</em>.</strong>\n\nI realize now that a Hobo was a horrible thing to be for Halloween.  Those that find themselves homeless are real people, many of whom are certainly down on their luck and are oppressed by a society that makes assumptions about their worth.  Our stereotypes about the homeless are in many cases downright wrong. No-one would choose to be unshaven, dirty or poorly dressed and they are not all alcoholics.  But I digress.\n\n<strong>“We are a culture not a costume.”</strong>\n\nI read those words recently and it broke my heart that college kids have to actually utter them.  They were students at Ohio University who went so far as to develop an awareness campaign “We are culture not a costume” to educate other students and to fight the use of hurtful Halloween costumes that stereotype ethnic groups and cultures.   For their brave effort they have been mocked and criticized, but the haters are so wrong.\n\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/li-halloween-stars-620.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1299\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/li-halloween-stars-620.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"620\" height=\"349\" /></a>\n\nThe problem is that there are many beautiful cultures and people groups that are parodied, mocked and imitated today by unthinking or ignorant people.  (Not to mention how women are sexualized in every single profession and identity imaginable but that is not what this is about.)  Some of these are: <a href=\"http://education.byu.edu/diversity/culture.html#african\">African American &amp; African</a>, <a href=\"http://education.byu.edu/diversity/culture.html#asian\">Asian American, Asian, &amp; Pacific Islander</a>, <a href=\"http://education.byu.edu/diversity/culture.html#nativeamerican\">Native American</a>, <a href=\"http://education.byu.edu/diversity/culture.html#hispanic\">Hispanic &amp; Latino Americans</a>\n\nIf like me, you<em><strong> just never thought</strong></em>, I would encourage you to start thinking.  I cannot let another Halloween pass without writing this essay.\n\n<strong>Any costume that dresses you up as a real person, a real culture or actual people group implying that this identity can be boiled down to a recognizable outfit is wrong.  </strong>It is white people creating symbols to define other races and then appropriating those symbols without any acknowledgment of their history. There is no part of any culture or history that should become a synonym or a stereotype.  Here are a few examples:\n<ul>\n	<li>Native indigenous cultures -- Anything Native American or “tribal” or for example<a title=\"Big Kahuna\" href=\"//www.amazon.com/Kahuna-Tribal-Tiki-Warrior-Costume/dp/B000EIGZ5C%3FSubscriptionId%3D19BAZMZQFZJ6G2QYGCG2%26tag%3Dsquidooa32991-\" target=\"_blank\"> this</a> “Big Kahuna Fat Tribal Tiki Warrior.</li>\n	<li>Or the use of “Asian” stereotypes of any sort.   Asian Americans are highly diverse, with dozens of ethnic backgrounds and languages, including individuals from Chinese, Japanes, Korean, Indonesian, Laotion, Philippine, Thai, and Vietnamese ancestry.  How can this be summed up, for example by these <a title=\"Glasses\" href=\"http://www.motifake.com/20741\">Chop Suey Specs</a>.   Or if you sound it out phonetically to make it “Asian-sounding” like the \'Fee Ling Yu Asian Man Halloween Mask.\' <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ILLEGAL-ALIEN-400.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-1301 alignleft\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ILLEGAL-ALIEN-400-240x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"192\" height=\"240\" /></a></li>\n	<li>Mexicans and other immigrants are not “illegal aliens” nor do all the other Latinos in the U.S. do not wear sombreros, over-sized mustache, and a poncho. I’m no <a title=\"Understanding Hispanic Culture\" href=\"http://old.diocesephoenix.org/fc/CatecheticalLeadership/ChurchDocs/UnderstandingtheHispanicCulture.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">expert</a>, but I think people that we call “Hispanics” or Latinos in the US come from <em>at least</em> 20 different countries and cultures including Colombian, Venezuelan, Mexican.  In the US we tend to lump them all together but they have beautiful and distinct languages, cultures and heritages.</li>\n	<li>Ghetto or Gangsta are in and of themselves parts of American culture that should not be mocked or stereotyped, if we don’t understand them.  I will be the first to admit the impulse to pull up or pull down the pants of young men that I see wearing their belt at their knees.  I find it silly, but even so things like the puzzling \"Tighty Whitey\" costume complete with a \"jumpsuit that makes it appear you are wearing your pants around your knees\" are wrong.  Rappers are culture in and of themselves whether you or I value it or not.</li>\n</ul>\nUniversity of Toronto researcher of stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination, Alison Chasteen <a href=\"http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/10/26/halloween-racist-costumes.html\" target=\"_blank\">noted</a>:\n<blockquote>\"We know from past research that exposure to stereotypical images can activate stereotypes in people\'s minds and influence their subsequent behavior…That is why efforts such as this one in Ohio are needed to educate people about racist images in an attempt to reduce stereotypical portrayals of minority groups.\"</blockquote>\nSome may say lighten up Melody!  It’s only in fun.  I’m not laughing.  And neither should you.  We cannot be a part of perpetuating racism and bigotry, no matter our reasons and especially not \"in fun.\"\n\nIt’s just not funny. This Halloween let’s respect and honor those that are different from us.  And, here\'s a crazy thought perhaps even learn more about that which we do not at first glance understand.\n\nOur friends deserve our respect.  And perhaps one day we will treasure them as much as our Lord did, for they (too) are made in God’s image.\n\nThen God said, \"Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.\" Genesis 1:26 NIV\n\nThe bottom line here:  Just think! <strong><em> </em></strong>\n\n<strong><em>Turn on your brain and open your heart.</em></strong>\n\nOther Resources:\n\nKudos to <a title=\"The Root\" href=\"http://www.theroot.com/multimedia/racially-insensitive-halloween-costumes\" target=\"_blank\">The Root</a> for pointing out these racially and culturally insensitive costumes.  If you don’t read The Root, you should.\n\nThanks to <a href=\"http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jarrah-hodge\">Jarrah Hodge</a> for some <a title=\"Cool Costume Ideas\" href=\"http://www.gender-focus.com/?s=costume&amp;searchbutton=go%21\" target=\"_blank\">cool costume ideas </a> and I can’t resist adding her list of<a title=\"Feminist Costumes\" href=\"http://www.gender-focus.com/2010/10/21/feminist-halloween-costumes/\" target=\"_blank\"> Feminist costume choices.\n</a>','??? title????','','inherit','open','open','','1298-revision-8','','','2011-10-27 09:52:10','2011-10-27 16:52:10','',1298,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1298-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(1309,1,'2011-10-30 16:45:27','2011-10-30 23:45:27','<strong>I Never Thought</strong>\n\nMy trick-or-treating years were in the 70\'s.  Back then, I honestly never thought about whether it was okay to dress up as a Hobo which was my costume of choice.  Thinking back, though essentially it is a homeless person, I did not consider my costume in any terms other than it was <em>cheap and convenient</em>.  You see my parents didn\'t have the money to buy costumes nor were they so rampantly available as they are today.  Is it just me or have costume stores been increasing?  It has made Halloween less creative and more expensive, though admittedly more convenient.\n\n<strong><em>But that does not mean </em><em>that we can turn of our brains and close our hearts when we walk into Halloween Superstores</em>.</strong>\n\nI realize now that a Hobo was a horrible thing to be for Halloween.  Those that find themselves homeless are real people, many of whom are certainly down on their luck and are oppressed by a society that makes assumptions about their worth.  Our stereotypes about the homeless are in many cases downright wrong. No-one would choose to be unshaven, dirty or poorly dressed and they are not all alcoholics.  But I digress.\n\n<strong>“We are a culture not a costume.”</strong>\n\nI read those words recently and it broke my heart that college kids have to actually utter them.  They were students at Ohio University who went so far as to develop an awareness campaign “We are culture not a costume” to educate other students and to fight the use of hurtful Halloween costumes that stereotype ethnic groups and cultures.   For their brave effort they have been mocked and criticized, but the haters are so wrong.\n\nThe problem is that there are many beautiful cultures and people groups that are parodied, mocked and imitated today by unthinking or ignorant people.  (Not to mention how women are sexualized in every single profession and identity imaginable but that is not what this is about.)  Some of these are: <a href=\"http://education.byu.edu/diversity/culture.html#african\">African American &amp; African</a>, <a href=\"http://education.byu.edu/diversity/culture.html#asian\">Asian American, Asian, &amp; Pacific Islander</a>, <a href=\"http://education.byu.edu/diversity/culture.html#nativeamerican\">Native American</a>, <a href=\"http://education.byu.edu/diversity/culture.html#hispanic\">Hispanic &amp; Latino Americans</a>\n\nIf like me, you<em><strong> just never thought</strong></em>, I would encourage you to start thinking.  I cannot let another Halloween pass without writing this essay.\n\n<strong>Any costume that dresses you up as a real person, a real culture or actual people group implying that this identity can be boiled down to a recognizable outfit is wrong.  </strong>It is white people creating symbols to define other races and then appropriating those symbols without any acknowledgment of their history. There is no part of any culture or history that should become a synonym or a stereotype.  Here are a few examples:\n<ul>\n	<li>Native indigenous cultures -- Anything Native American or “tribal” or for example<a title=\"Big Kahuna\" href=\"//www.amazon.com/Kahuna-Tribal-Tiki-Warrior-Costume/dp/B000EIGZ5C%3FSubscriptionId%3D19BAZMZQFZJ6G2QYGCG2%26tag%3Dsquidooa32991-\" target=\"_blank\"> this</a> “Big Kahuna Fat Tribal Tiki Warrior.</li>\n	<li>Or the use of “Asian” stereotypes of any sort.   Asian Americans are highly diverse, with dozens of ethnic backgrounds and languages, including individuals from Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Laotion, Philippine, Thai, and Vietnamese ancestry.  How can this be summed up, for example by these <a title=\"Glasses\" href=\"http://www.motifake.com/20741\">Chop Suey Specs</a>.   Or if you sound it out phonetically to make it “Asian-sounding” like the \'Fee Ling Yu Asian Man Halloween Mask.\' <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ILLEGAL-ALIEN-400.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-1301 alignleft\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ILLEGAL-ALIEN-400-240x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"192\" height=\"240\" /></a></li>\n	<li>Mexicans and other immigrants are not “illegal aliens” nor do all the other Latinos in the U.S. do not wear sombreros, over-sized mustache, and a poncho. I’m no <a title=\"Understanding Hispanic Culture\" href=\"http://old.diocesephoenix.org/fc/CatecheticalLeadership/ChurchDocs/UnderstandingtheHispanicCulture.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">expert</a>, but I think people that we call “Hispanics” or Latinos in the US come from <em>at least</em> 20 different countries and cultures including Colombian, Venezuelan, Mexican.  In the US we tend to lump them all together but they have beautiful and distinct languages, cultures and heritages.</li>\n	<li>Ghetto or Gangsta are in and of themselves parts of American culture that should not be mocked or stereotyped, if we don’t understand them.  I will be the first to admit the impulse to pull up or pull down the pants of young men that I see wearing their belt at their knees.  I find it silly, but even so things like the puzzling \"Tighty Whitey\" costume complete with a \"jumpsuit that makes it appear you are wearing your pants around your knees\" are wrong.  Rappers are culture in and of themselves whether you or I value it or not.</li>\n</ul>\nUniversity of Toronto researcher of stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination, Alison Chasteen <a href=\"http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/10/26/halloween-racist-costumes.html\" target=\"_blank\">noted</a>:\n<blockquote>\"We know from past research that exposure to stereotypical images can activate stereotypes in people\'s minds and influence their subsequent behavior…That is why efforts such as this one in Ohio are needed to educate people about racist images in an attempt to reduce stereotypical portrayals of minority groups.\"</blockquote>\nSome may say lighten up Melody!  It’s only in fun.  I’m not laughing.  And neither should you.  We cannot be a part of perpetuating racism and bigotry, no matter our reasons and especially not \"in fun.\"\n\nIt’s just not funny. This Halloween let’s respect and honor those that are different from us.  And, here\'s a crazy thought perhaps even learn more about that which we do not at first glance understand.\n\nOur friends deserve our respect.  And perhaps one day we will treasure them as much as our Lord did, for they (too) are made in God’s image.\n\nThen God said, \"Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.\" Genesis 1:26 NIV\n\nThe bottom line here:  Just think! <strong><em> </em></strong>\n\n<strong><em>Turn on your brain and open your heart.</em></strong>\n\nOther Resources:\n\nKudos to <a title=\"The Root\" href=\"http://www.theroot.com/multimedia/racially-insensitive-halloween-costumes\" target=\"_blank\">The Root</a> for pointing out these racially and culturally insensitive costumes.  If you don’t read The Root, you should.\n\nThanks to <a href=\"http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jarrah-hodge\">Jarrah Hodge</a> for some <a title=\"Cool Costume Ideas\" href=\"http://www.gender-focus.com/?s=costume&amp;searchbutton=go%21\" target=\"_blank\">cool costume ideas </a> and I can’t resist adding her list of<a title=\"Feminist Costumes\" href=\"http://www.gender-focus.com/2010/10/21/feminist-halloween-costumes/\" target=\"_blank\"> Feminist costume choices.\n</a>','We Are A Culture Not A Costume','','inherit','open','open','','1298-autosave','','','2011-10-30 16:45:27','2011-10-30 23:45:27','',1298,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1298-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(1402,1,'2011-10-28 13:38:18','2011-10-28 20:38:18','<strong>I Never Thought</strong>\r\n\r\nMy trick-or-treating years were in the 70\'s.  Back then, I honestly never thought about whether it was okay to dress up as a Hobo which was my costume of choice.  Thinking back, though essentially it is a homeless person, I did not consider my costume in any terms other than it was <em>cheap and convenient</em>.  You see my parents didn\'t have the money to buy costumes nor were they so rampantly available as they are today.  Is it just me or have costume stores been increasing?  It has made Halloween less creative and more expensive, though admittedly more convenient.\r\n\r\n<strong><em>But that does not mean </em><em>that we can turn of our brains and close our hearts when we walk into Halloween Superstores</em>.</strong>\r\n\r\nI realize now that a Hobo was a horrible thing to be for Halloween.  Those that find themselves homeless are real people, many of whom are certainly down on their luck and are oppressed by a society that makes assumptions about their worth.  Our stereotypes about the homeless are in many cases downright wrong. No-one would choose to be unshaven, dirty or poorly dressed and they are not all alcoholics.  But I digress.\r\n\r\n<strong>“We are a culture not a costume.”</strong>\r\n\r\nI read those words recently and it broke my heart that college kids have to actually utter them.  They were students at Ohio University who went so far as to develop an awareness campaign “We are culture not a costume” to educate other students and to fight the use of hurtful Halloween costumes that stereotype ethnic groups and cultures.   For their brave effort they have been mocked and criticized, but the haters are so wrong.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/li-halloween-stars-620.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1299\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/li-halloween-stars-620.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"620\" height=\"349\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe problem is that there are many beautiful cultures and people groups that are parodied, mocked and imitated today by unthinking or ignorant people.  (Not to mention how women are sexualized in every single profession and identity imaginable but that is not what this is about.)  Some of these are: <a href=\"http://education.byu.edu/diversity/culture.html#african\">African American &amp; African</a>, <a href=\"http://education.byu.edu/diversity/culture.html#asian\">Asian American, Asian, &amp; Pacific Islander</a>, <a href=\"http://education.byu.edu/diversity/culture.html#nativeamerican\">Native American</a>, <a href=\"http://education.byu.edu/diversity/culture.html#hispanic\">Hispanic &amp; Latino Americans</a>\r\n\r\nIf like me, you<em><strong> just never thought</strong></em>, I would encourage you to start thinking.  I cannot let another Halloween pass without writing this essay.\r\n\r\n<strong>Any costume that dresses you up as a real person, a real culture or actual people group implying that this identity can be boiled down to a recognizable outfit is wrong.  </strong>It is white people creating symbols to define other races and then appropriating those symbols without any acknowledgment of their history. There is no part of any culture or history that should become a synonym or a stereotype.  Here are a few examples:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>Native indigenous cultures -- Anything Native American or “tribal” or for example<a title=\"Big Kahuna\" href=\"//www.amazon.com/Kahuna-Tribal-Tiki-Warrior-Costume/dp/B000EIGZ5C%3FSubscriptionId%3D19BAZMZQFZJ6G2QYGCG2%26tag%3Dsquidooa32991-\" target=\"_blank\"> this</a> “Big Kahuna Fat Tribal Tiki Warrior.</li>\r\n	<li>Or the use of “Asian” stereotypes of any sort.   Asian Americans are highly diverse, with dozens of ethnic backgrounds and languages, including individuals from Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Laotion, Philippine, Thai, and Vietnamese ancestry.  How can this be summed up, for example by these <a title=\"Glasses\" href=\"http://www.motifake.com/20741\">Chop Suey Specs</a>.   Or if you sound it out phonetically to make it “Asian-sounding” like the \'Fee Ling Yu Asian Man Halloween Mask.\' <a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ILLEGAL-ALIEN-400.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-1301 alignleft\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ILLEGAL-ALIEN-400-240x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"192\" height=\"240\" /></a></li>\r\n	<li>Mexicans and other immigrants are not “illegal aliens” nor do all the other Latinos in the U.S. do not wear sombreros, over-sized mustache, and a poncho. I’m no <a title=\"Understanding Hispanic Culture\" href=\"http://old.diocesephoenix.org/fc/CatecheticalLeadership/ChurchDocs/UnderstandingtheHispanicCulture.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">expert</a>, but I think people that we call “Hispanics” or Latinos in the US come from <em>at least</em> 20 different countries and cultures including Colombian, Venezuelan, Mexican.  In the US we tend to lump them all together but they have beautiful and distinct languages, cultures and heritages.</li>\r\n	<li>Ghetto or Gangsta are in and of themselves parts of American culture that should not be mocked or stereotyped, if we don’t understand them.  I will be the first to admit the impulse to pull up or pull down the pants of young men that I see wearing their belt at their knees.  I find it silly, but even so things like the puzzling \"Tighty Whitey\" costume complete with a \"jumpsuit that makes it appear you are wearing your pants around your knees\" are wrong.  Rappers are culture in and of themselves whether you or I value it or not.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nUniversity of Toronto researcher of stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination, Alison Chasteen <a href=\"http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/10/26/halloween-racist-costumes.html\" target=\"_blank\">noted</a>:\r\n<blockquote>\"We know from past research that exposure to stereotypical images can activate stereotypes in people\'s minds and influence their subsequent behavior…That is why efforts such as this one in Ohio are needed to educate people about racist images in an attempt to reduce stereotypical portrayals of minority groups.\"</blockquote>\r\nSome may say lighten up Melody!  It’s only in fun.  I’m not laughing.  And neither should you.  We cannot be a part of perpetuating racism and bigotry, no matter our reasons and especially not \"in fun.\"\r\n\r\nIt’s just not funny. This Halloween let’s respect and honor those that are different from us.  And, here\'s a crazy thought perhaps even learn more about that which we do not at first glance understand.\r\n\r\nOur friends deserve our respect.  And perhaps one day we will treasure them as much as our Lord did, for they (too) are made in God’s image.\r\n\r\nThen God said, \"Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.\" Genesis 1:26 NIV\r\n\r\nThe bottom line here:  Just think! <strong><em> </em></strong>\r\n\r\n<strong><em>Turn on your brain and open your heart.</em></strong>\r\n\r\nOther Resources:\r\n\r\nKudos to <a title=\"The Root\" href=\"http://www.theroot.com/multimedia/racially-insensitive-halloween-costumes\" target=\"_blank\">The Root</a> for pointing out these racially and culturally insensitive costumes.  If you don’t read The Root, you should.\r\n\r\nThanks to <a href=\"http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jarrah-hodge\">Jarrah Hodge</a> for some <a title=\"Cool Costume Ideas\" href=\"http://www.gender-focus.com/?s=costume&amp;searchbutton=go%21\" target=\"_blank\">cool costume ideas </a> and I can’t resist adding her list of<a title=\"Feminist Costumes\" href=\"http://www.gender-focus.com/2010/10/21/feminist-halloween-costumes/\" target=\"_blank\"> Feminist costume choices.\r\n</a>','??? title????','','inherit','open','open','','1298-revision-10','','','2011-10-28 13:38:18','2011-10-28 20:38:18','',1298,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/28/1298-revision-10/',0,'revision','',0),(1310,0,'2011-10-27 10:02:18','2011-10-27 17:02:18','I have an artistic piece, it features the creation of a human and the conversation between God and Soul.  I also have a few Life pieces.  They range in topics; trust in people vs. trust in God, the handicap of not giving all you have, etc\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Ashley Bowie\nAUTHOR EMAIL: albowie83@gmail.com\nAUTHOR URL: http://ashleybowie.com\nSUBJECT: Provoketive Magazine Writing For Provoketive\nIP: 64.134.157.183\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Ashley Bowie\n    [Email] =&gt; albowie83@gmail.com\n    [Existing Blog or Website] =&gt; ashleybowie.com\n    [List the topic you are interested writing about] =&gt; I have an artistic piece, it features the creation of a human and the conversation between God and Soul.  I also have a few Life pieces.  They range in topics; trust in people vs. trust in God, the handicap of not giving all you have, etc\n    [Current or New WordPress Login Name (We\'ll send you a password.)] =&gt; ashleybowie\n)\n','Ashley Bowie - 2011-10-27 10:02:18','','publish','open','open','','1d23519b6c7f77e874b8a50183189065','','','2011-10-27 10:02:18','2011-10-27 17:02:18','',358,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=1310',0,'feedback','',0),(1311,48,'2011-10-29 07:00:26','2011-10-29 14:00:26','I am a personality test junkie. Part of this is no doubt due to my interest in psychology. I love to ponder the complexities of personality theory: Does it form early in development and remain unchanging and static? Or is it more plastic, changing as we age? How much do genetics or the environment determine personality? What personality tests are the most accurate?\r\n\r\nI have taken pretty much every free personality test available online (and there are more than a few). I have also taken the official version of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator as part of one of my college psychology courses. (100 points goes to the first reader who can guess what my Myers-Briggs type is purely based off my writing style and the personal information I\'ve disclosed in my posts.) Introspection and self-reflection is pretty inherent to my nature, and psychology tests are another tool to that end. I have plenty of information about the inner-workings of my self and personality; however, I wonder if I am using that information to grow or find my place in the world, or if it\'s just more information I\'m hoarding.\r\n\r\nIf personality tests weren\'t enough, we now have the CAV (Christian Approved Version): spiritual gifts inventories. These are all the rage in Christian conferences, churches, small groups and ministries. I\'m pretty sure I\'ve taken at least three different versions at different times in my life. If you are unfamiliar with the concept, spiritual gift inventories get their listing of gifts from Romans 12 (prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading, and mercy), 1 Corinthians 12 (wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment, speaking in tongues, and interpretation of tongues) and Ephesians 4:11 (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher). Some spiritual gift inventories also include other gifts referred to in miscellaneous places in scripture, such as celibacy, hospitality, martyrdom, musical talent, and voluntary poverty, to name a few. What \"gifts\" should actually be included in spiritual gift inventories is debatable and perhaps a great topic to tackle at another point in time.\r\n\r\nSo, why all the buzz with spiritual gift inventories? Well, we all have a desire to know why God created us in our own unique way, and what His Will is for our life. Knowing what your particular spiritual gifts are is certainly a good place to start in determining what direction to take in your life, be it ministry, vocation or otherwise. If you haven\'t taken one, I highly suggest that you do. (If you google \"spiritual gift inventory\", you will find at least a couple free spiritual gifts tests.)\r\n\r\nThat being said, I have noticed an unfortunate tendency in both myself and others to use spiritual gifts as excuses. Do you want to act like a complete jerk? Claim you don\'t have a mercy gifting. Don\'t want to share the Gospel with others? Claim you aren\'t an evangelist. Don\'t want to tithe, give to the poor, or help someone in need? Claim you don\'t have the gift of giving. Don\'t want to serve others? Claim you don\'t have the gift of serving or the gift of helps.\r\n\r\nUnfortunately, God calls us to do a lot of things, regardless of our individual spiritual gifts. If you think you can be a douche canoe to others just because you haven\'t been endowed with the supernatural gift of mercy, you may want to check out James 2:13: \"Because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.\"  If you think lacking the spiritual gift of giving gets you off the hook for helping others, you may want to look at James 1:27: \"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.\" If you think that you can sit on your derrière all day long just because you don\'t have the gift of serving,  you might want to consider Jesus\' words to the disciples in Luke 22: 25-27.\r\n\r\nPerhaps the bigger issue is that we focus too much on ourselves, who we are, and what we are gifted at (or not gifted at). We place an inordinately high value and focus on the gifts, like those listed in 1 Corinthians 12, but forget what Paul said next:\r\n<blockquote>\"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,<span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"font-size: 11px;\"> </span>but do not have love, I gain nothing.\"  1 Corinthians 13:1-3</blockquote>\r\nSpiritual gifts, after all, aren\'t really gifts to keep for ourselves. God give these gifts to help serve, edify, and build up the other members of the Body of Christ.  To use your gifts, it certainly does help to actually understand and know what they are; the difficulty is finding a way to be self-reflective without being self-absorbed.','Spiritual Gifts and Spiritual Excuses','','publish','open','open','','spiritual-gifts-and-spiritual-excuses','','','2011-10-29 07:00:26','2011-10-29 14:00:26','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=1311',0,'post','',4),(1312,48,'2011-10-27 10:42:26','2011-10-27 17:42:26','I am a personality test junkie. Part of this is no doubt due to my interest in psychology. I often ponder the complexities of personality: Does it form early in development and remain unchanging and static? Or is it more plastic, changing as we age? How much of personality is determined by genetics or by environment? What personality tests are the most accurate?\n\nI have taken pretty much every personality test I can find for free online (there are a few). I also took an official Myers-Briggs test as part of a psychology course I took in college. (100 points goes to the first reader who can guess what my Myers-Briggs type is based purely off my writing style and information I\'ve disclosed about myself in the articles I have currently published.) Introspection and self-reflection is pretty inherent to my nature, and psychology tests are another tool to that end. I have plenty of information about the inner-workings of my self and personality, however, I wonder if I am using that information to grow or find my place in the world, or if it\'s just more information I\'m hoarding.\n\nIf personality tests weren\'t enough, we know have the more spiritual and Christian version: Spiritual Gifts Inventories. These are all the rage in Christian conferences, churches, small groups and ministries. I\'m pretty sure I\'ve taken at least three different versions at different times in my life. If you are unfamiliar with the concept, Spiritual Gift inventories get their different gifts from Romans 12 (exhortation, giving, leadership, mercy prophecy, service, and teaching), 1 Corinthians 12 (administration, apostle, discernment, faith, healing, helps, knowledge, miracles, prophecy, teaching, tongues, interpretation of tongues, &amp; wisdom) and Ephesians 4:11 (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher). Some spiritual gift inventories also add in other gifts that are alluded to in other places throughout scripture, such as celibacy, hospitality, martyrdom, musical talent, and voluntary','Spiritual Gifts as Excuses','','inherit','open','open','','1311-revision','','','2011-10-27 10:42:26','2011-10-27 17:42:26','',1311,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1311-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(1313,48,'2011-10-27 10:53:55','2011-10-27 17:53:55','I am a personality test junkie. Part of this is no doubt due to my interest in psychology. I often ponder the complexities of personality: Does it form early in development and remain unchanging and static? Or is it more plastic, changing as we age? How much of personality is determined by genetics or by environment? What personality tests are the most accurate?\n\nI have taken pretty much every personality test I can find for free online (there are a few). I also took an official Myers-Briggs test as part of a psychology course I took in college. (100 points goes to the first reader who can guess what my Myers-Briggs type is based purely off my writing style and information I\'ve disclosed about myself in the articles I have currently published.) Introspection and self-reflection is pretty inherent to my nature, and psychology tests are another tool to that end. I have plenty of information about the inner-workings of my self and personality, however, I wonder if I am using that information to grow or find my place in the world, or if it\'s just more information I\'m hoarding.\n\nIf personality tests weren\'t enough, we now have the more spiritual and Christian approved version: Spiritual Gifts Inventories. These are all the rage in Christian conferences, churches, small groups and ministries. I\'m pretty sure I\'ve taken at least three different versions at different times in my life. If you are unfamiliar with the concept, spiritual gift inventories get their different gifts from Romans 12 (exhortation, giving, leadership, mercy prophecy, service, and teaching), 1 Corinthians 12 (administration, apostle, discernment, faith, healing, helps, knowledge, miracles, prophecy, teaching, tongues, interpretation of tongues, &amp; wisdom) and Ephesians 4:11 (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher). Some spiritual gift inventories, for better or worse,  also add in other gifts that are alluded to in other places throughout scripture, such as celibacy, hospitality, martyrdom, musical talent, and voluntary poverty, to name a few.\n\nWe all have a desire to know why God created us in our own unique way and what His Will is for our life. Knowing what your particular spiritual gifts are is certainly a good place to start in determining what direction to take in your life, be it ministry, vocation or otherwise.\n\nI have noticed an unfortunate tendency in both myself and others to use spiritual gifts as an excuse. Do you want to act like a complete jerk and douche canoe? Claim you don\'t have a mercy gifting. Don\'t want to share the Gospel with others? Claim you aren\'t an evangelist. Don\'t want to tithe, give to the poor, or help a friend in need? Claim you don\'t have the gift of giving. Don\'t want to serve others? Claim you don\'t have the gift of serving or the gift of helps.\n\nUnfortunately, a lot of the thing','Spiritual Gifts as Excuses','','inherit','open','open','','1311-revision-2','','','2011-10-27 10:53:55','2011-10-27 17:53:55','',1311,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1311-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(1314,48,'2011-10-27 11:00:38','2011-10-27 18:00:38','I am a personality test junkie. Part of this is no doubt due to my interest in psychology. I often ponder the complexities of personality: Does it form early in development and remain unchanging and static? Or is it more plastic, changing as we age? How much of personality is determined by genetics or by environment? What personality tests are the most accurate?\n\nI have taken pretty much every personality test I can find for free online (there are a few). I also took an official Myers-Briggs test as part of a psychology course I took in college. (100 points goes to the first reader who can guess what my Myers-Briggs type is based purely off my writing style and information I\'ve disclosed about myself in the articles I have currently published.) Introspection and self-reflection is pretty inherent to my nature, and psychology tests are another tool to that end. I have plenty of information about the inner-workings of my self and personality, however, I wonder if I am using that information to grow or find my place in the world, or if it\'s just more information I\'m hoarding.\n\nIf personality tests weren\'t enough, we now have the more spiritual and Christian approved version: Spiritual Gifts Inventories. These are all the rage in Christian conferences, churches, small groups and ministries. I\'m pretty sure I\'ve taken at least three different versions at different times in my life. If you are unfamiliar with the concept, spiritual gift inventories get their different gifts from Romans 12 (exhortation, giving, leadership, mercy prophecy, service, and teaching), 1 Corinthians 12 (administration, apostle, discernment, faith, healing, helps, knowledge, miracles, prophecy, teaching, tongues, interpretation of tongues, &amp; wisdom) and Ephesians 4:11 (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher). Some spiritual gift inventories, for better or worse,  also add in other gifts that are alluded to in other places throughout scripture, such as celibacy, hospitality, martyrdom, musical talent, and voluntary poverty, to name a few.\n\nWe all have a desire to know why God created us in our own unique way and what His Will is for our life. Knowing what your particular spiritual gifts are is certainly a good place to start in determining what direction to take in your life, be it ministry, vocation or otherwise.\n\nI have noticed an unfortunate tendency in both myself and others to use spiritual gifts as an excuse. Do you want to act like a complete jerk and douche canoe? Claim you don\'t have a mercy gifting. Don\'t want to share the Gospel with others? Claim you aren\'t an evangelist. Don\'t want to tithe, give to the poor, or help a friend in need? Claim you don\'t have the gift of giving. Don\'t want to serve others? Claim you don\'t have the gift of serving or the gift of helps.\n\nUnfortunately, we are called to do a lot of things, regardless of our giftings, if we are followers of Christ. If you think you can be a douche canoe to others just because you haven\'t been endowed with the supernatural gift of mercy, you may want to\n\n&nbsp;','Spiritual Gifts: Spiritual Excuses','','inherit','open','open','','1311-revision-3','','','2011-10-27 11:00:38','2011-10-27 18:00:38','',1311,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1311-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(1315,48,'2011-10-27 11:30:45','2011-10-27 18:30:45','I am a personality test junkie. Part of this is no doubt due to my interest in psychology. I often ponder the complexities of personality: Does it form early in development and remain unchanging and static? Or is it more plastic, changing as we age? How much of personality is determined by genetics or by environment? What personality tests are the most accurate?\n\nI have taken pretty much every personality test I can find for free online (there are a few). I also took an official Myers-Briggs test as part of a psychology course I took in college. (100 points goes to the first reader who can guess what my Myers-Briggs type is based purely off my writing style and information I\'ve disclosed about myself in the articles I have currently published.) Introspection and self-reflection is pretty inherent to my nature, and psychology tests are another tool to that end. I have plenty of information about the inner-workings of my self and personality, however, I wonder if I am using that information to grow or find my place in the world, or if it\'s just more information I\'m hoarding.\n\nIf personality tests weren\'t enough, we now have the more spiritual and Christian approved version: Spiritual Gifts Inventories. These are all the rage in Christian conferences, churches, small groups and ministries. I\'m pretty sure I\'ve taken at least three different versions at different times in my life. If you are unfamiliar with the concept, spiritual gift inventories get their different gifts from Romans 12 (prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading, and mercy), 1 Corinthians 12 (wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment, speaking in tongues, and interpretation of tongues) and Ephesians 4:11 (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher). Some spiritual gift inventories, for better or worse,  also add in other gifts that are alluded to in other places throughout scripture, such as celibacy, hospitality, martyrdom, musical talent, and voluntary poverty, to name a few.\n\nWe all have a desire to know why God created us in our own unique way and what His Will is for our life. Knowing what your particular spiritual gifts are is certainly a good place to start in determining what direction to take in your life, be it ministry, vocation or otherwise.\n\nI have noticed an unfortunate tendency in both myself and others to use spiritual gifts as an excuse. Do you want to act like a complete jerk? Claim you don\'t have a mercy gifting. Don\'t want to share the Gospel with others? Claim you aren\'t an evangelist. Don\'t want to tithe, give to the poor, or help a friend in need? Claim you don\'t have the gift of giving. Don\'t want to serve others? Claim you don\'t have the gift of serving or the gift of helps.\n\nUnfortunately, we are called to do a lot of things, regardless of our giftings, if we are followers of Christ. If you think you can be a douche canoe to others just because you haven\'t been endowed with the supernatural gift of mercy, you may want to check out James 2:13 \"For judgment is without <strong>mercy</strong> to him that hath showed no <strong>mercy</strong>: <strong>mercy</strong> glorieth against judgment.\" Or really, what 1 Corinthians 13 has to say about love (my synopsis: don\'t be a jerk). If you think you don\'t have to share the gospel with others, take a look at the Great Commission: . If you think lacking the spiritual gift of giving gets you off the hook for helping others, you may want to look at <strong>James 1:27 \"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after<strong>orphans</strong> and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.\" Don\'t think you need to serve? You might want to consider Jesus\' words to the disciples, </strong>','Spiritual Gifts: Spiritual Excuses','','inherit','open','open','','1311-revision-4','','','2011-10-27 11:30:45','2011-10-27 18:30:45','',1311,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1311-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(1316,48,'2011-10-27 11:34:34','2011-10-27 18:34:34','I am a personality test junkie. Part of this is no doubt due to my interest in psychology. I often ponder the complexities of personality: Does it form early in development and remain unchanging and static? Or is it more plastic, changing as we age? How much of personality is determined by genetics or by environment? What personality tests are the most accurate?\n\nI have taken pretty much every personality test I can find for free online (there are a few). I also took an official Myers-Briggs test as part of a psychology course I took in college. (100 points goes to the first reader who can guess what my Myers-Briggs type is based purely off my writing style and information I\'ve disclosed about myself in the articles I have currently published.) Introspection and self-reflection is pretty inherent to my nature, and psychology tests are another tool to that end. I have plenty of information about the inner-workings of my self and personality, however, I wonder if I am using that information to grow or find my place in the world, or if it\'s just more information I\'m hoarding.\n\nIf personality tests weren\'t enough, we now have the more spiritual and Christian approved version: Spiritual Gifts Inventories. These are all the rage in Christian conferences, churches, small groups and ministries. I\'m pretty sure I\'ve taken at least three different versions at different times in my life. If you are unfamiliar with the concept, spiritual gift inventories get their different gifts from Romans 12 (prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading, and mercy), 1 Corinthians 12 (wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment, speaking in tongues, and interpretation of tongues) and Ephesians 4:11 (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher). Some spiritual gift inventories, for better or worse,  also add in other gifts that are alluded to in other places throughout scripture, such as celibacy, hospitality, martyrdom, musical talent, and voluntary poverty, to name a few.\n\nWe all have a desire to know why God created us in our own unique way and what His Will is for our life. Knowing what your particular spiritual gifts are is certainly a good place to start in determining what direction to take in your life, be it ministry, vocation or otherwise.\n\nI have noticed an unfortunate tendency in both myself and others to use spiritual gifts as an excuse. Do you want to act like a complete jerk? Claim you don\'t have a mercy gifting. Don\'t want to share the Gospel with others? Claim you aren\'t an evangelist. Don\'t want to tithe, give to the poor, or help a friend in need? Claim you don\'t have the gift of giving. Don\'t want to serve others? Claim you don\'t have the gift of serving or the gift of helps.\n\nUnfortunately, we are called to do a lot of things, regardless of our giftings, if we are followers of Christ. If you think you can be a douche canoe to others just because you haven\'t been endowed with the supernatural gift of mercy, you may want to check out James 2:13 \"For judgment is without mercy to him that hath showed no mercy: mercy glorieth against judgment.\" Or really, what 1 Corinthians 13 has to say about love (my synopsis: don\'t be a jerk). If you think lacking the spiritual gift of giving gets you off the hook for helping others, you may want to look at James 1:27 \"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.\" Don\'t think you need to serve? You might want to consider Jesus\' words to the disciples regarding serving others in Luke 22: 25-27.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Spiritual Gifts: Spiritual Excuses','','inherit','open','open','','1311-revision-5','','','2011-10-27 11:34:34','2011-10-27 18:34:34','',1311,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1311-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(1317,48,'2011-10-27 11:36:14','2011-10-27 18:36:14','I am a personality test junkie. Part of this is no doubt due to my interest in psychology. I often ponder the complexities of personality: Does it form early in development and remain unchanging and static? Or is it more plastic, changing as we age? How much of personality is determined by genetics or by environment? What personality tests are the most accurate?\n\nI have taken pretty much every personality test I can find for free online (there are a few). I also took an official Myers-Briggs test as part of a psychology course I took in college. (100 points goes to the first reader who can guess what my Myers-Briggs type is based purely off my writing style and information I\'ve disclosed about myself in the articles I have currently published.) Introspection and self-reflection is pretty inherent to my nature, and psychology tests are another tool to that end. I have plenty of information about the inner-workings of my self and personality, however, I wonder if I am using that information to grow or find my place in the world, or if it\'s just more information I\'m hoarding.\n\nIf personality tests weren\'t enough, we now have the more spiritual and Christian approved version: Spiritual Gifts Inventories. These are all the rage in Christian conferences, churches, small groups and ministries. I\'m pretty sure I\'ve taken at least three different versions at different times in my life. If you are unfamiliar with the concept, spiritual gift inventories get their different gifts from Romans 12 (prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading, and mercy), 1 Corinthians 12 (wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment, speaking in tongues, and interpretation of tongues) and Ephesians 4:11 (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher). Some spiritual gift inventories, for better or worse,  also add in other gifts that are alluded to in other places throughout scripture, such as celibacy, hospitality, martyrdom, musical talent, and voluntary poverty, to name a few.\n\nWe all have a desire to know why God created us in our own unique way and what His Will is for our life. Knowing what your particular spiritual gifts are is certainly a good place to start in determining what direction to take in your life, be it ministry, vocation or otherwise.\n\nI have noticed an unfortunate tendency in both myself and others to use spiritual gifts as an excuse. Do you want to act like a complete jerk? Claim you don\'t have a mercy gifting. Don\'t want to share the Gospel with others? Claim you aren\'t an evangelist. Don\'t want to tithe, give to the poor, or help a friend in need? Claim you don\'t have the gift of giving. Don\'t want to serve others? Claim you don\'t have the gift of serving or the gift of helps.\n\nUnfortunately, we are called to do a lot of things, regardless of our giftings, if we are followers of Christ. If you think you can be a douche canoe to others just because you haven\'t been endowed with the supernatural gift of mercy, you may want to check out James 2:13 \"For judgment is without mercy to him that hath showed no mercy: mercy glorieth against judgment.\" Or really, what 1 Corinthians 13 has to say about love (my synopsis: don\'t be a jerk). If you think lacking the spiritual gift of giving gets you off the hook for helping others, you may want to look at James 1:27 \"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.\" Don\'t think you need to serve? You might want to consider Jesus\' words to the disciples regarding serving others in Luke 22: 25-27.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Spiritual Gifts: Spiritual Excuses','','inherit','open','open','','1311-revision-6','','','2011-10-27 11:36:14','2011-10-27 18:36:14','',1311,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1311-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(1318,48,'2011-10-27 11:52:32','2011-10-27 18:52:32','I am a personality test junkie. Part of this is no doubt due to my interest in psychology. I often ponder the complexities of personality: Does it form early in development and remain unchanging and static? Or is it more plastic, changing as we age? How much of personality is determined by genetics or by environment? What personality tests are the most accurate?\n\nI have taken pretty much every personality test I can find for free online (there are a few). I also took an official Myers-Briggs test as part of a psychology course I took in college. (100 points goes to the first reader who can guess what my Myers-Briggs type is based purely off my writing style and information I\'ve disclosed about myself in the articles I have currently published.) Introspection and self-reflection is pretty inherent to my nature, and psychology tests are another tool to that end. I have plenty of information about the inner-workings of my self and personality, however, I wonder if I am using that information to grow or find my place in the world, or if it\'s just more information I\'m hoarding.\n\nIf personality tests weren\'t enough, we now have the more spiritual and Christian approved version: Spiritual Gifts Inventories. These are all the rage in Christian conferences, churches, small groups and ministries. I\'m pretty sure I\'ve taken at least three different versions at different times in my life. If you are unfamiliar with the concept, spiritual gift inventories get their different gifts from Romans 12 (prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading, and mercy), 1 Corinthians 12 (wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment, speaking in tongues, and interpretation of tongues) and Ephesians 4:11 (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher). Some spiritual gift inventories, for better or worse,  also add in other gifts that are alluded to in other places throughout scripture, such as celibacy, hospitality, martyrdom, musical talent, and voluntary poverty, to name a few.\n\nWe all have a desire to know why God created us in our own unique way and what His Will is for our life. Knowing what your particular spiritual gifts are is certainly a good place to start in determining what direction to take in your life, be it ministry, vocation or otherwise.\n\nI have noticed an unfortunate tendency in both myself and others to use spiritual gifts as an excuse. Do you want to act like a complete jerk? Claim you don\'t have a mercy gifting. Don\'t want to share the Gospel with others? Claim you aren\'t an evangelist. Don\'t want to tithe, give to the poor, or help a friend in need? Claim you don\'t have the gift of giving. Don\'t want to serve others? Claim you don\'t have the gift of serving or the gift of helps.\n\nUnfortunately, we are called to do a lot of things, regardless of our giftings, if we are followers of Christ. If you think you can be a douche canoe to others just because you haven\'t been endowed with the supernatural gift of mercy, you may want to check out James 2:13 \"For judgment is without mercy to him that hath showed no mercy: mercy glorieth against judgment.\"  If you think lacking the spiritual gift of giving gets you off the hook for helping others, you may want to look at James 1:27 \"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.\" Don\'t think you need to serve? You might want to consider Jesus\' words to the disciples regarding serving others in Luke 22: 25-27.\n\nPerhaps the bigger issue is that we focus to much on ourselves, who we are, and what we are gifted at (or not gifted at). We focus on the gifts, like those listed in 1 Corinthians 12, and forget what Paul said next:\n<p>\"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.</p>\n<p>Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices wit h the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.\" 1 Corinthians 13:1-8</p>\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Spiritual Gifts: Spiritual Excuses','','inherit','open','open','','1311-revision-7','','','2011-10-27 11:52:32','2011-10-27 18:52:32','',1311,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1311-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(1319,48,'2011-10-27 12:13:42','2011-10-27 19:13:42','I am a personality test junkie. Part of this is no doubt due to my interest in psychology. I love to ponder the complexities of personality: Does it form early in development and remain unchanging and static? Or is it more plastic, changing as we age? How much do genetics or the environment determine personality? What personality tests are the most accurate?\n\nI have taken pretty much every free personality test I can find online (and there are more than a few). I also took the official version of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator as part of a psychology course I took in college. (100 points goes to the first reader who can guess what my Myers-Briggs type is based purely off my writing style and personal information I\'ve disclosed in the articles I have currently published.) Introspection and self-reflection is pretty inherent to my nature, and psychology tests are another tool to that end. I have plenty of information about the inner-workings of my self and personality, however, I wonder if I am using that information to grow or find my place in the world, or if it\'s just more information I\'m hoarding.\n\nIf personality tests weren\'t enough, we now have the more spiritual and Christian approved version: spiritual gifts inventories. These are all the rage in Christian conferences, churches, small groups and ministries. I\'m pretty sure I\'ve taken at least three different versions at different times in my life. If you are unfamiliar with the concept, spiritual gift inventories get their listing of gifts from Romans 12 (prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading, and mercy), 1 Corinthians 12 (wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment, speaking in tongues, and interpretation of tongues) and Ephesians 4:11 (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher). Some spiritual gift inventories also include other possible gifts referred to in miscellaneous places in scripture, such as celibacy, hospitality, martyrdom, musical talent, and voluntary poverty, to name a few. What \"gifts\" should actually be included in spiritual gift inventories is perhaps a great topic to tackle at another point in time.\n\nSo why all the buzz with spiritual gift inventories? Well, we all have a desire to know why God created us in our own unique way and what His Will is for our life. Knowing what your particular spiritual gifts are is certainly a good place to start in determining what direction to take in your life, be it ministry, vocation or otherwise. If you haven\'t taken one, I highly suggest that you do. (If you google \"spiritual gift inventory\", you will find a couple free options.)\n\nThat being said, I have noticed an unfortunate tendency in both myself and others to use spiritual gifts as an excuse. Do you want to act like a complete jerk? Claim you don\'t have a mercy gifting. Don\'t want to share the Gospel with others? Claim you aren\'t an evangelist. Don\'t want to tithe, give to the poor, or help a friend in need? Claim you don\'t have the gift of giving. Don\'t want to serve others? Claim you don\'t have the gift of serving or the gift of helps.\n\nUnfortunately, God calls us to do a lot of things, regardless of our gifts. If you think you can be a douche canoe to others just because you haven\'t been endowed with the supernatural gift of mercy, you may want to check out James 2:13 \"For judgment is without mercy to him that hath showed no mercy: mercy glorieth against judgment.\"  If you think lacking the spiritual gift of giving gets you off the hook for helping others, you may want to look at James 1:27 \"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.\" Don\'t think you need to serve? You might want to consider Jesus\' words to the disciples regarding serving others in Luke 22: 25-27.\n\nPerhaps the bigger issue is that we focus too much on ourselves, who we are, and what we are gifted at (or not gifted at). We place an inordinately high value and focus on the gifts, like those listed in 1 Corinthians 12, but forget what Paul said next:\n<blockquote>\"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.\"  1 Corinthians 13:1-3</blockquote>\nSpiritual gifts, after all, aren\'t really gifts to keep for ourselves. God give these gifts to help serve, edify, and build up the other members of the Body of Christ. The trick is finding a way to self-reflective without being self-absorbed.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Spiritual Gifts and Spiritual Excuses','','inherit','open','open','','1311-revision-8','','','2011-10-27 12:13:42','2011-10-27 19:13:42','',1311,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1311-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(1321,48,'2011-10-27 12:25:50','2011-10-27 19:25:50','I am a personality test junkie. Part of this is no doubt due to my interest in psychology. I love to ponder the complexities of personality theory: Does it form early in development and remain unchanging and static? Or is it more plastic, changing as we age? How much do genetics or the environment determine personality? What personality tests are the most accurate?\n\nI have taken pretty much every free personality test available online (and there are more than a few). I have also taken the official version of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator as part of one of my college psychology courses. (100 points goes to the first reader who can guess what my Myers-Briggs type is based purely off my writing style and personal information I\'ve disclosed in the articles I have currently published.) Introspection and self-reflection is pretty inherent to my nature, and psychology tests are another tool to that end. I have plenty of information about the inner-workings of my self and personality; however, I wonder if I am using that information to grow or find my place in the world, or if it\'s just more information I\'m hoarding.\n\nIf personality tests weren\'t enough, we now have the more spiritual and Christian approved version: spiritual gifts inventories. These are all the rage in Christian conferences, churches, small groups and ministries. I\'m pretty sure I\'ve taken at least three different versions at different times in my life. If you are unfamiliar with the concept, spiritual gift inventories get their listing of gifts from Romans 12 (prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading, and mercy), 1 Corinthians 12 (wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment, speaking in tongues, and interpretation of tongues) and Ephesians 4:11 (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher). Some spiritual gift inventories also include other gifts referred to in miscellaneous places in scripture, such as celibacy, hospitality, martyrdom, musical talent, and voluntary poverty, to name a few. What \"gifts\" should actually be included in spiritual gift inventories is debatable and perhaps a great topic to tackle at another point in time.\n\nSo, why all the buzz with spiritual gift inventories? Well, we all have a desire to know why God created us in our own unique way, and what His Will is for our life. Knowing what your particular spiritual gifts are is certainly a good place to start in determining what direction to take in your life, be it ministry, vocation or otherwise. If you haven\'t taken one, I highly suggest that you do. (If you google \"spiritual gift inventory\", you will find a couple free options.)\n\nThat being said, I have noticed an unfortunate tendency in both myself and others to use spiritual gifts as an excuse. Do you want to act like a complete jerk? Claim you don\'t have a mercy gifting. Don\'t want to share the Gospel with others? Claim you aren\'t an evangelist. Don\'t want to tithe, give to the poor, or help someone in need? Claim you don\'t have the gift of giving. Don\'t want to serve others? Claim you don\'t have the gift of serving or the gift of helps.\n\nUnfortunately, God calls us to do a lot of things, regardless of our individual spiritual gifts. If you think you can be a douche canoe to others just because you haven\'t been endowed with the supernatural gift of mercy, you may want to check out James 2:13: \"Because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.\"  If you think lacking the spiritual gift of giving gets you off the hook for helping others, you may want to look at James 1:27: \"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.\" Don\'t think you need to serve? You might want to consider Jesus\' words to the disciples regarding serving others in Luke 22: 25-27.\n\nPerhaps the bigger issue is that we focus too much on ourselves, who we are, and what we are gifted at (or not gifted at). We place an inordinately high value and focus on the gifts, like those listed in 1 Corinthians 12, but forget what Paul said next:\n<blockquote>\"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,<span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"font-size: 11px\"> </span>but do not have love, I gain nothing.\"  1 Corinthians 13:1-3</blockquote>\nSpiritual gifts, after all, aren\'t really gifts to keep for ourselves. God give these gifts to help serve, edify, and build up the other members of the Body of Christ.  To use your gifts, it certainly does helpThe difficulty is finding a way to be self-reflective without being self-absorbed.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Spiritual Gifts and Spiritual Excuses','','inherit','open','open','','1311-revision-9','','','2011-10-27 12:25:50','2011-10-27 19:25:50','',1311,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1311-revision-9/',0,'revision','',0),(1322,48,'2011-10-27 12:31:37','2011-10-27 19:31:37','I am a personality test junkie. Part of this is no doubt due to my interest in psychology. I love to ponder the complexities of personality theory: Does it form early in development and remain unchanging and static? Or is it more plastic, changing as we age? How much do genetics or the environment determine personality? What personality tests are the most accurate?\n\nI have taken pretty much every free personality test available online (and there are more than a few). I have also taken the official version of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator as part of one of my college psychology courses. (100 points goes to the first reader who can guess what my Myers-Briggs type is purely based off my writing style and the personal information I\'ve disclosed in my posts.) Introspection and self-reflection is pretty inherent to my nature, and psychology tests are another tool to that end. I have plenty of information about the inner-workings of my self and personality; however, I wonder if I am using that information to grow or find my place in the world, or if it\'s just more information I\'m hoarding.\n\nIf personality tests weren\'t enough, we now have the more spiritual and Christian approved version: spiritual gifts inventories. These are all the rage in Christian conferences, churches, small groups and ministries. I\'m pretty sure I\'ve taken at least three different versions at different times in my life. If you are unfamiliar with the concept, spiritual gift inventories get their listing of gifts from Romans 12 (prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading, and mercy), 1 Corinthians 12 (wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment, speaking in tongues, and interpretation of tongues) and Ephesians 4:11 (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher). Some spiritual gift inventories also include other gifts referred to in miscellaneous places in scripture, such as celibacy, hospitality, martyrdom, musical talent, and voluntary poverty, to name a few. What \"gifts\" should actually be included in spiritual gift inventories is debatable and perhaps a great topic to tackle at another point in time.\n\nSo, why all the buzz with spiritual gift inventories? Well, we all have a desire to know why God created us in our own unique way, and what His Will is for our life. Knowing what your particular spiritual gifts are is certainly a good place to start in determining what direction to take in your life, be it ministry, vocation or otherwise. If you haven\'t taken one, I highly suggest that you do. (If you google \"spiritual gift inventory\", you will find at least a couple free spiritual gifts tests.)\n\nThat being said, I have noticed an unfortunate tendency in both myself and others to use spiritual gifts as an excuse. Do you want to act like a complete jerk? Claim you don\'t have a mercy gifting. Don\'t want to share the Gospel with others? Claim you aren\'t an evangelist. Don\'t want to tithe, give to the poor, or help someone in need? Claim you don\'t have the gift of giving. Don\'t want to serve others? Claim you don\'t have the gift of serving or the gift of helps.\n\nUnfortunately, God calls us to do a lot of things, regardless of our individual spiritual gifts. If you think you can be a douche canoe to others just because you haven\'t been endowed with the supernatural gift of mercy, you may want to check out James 2:13: \"Because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.\"  If you think lacking the spiritual gift of giving gets you off the hook for helping others, you may want to look at James 1:27: \"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.\" If you think that you can sit on your tookus all day long just because you don\'t have the gift of serving,  you might want to consider Jesus\' words to the disciples regarding serving others in Luke 22: 25-27.\n\nPerhaps the bigger issue is that we focus too much on ourselves, who we are, and what we are gifted at (or not gifted at). We place an inordinately high value and focus on the gifts, like those listed in 1 Corinthians 12, but forget what Paul said next:\n<blockquote>\"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,<span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"font-size: 11px\"> </span>but do not have love, I gain nothing.\"  1 Corinthians 13:1-3</blockquote>\nSpiritual gifts, after all, aren\'t really gifts to keep for ourselves. God give these gifts to help serve, edify, and build up the other members of the Body of Christ.  To use your gifts, it certainly does help to actually understand and know what they are; the difficulty is finding a way to be self-reflective without being self-absorbed.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Spiritual Gifts and Spiritual Excuses','','inherit','open','open','','1311-revision-10','','','2011-10-27 12:31:37','2011-10-27 19:31:37','',1311,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1311-revision-10/',0,'revision','',0),(1323,0,'2011-10-27 12:52:18','2011-10-27 19:52:18','Christian faith and culture\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Matt Appling\nAUTHOR EMAIL: thechurchofnopeople@gmail.com\nAUTHOR URL: http://thechurchofnopeople.com\nSUBJECT: Provoketive Magazine Writing For Provoketive\nIP: 99.69.204.147\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Matt Appling\n    [Email] =&gt; thechurchofnopeople@gmail.com\n    [Existing Blog or Website] =&gt; thechurchofnopeople.com\n    [List the topic you are interested writing about] =&gt; Christian faith and culture\n    [Current or New WordPress Login Name (We\'ll send you a password.)] =&gt; mattappling\n)\n','Matt Appling - 2011-10-27 12:52:18','','publish','open','open','','e898b25852383c95cc777a98850d3f9b','','','2011-10-27 12:52:18','2011-10-27 19:52:18','',358,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=1323',0,'feedback','',0),(1324,48,'2011-10-27 12:53:21','2011-10-27 19:53:21','I am a personality test junkie. Part of this is no doubt due to my interest in psychology. I love to ponder the complexities of personality theory: Does it form early in development and remain unchanging and static? Or is it more plastic, changing as we age? How much do genetics or the environment determine personality? What personality tests are the most accurate?\n\nI have taken pretty much every free personality test available online (and there are more than a few). I have also taken the official version of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator as part of one of my college psychology courses. (100 points goes to the first reader who can guess what my Myers-Briggs type is purely based off my writing style and the personal information I\'ve disclosed in my posts.) Introspection and self-reflection is pretty inherent to my nature, and psychology tests are another tool to that end. I have plenty of information about the inner-workings of my self and personality; however, I wonder if I am using that information to grow or find my place in the world, or if it\'s just more information I\'m hoarding.\n\nIf personality tests weren\'t enough, we now have the more spiritual and Christian approved version: spiritual gifts inventories. These are all the rage in Christian conferences, churches, small groups and ministries. I\'m pretty sure I\'ve taken at least three different versions at different times in my life. If you are unfamiliar with the concept, spiritual gift inventories get their listing of gifts from Romans 12 (prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading, and mercy), 1 Corinthians 12 (wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment, speaking in tongues, and interpretation of tongues) and Ephesians 4:11 (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher). Some spiritual gift inventories also include other gifts referred to in miscellaneous places in scripture, such as celibacy, hospitality, martyrdom, musical talent, and voluntary poverty, to name a few. What \"gifts\" should actually be included in spiritual gift inventories is debatable and perhaps a great topic to tackle at another point in time.\n\nSo, why all the buzz with spiritual gift inventories? Well, we all have a desire to know why God created us in our own unique way, and what His Will is for our life. Knowing what your particular spiritual gifts are is certainly a good place to start in determining what direction to take in your life, be it ministry, vocation or otherwise. If you haven\'t taken one, I highly suggest that you do. (If you google \"spiritual gift inventory\", you will find at least a couple free spiritual gifts tests.)\n\nThat being said, I have noticed an unfortunate tendency in both myself and others to use spiritual gifts as excuses. Do you want to act like a complete jerk? Claim you don\'t have a mercy gifting. Don\'t want to share the Gospel with others? Claim you aren\'t an evangelist. Don\'t want to tithe, give to the poor, or help someone in need? Claim you don\'t have the gift of giving. Don\'t want to serve others? Claim you don\'t have the gift of serving or the gift of helps.\n\nUnfortunately, God calls us to do a lot of things, regardless of our individual spiritual gifts. If you think you can be a douche canoe to others just because you haven\'t been endowed with the supernatural gift of mercy, you may want to check out James 2:13: \"Because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.\"  If you think lacking the spiritual gift of giving gets you off the hook for helping others, you may want to look at James 1:27: \"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.\" If you think that you can sit on your tookus all day long just because you don\'t have the gift of serving,  you might want to consider Jesus\' words to the disciples in Luke 22: 25-27.\n\nPerhaps the bigger issue is that we focus too much on ourselves, who we are, and what we are gifted at (or not gifted at). We place an inordinately high value and focus on the gifts, like those listed in 1 Corinthians 12, but forget what Paul said next:\n<blockquote>\"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,<span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"font-size: 11px\"> </span>but do not have love, I gain nothing.\"  1 Corinthians 13:1-3</blockquote>\nSpiritual gifts, after all, aren\'t really gifts to keep for ourselves. God give these gifts to help serve, edify, and build up the other members of the Body of Christ.  To use your gifts, it certainly does help to actually understand and know what they are; the difficulty is finding a way to be self-reflective without being self-absorbed.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Spiritual Gifts and Spiritual Excuses','','inherit','open','open','','1311-revision-11','','','2011-10-27 12:53:21','2011-10-27 19:53:21','',1311,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1311-revision-11/',0,'revision','',0),(2643,1,'2011-11-28 06:30:53','2011-11-28 14:30:53','<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This coming Sunday marks the beginning of the Advent season.  The church is four weeks away from celebrating the birth of Christ and the welcoming of the Prince of Peace into the world.  It is a time of anticipation, of expectation, and of longing.</p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">It is fitting that the first week of Advent symbolizes hope.</p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Advent season brings hope in a more just world.  Hope that peace will overcome war.  Hope in reconciling with our fellow man.  Hope that suffering will soon be no more.</p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Looking at the world today, Advent has never seemed more real.  Tens of thousands of people are in the streets crying out for truth, for righteousness, for justice.  While it cannot be said that the Occupy movement is a religious movement, there is <em>something</em> universal, something spiritual about it.</p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Critics say that the movement is too varied, leaderless, and directionless to be effective.  While there is some truth that there isn’t a short list of 30-second sound bytes to define what Occupy is about, that is sort of the point.</p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The people are the message.</p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">If the Occupy movement was about a singular policy position, as another recent political movement has been, it would have collapsed at the first sign of opposition from the status quo.  Two and a half months later, the voices have only grown stronger.</p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">People from all across the demographic spectra are coming together for something more powerful than the critics realize.</p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hope.</p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hope is the unifying force that binds this diverse group of people, professional and student, young and old, black and white, together in the face of stiff and sometimes violent opposition.</p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The kind of hope that is birthed from the understanding that we, as a society, are not only responsible to each other but for each other as well.</p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hope in the promise of ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”.</p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hope that people see that the Kingdom truly is “at hand”.</p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hope that justice will be restored.</p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hope in a better world yet to come.</p>','An Unruly Advent Season','','inherit','open','open','','2560-autosave','','','2011-11-28 06:30:53','2011-11-28 14:30:53','',2560,'http://provoketive.com/2011/11/28/2560-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(2644,1,'2011-11-23 14:04:59','2011-11-23 22:04:59','<p style=\"text-align: justify\">This coming Sunday marks the beginning of the Advent season.  The church is four weeks away from celebrating the birth of Christ and the welcoming of the Prince of Peace into the world.  It is a time of anticipation, of expectation, and of longing.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">It is fitting that the first week of Advent symbolizes hope.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">The Advent season brings hope in a more just world.  Hope that peace will overcome war.  Hope in reconciling with our fellow man.  Hope that suffering will soon be no more.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Looking at the world today, Advent has never seemed more real.  Tens of thousands of people are in the streets crying out for truth, for righteousness, for justice.  While it cannot be said that the Occupy movement is a religious movement, there is <em>something</em> universal, something spiritual about it.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Critics say that the movement is too varied, leaderless, and directionless to be effective.  While there is some truth that there isn’t a short list of 30-second soundbytes to define what Occupy is about, that is sort of the point.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">The people are the message.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">If the Occupy movement was about a singular policy position, as another recent political movement has been, it would have collapsed at the first sign of opposition from the status quo.  Two and a half months later, the voices have only grown stronger.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">People from all across the demographic spectra are coming together for something more powerful than the critics realize.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Hope.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Hope is the unifying force that binds this diverse group of people, professional and student, young and old, black and white, together in the face of stiff and sometimes violent opposition.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">The kind of hope that is birthed from the understanding that we, as a society, are not only responsible to each other but for each other as well.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Hope in the promise of ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Hope that people see that the Kingdom truly is “at hand”.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Hope that justice will be restored.</p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\">Hope in a better world yet to come.</p>','An Unruly Advent Season','','inherit','open','open','','2560-revision-2','','','2011-11-23 14:04:59','2011-11-23 22:04:59','',2560,'http://provoketive.com/2011/11/23/2560-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(2624,106,'2011-11-29 09:00:23','2011-11-29 17:00:23','While recently visiting a (Won) Buddhist temple, I heard one practitioner refer to Jesus as a Buddha. I was struck by the generosity of calling the leader of another faith one’s most cherished, revered term. In Won Buddhism, as I understand it, there is an effort for each person to embrace their Buddhahood and see the Buddha in another, so the statement was not at all unusual in that context. However it did lead me to a place of introspection about my own faith path. Could I, raised a Christian, return the favor? Could I say “Buddha is a Savior, Redeemer”?\r\n\r\nI have been frustrated and turned off by the churches I have visited that seem to place their God high above any other God. If there truly is one God, isn’t that one God as high as any God can be?\r\n\r\nI recently attended a conference at a megachurch in the Midwest. And I was disturbed by two of the things I experienced there. One of those things was the lead pastor (who I have followed and respected for many years) saying that “Christianity was the only Religion about Love”. Really? Really? Have you explored any other religions? My personal experience with other, non-Christian religions is they really are about love. They are about getting out negativity so the love can flow in. The second thing that disturbed me during my megachurch experience was surprisingly, the music. Although the music was inspiring and energetic, the lyrics were anything but. One song in particular featured the message: “Our God is stronger than your God, Our God is greater than Your God, etc.” Really? Are we in seventh grade or something? Are we really that competitive?\r\n\r\nTo me it seems when you have to tell someone your God is better, stronger, greater, more loving…than perhaps deep down you have some doubts on this topic?\r\n\r\nWhat if there is only one God, and this one God is manifested in many beautiful names? Those names could include Jesus Christ, Wonderful, Counselor Allah, Buddha, and scores of other names.\r\n\r\nIf we believe in one God, let’s start living and talking like it, and stop being so competitive. Start accepting that that one God is so brilliant that he made many ways to show himself before us all.\r\n\r\nThere are passages in the Bible that really resonate with me around this issue, for instance, this one from John (10:16) As Jesus said, \"And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd\".\r\n\r\nPerhaps the variety in religion is part of God’s big plan, and we should start showing some respect. Why wouldn’t God show up differently in the varied landscape of world culture. In this quote by theologian Emanuel Swedenborg (Divine Providence 254) he seems to call this idea out quite clearly. \"When a religion has been implanted in a nation, the Lord leads that nation according to the precepts and dogmas of its own religion. He has provided that there shall be in every religion precepts like those in the Ten Commandments....The nation that regards these precepts as Divine and lives according to them from a religious motive is saved.\".','Jesus Is A Buddha','','publish','open','open','','jesus-is-a-buddha','','','2011-11-28 07:06:17','2011-11-28 15:06:17','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=2624',0,'post','',44),(2625,106,'2011-11-27 11:02:10','2011-11-27 19:02:10','','An Alternative to Competetive Christianity','','inherit','open','open','','2624-revision','','','2011-11-27 11:02:10','2011-11-27 19:02:10','',2624,'http://provoketive.com/2011/11/27/2624-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(1328,13,'2011-10-27 14:08:37','2011-10-27 21:08:37','Last year I met with a couple of friends for beer and conversation (two of my favorite things!). Let me just preface by saying that at the time neither person I was talking with knew my full life story. Neither has journeyed with me through deep struggles or has seen the way that Christ has transformed me. They only know the Kara they see sitting in front of them today. Yet, I sit here amazed that God showed up and gave me the words to share something that not even the closest of my friends knew at the time.\r\n\r\nHere’s what God revealed that day: I can’t define but I can <strong>see</strong> what forgiveness looks like in my life. I can be free from guilt. I don’t fear sharing my life with others because frankly I don’t care if it makes them uncomfortable– being comfortable is for wimps.\r\n\r\nOver ten years ago my mother was killed in a car wreck. I guess I should say “accident” but that would require me to believe that there are accidents in life… which I don’t.  I was 16 years old and just starting to figure out who I was. On that hot Texas morning I instantly became a mom figure to my two younger brothers and had to put aside the normal life issues that a teenager deals with. There were more important things to deal with. Of course everyone around my family helped in their own way. People brought dinner to us for over 8 months. Notice I said dinner, not plural. Even now I still can’t look at a chicken casserole without wanting to vomit. Others sent beautiful cards and letters expressing their heartfelt sympathies with phrases like “I understand”, “I know what you’re going through”, “Your mom is in a better place so you shouldn’t feel sad”. Gee, thanks guys.  I had therapists diagnosing me with things like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, and my favorite “anger and rebellion issues”.  Please don’t think that I’m not grateful for other people helping my family. I’m beyond grateful for all that the hundreds of compassionate souls did for us. I’ve also come to the conclusion that the best thing you can do for someone in grief is to stop talking and just listen. The best thing anyone did for me during that time was sit next to me and just listen to me cry, scream, and share my thoughts.  I had a running list of reasons why I was mad and justifiably so:\r\n\r\n<em>*My mother was dead. I had watched her die.\r\n</em>\r\n\r\n<em>*My father was hurting and I couldn’t fix him. No one could.</em>\r\n\r\n<em>*My brothers were only 6 and 10 and would grow up without their mother too. Elijah at 6 years old would never really remember her.</em>\r\n\r\n<em>*I didn’t understand why God let this happen. He should have known right?</em>\r\n\r\n<em>*This really REALLY screwed up my life. My social life was dead. I had a family to take care of. I couldn’t enjoy high school and therefore chose to just stop going for a few months.</em>\r\n\r\nI was royally pissed off and I wanted everyone to know about it. Not understand it, just know it. In the midst of all of this I found myself placing blame on many people. First, my dad for driving our car. Didn’t he see the other driver run the red light? That only lasted until I regained some sort of common sense. Next, I blamed God (this continued in some form for years to come). I blamed myself. I was sitting in the back of the car until 5 minutes before we left our house. My mother insisted that I sit up front with my dad and she would take my place in back. <strong>She took my place.</strong> Ugh. The guilt of thinking “it could have/should have been me” stuck with me for too long. Finally, I landed on the most obvious choice: the man in the other car.  The idiot who didn’t think to pay attention while driving. The drunk driver.\r\n\r\nHis name is Robert. For many years I’ve thought about him and instantly felt sick to my stomach. He utterly repulsed me. How could someone take another life and essentially get away with it? He spent no time in jail, never paid a dime in damages. <strong>He was free. I however was not. </strong>The anger and complete desire to never forgive this man honestly drove many of my decisions for the next few years. I was reckless and didn’t care what others thought or how my choices might affect them.\r\n\r\nThere’s so much more of the story to share here and although I won’t write it out right now, I did share my complete story, the good bad and really ugly to those 2 friends at a bar last fall. In that moment God said this to me, “Let go, stop running and just forgive Robert.” Really God? Really??? I had to first figure out what forgiveness was and what it wasn’t. <em>Forgiveness is not a pardon</em>. It’s not me saying that what he did to my family was OK, nor is my act of forgiveness based on his ownership of his mistake. I shouldn’t expect for him to one day find  a way to apologize to us. Would that really help? I can’t wait for him to confront me. <strong>This is not about him anymore.  This is about me and God. Period. </strong>My decision to forgive Robert is not based on anything other than my desire to: 1. authentically be who I am 2. grow closer to Jesus 3. feel freedom.\r\n\r\nI read <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bread-Journey-Daybook-Wisdom-Faith/dp/0060663766\" target=\"_blank\">this</a> recently which included the following: Forgiveness, the Way of Freedom by Henri Nouwen. You know when you read something and it hits you like a brick in the face? Your first reaction is “Damn, that really hurt!” followed by, “Yeah, I probably deserved/needed that.”  All this to say, you’ve been warned:\r\n\r\n<em>“To forgive another person from the heart is an act of liberation. We set that person free from the negative bonds that exist between us. We say, “I no longer hold your offense against you” <strong>But there is more.</strong> We also free ourselves from the burden of being the “offended one.” As long as we do not forgive those who have wounded us, we carry them with us or, worse, pull them as a heavy load. The great temptation is to cling in anger to our enemies and then define ourselves as being offended and wounded by them. Forgiveness, therefore, liberates not only the other but also ourselves. It is the way to the freedom of the children of God.”</em>\r\n\r\nI don’t have a complete definition of what forgiveness is for me but I now know what it looks like in my life and relationships. I no longer cling to anger. I am not defined by what others have done to me or by being a victim of anything. <strong>I am a beloved child of the King. I am free.</strong>','Forgiveness Ain\'t Easy','','publish','open','open','','forgiveness-aint-easy','','','2011-10-27 14:08:54','2011-10-27 21:08:54','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=1328',0,'post','',4),(1329,13,'2011-10-27 13:14:24','2011-10-27 20:14:24','','forgive1','I\'m dropping the stone of anger and choosing a different way. Forgive.','inherit','open','open','','forgive1','','','2011-10-27 13:14:24','2011-10-27 20:14:24','',1328,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/forgive1.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(1330,13,'2011-10-27 13:11:25','2011-10-27 20:11:25','&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLast year I met with a couple of friends for beer and conversation (two of my favorite things by the way!). Let me just preface by saying that at the time neither person I was talking to knew my full life story. Neither has journeyed with me through deep struggles or has seen the way that Christ has transformed me. They only know the Kara they see sitting in front of them today. Yet, I sit here amazed that God showed up and gave me the words to share something that not even the closest of my friends knew at the time.\n\nHere’s what God revealed that day: I can’t define but I can <strong>see</strong> what forgiveness looks like in my life. I can be free from guilt. I don’t fear sharing my life with others because frankly I don’t care if it makes them uncomfortable– being comfortable is for wimps.\n\nOver ten years ago my mother was killed in a car wreck. I guess I should say “accident” but that would require me to believe that there are accidents in life… which I don’t.  I was 16 years old and just starting to figure out who I was. On that hot Texas morning I instantly became a mom figure to my two younger brothers and had to put aside the normal life issues that a teenager deals with. There were more important things to deal with. Of course everyone around my family helped in their own way. People brought dinner to us for over 8 months. Notice I said dinner, not plural. Even now I still can’t look at a chicken casserole without wanting to vomit. Others sent beautiful cards and letters expressing their heartfelt sympathies with phrases like “I understand”, “I know what you’re going through”, “Your mom is in a better place so you shouldn’t feel sad”. Gee, thanks guys.  I had therapists diagnosing me with things like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, and my favorite “anger and rebellion issues”.  Please don’t think that I’m not grateful for other people helping my family. I’m beyond grateful for all that the hundreds of compassionate souls did for us. I’ve also come to the conclusion that the best thing you can do for someone in grief is to stop talking and just listen. The best thing anyone did for me during that time was sit next to me and just listen to me cry, scream, and share my thoughts.  I had a running list of reasons why I was mad- and justifiably so:\n\n<em>*My mother was dead.</em>\n\n<em>*My dad was hurting and I couldn’t fix him. No one could.</em>\n\n<em>*My brothers were only 6 and 10 and would grow up without their mother too. Elijah at 6 years old would probably never really remember her.</em>\n\n<em>*I didn’t understand why God let this happen. He should have known right?</em>\n\n<em>*This really REALLY screwed up my life. My social life was dead- I had a family to take care of. I couldn’t enjoy high school and therefore chose to just stop going for a few months.</em>\n\nI was royally pissed off and I wanted everyone to know about it. Not understand it, just know it. In the midst of all of this I found myself placing blame on many people. First, my dad for driving our car. Didn’t he see the other driver run the red light? That only lasted until I regained some sort of common sense. Next, I blamed God (this continued in some form for years to come). I blamed myself. I was sitting in the back of the car until 5 minutes before we left our house. My mother insisted that I sit up front with my dad and she would take my place in back. <strong>She took my place.</strong> Ugh. The guilt of thinking “it could have/should have been me” stuck with me for too long. Finally, I landed on the most obvious choice: the man in the other car.  The idiot who didn’t think to pay attention while driving. The drunk driver.\n\nHis name is Robert. For many years I’ve thought about him and instantly felt sick to my stomach. He utterly repulsed me. How could someone take another life and essentially get away with it? He spent no time in jail, never paid a dime in damages. <strong>He was free. I however was not. </strong>The anger and complete desire to never forgive this man honestly drove many of my decisions for the next few years. I was reckless and didn’t care what others thought or how my choices might affect them.\n\nThere’s so much more of the story to share here and although I won’t write it out right now, I did share my complete story, the good bad and really ugly to those 2 friends at a bar last fall. In that moment God said this to me, “Let go, stop running and just forgive Robert.” Really God? Really??? I had to first figure out what forgiveness was and what it wasn’t. <em>Forgiveness is not a pardon</em>. It’s not me saying that what he did to my family was OK, nor is my act of forgiveness based on his ownership of his mistake. I shouldn’t expect for him to one day find  a way to apologize to us. Would that really help? I can’t wait for him to confront me. <strong>This is not about him anymore.  This is about me and God. Period. </strong>My decision to forgive Robert is not based on anything other than my desire to: 1. authentically be who I am 2. grow closer to Jesus 3. feel freedom.\n\nI read <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bread-Journey-Daybook-Wisdom-Faith/dp/0060663766\" target=\"_blank\">this</a> recently which included the following: Forgiveness, the Way of Freedom by Henri Nouwen. You know when you read something and it hits you like a brick in the face? Your first reaction is “Damn, that really hurt!” followed by, “Yeah, I probably deserved/needed that.”  All this to say, you’ve been warned:\n\n“To forgive another person from the heart is an act of liberation. We set that person free from the negative bonds that exist between us. We say, “I no longer hold your offense against you” <strong>But there is more.</strong> We also free ourselves from the burden of being the “offended one.” As long as we do not forgive those who have wounded us, we carry them with us or, worse, pull them as a heavy load. The great temptation is to cling in anger to our enemies and then define ourselves as being offended and wounded by them. Forgiveness, therefore, liberates not only the other but also ourselves. It is the way to the freedom of the children of God.”\n\nI don’t have a complete definition of what forgiveness is for me. I do know what it looks like in my life and relationships now. I no longer cling to anger. I am not defined by what others have done to me or being a victim of anything. I am a child of God. <strong>I am free.</strong>','forgiveness ain\'t easy','','inherit','open','open','','1328-revision','','','2011-10-27 13:11:25','2011-10-27 20:11:25','',1328,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1328-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(1337,13,'2011-10-27 13:23:17','2011-10-27 20:23:17','Last year I met with a couple of friends for beer and conversation (two of my favorite things by the way!). Let me just preface by saying that at the time neither person I was talking with knew my full life story. Neither has journeyed with me through deep struggles or has seen the way that Christ has transformed me. They only know the Kara they see sitting in front of them today. Yet, I sit here amazed that God showed up and gave me the words to share something that not even the closest of my friends knew at the time.\n\nHere’s what God revealed that day: I can’t define but I can <strong>see</strong> what forgiveness looks like in my life. I can be free from guilt. I don’t fear sharing my life with others because frankly I don’t care if it makes them uncomfortable– being comfortable is for wimps.\n\nOver ten years ago my mother was killed in a car wreck. I guess I should say “accident” but that would require me to believe that there are accidents in life… which I don’t.  I was 16 years old and just starting to figure out who I was. On that hot Texas morning I instantly became a mom figure to my two younger brothers and had to put aside the normal life issues that a teenager deals with. There were more important things to deal with. Of course everyone around my family helped in their own way. People brought dinner to us for over 8 months. Notice I said dinner, not plural. Even now I still can’t look at a chicken casserole without wanting to vomit. Others sent beautiful cards and letters expressing their heartfelt sympathies with phrases like “I understand”, “I know what you’re going through”, “Your mom is in a better place so you shouldn’t feel sad”. Gee, thanks guys.  I had therapists diagnosing me with things like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, and my favorite “anger and rebellion issues”.  Please don’t think that I’m not grateful for other people helping my family. I’m beyond grateful for all that the hundreds of compassionate souls did for us. I’ve also come to the conclusion that the best thing you can do for someone in grief is to stop talking and just listen. The best thing anyone did for me during that time was sit next to me and just listen to me cry, scream, and share my thoughts.  I had a running list of reasons why I was mad and justifiably so:\n\n<em>*My mother was dead. I had watched her die.\n</em>\n\n<em>*My father was hurting and I couldn’t fix him. No one could.</em>\n\n<em>*My brothers were only 6 and 10 and would grow up without their mother too. Elijah at 6 years old would never really remember her.</em>\n\n<em>*I didn’t understand why God let this happen. He should have known right?</em>\n\n<em>*This really REALLY screwed up my life. My social life was dead. I had a family to take care of. I couldn’t enjoy high school and therefore chose to just stop going for a few months.</em>\n\nI was royally pissed off and I wanted everyone to know about it. Not understand it, just know it. In the midst of all of this I found myself placing blame on many people. First, my dad for driving our car. Didn’t he see the other driver run the red light? That only lasted until I regained some sort of common sense. Next, I blamed God (this continued in some form for years to come). I blamed myself. I was sitting in the back of the car until 5 minutes before we left our house. My mother insisted that I sit up front with my dad and she would take my place in back. <strong>She took my place.</strong> Ugh. The guilt of thinking “it could have/should have been me” stuck with me for too long. Finally, I landed on the most obvious choice: the man in the other car.  The idiot who didn’t think to pay attention while driving. The drunk driver.\n\nHis name is Robert. For many years I’ve thought about him and instantly felt sick to my stomach. He utterly repulsed me. How could someone take another life and essentially get away with it? He spent no time in jail, never paid a dime in damages. <strong>He was free. I however was not. </strong>The anger and complete desire to never forgive this man honestly drove many of my decisions for the next few years. I was reckless and didn’t care what others thought or how my choices might affect them.\n\nThere’s so much more of the story to share here and although I won’t write it out right now, I did share my complete story, the good bad and really ugly to those 2 friends at a bar last fall. In that moment God said this to me, “Let go, stop running and just forgive Robert.” Really God? Really??? I had to first figure out what forgiveness was and what it wasn’t. <em>Forgiveness is not a pardon</em>. It’s not me saying that what he did to my family was OK, nor is my act of forgiveness based on his ownership of his mistake. I shouldn’t expect for him to one day find  a way to apologize to us. Would that really help? I can’t wait for him to confront me. <strong>This is not about him anymore.  This is about me and God. Period. </strong>My decision to forgive Robert is not based on anything other than my desire to: 1. authentically be who I am 2. grow closer to Jesus 3. feel freedom.\n\nI read <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bread-Journey-Daybook-Wisdom-Faith/dp/0060663766\" target=\"_blank\">this</a> recently which included the following: Forgiveness, the Way of Freedom by Henri Nouwen. You know when you read something and it hits you like a brick in the face? Your first reaction is “Damn, that really hurt!” followed by, “Yeah, I probably deserved/needed that.”  All this to say, you’ve been warned:\n\n<em>“To forgive another person from the heart is an act of liberation. We set that person free from the negative bonds that exist between us. We say, “I no longer hold your offense against you” <strong>But there is more.</strong> We also free ourselves from the burden of being the “offended one.” As long as we do not forgive those who have wounded us, we carry them with us or, worse, pull them as a heavy load. The great temptation is to cling in anger to our enemies and then define ourselves as being offended and wounded by them. Forgiveness, therefore, liberates not only the other but also ourselves. It is the way to the freedom of the children of God.”</em>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI don’t have a complete definition of what forgiveness is for me but I now know what it looks like in my life and relationships. I no longer cling to anger. I am not defined by what others have done to me or by being a victim of anything. <strong>I am a beloved child of the King. I am free.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','forgiveness ain\'t easy','','inherit','open','open','','1328-revision-2','','','2011-10-27 13:23:17','2011-10-27 20:23:17','',1328,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1328-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(1331,48,'2011-10-27 13:15:46','2011-10-27 20:15:46','','http://www.dreamstime.com/-image16545624','','inherit','open','open','','httpwww-dreamstime-com-image16545624','','','2011-10-27 13:15:46','2011-10-27 20:15:46','',1311,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Surprised-Man-with-Gift.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(1332,48,'2011-10-27 12:57:14','2011-10-27 19:57:14','I am a personality test junkie. Part of this is no doubt due to my interest in psychology. I love to ponder the complexities of personality theory: Does it form early in development and remain unchanging and static? Or is it more plastic, changing as we age? How much do genetics or the environment determine personality? What personality tests are the most accurate?\n\nI have taken pretty much every free personality test available online (and there are more than a few). I have also taken the official version of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator as part of one of my college psychology courses. (100 points goes to the first reader who can guess what my Myers-Briggs type is purely based off my writing style and the personal information I\'ve disclosed in my posts.) Introspection and self-reflection is pretty inherent to my nature, and psychology tests are another tool to that end. I have plenty of information about the inner-workings of my self and personality; however, I wonder if I am using that information to grow or find my place in the world, or if it\'s just more information I\'m hoarding.\n\nIf personality tests weren\'t enough, we now have the more spiritual and Christian approved version: spiritual gifts inventories. These are all the rage in Christian conferences, churches, small groups and ministries. I\'m pretty sure I\'ve taken at least three different versions at different times in my life. If you are unfamiliar with the concept, spiritual gift inventories get their listing of gifts from Romans 12 (prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading, and mercy), 1 Corinthians 12 (wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment, speaking in tongues, and interpretation of tongues) and Ephesians 4:11 (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher). Some spiritual gift inventories also include other gifts referred to in miscellaneous places in scripture, such as celibacy, hospitality, martyrdom, musical talent, and voluntary poverty, to name a few. What \"gifts\" should actually be included in spiritual gift inventories is debatable and perhaps a great topic to tackle at another point in time.\n\nSo, why all the buzz with spiritual gift inventories? Well, we all have a desire to know why God created us in our own unique way, and what His Will is for our life. Knowing what your particular spiritual gifts are is certainly a good place to start in determining what direction to take in your life, be it ministry, vocation or otherwise. If you haven\'t taken one, I highly suggest that you do. (If you google \"spiritual gift inventory\", you will find at least a couple free spiritual gifts tests.)\n\nThat being said, I have noticed an unfortunate tendency in both myself and others to use spiritual gifts as excuses. Do you want to act like a complete jerk? Claim you don\'t have a mercy gifting. Don\'t want to share the Gospel with others? Claim you aren\'t an evangelist. Don\'t want to tithe, give to the poor, or help someone in need? Claim you don\'t have the gift of giving. Don\'t want to serve others? Claim you don\'t have the gift of serving or the gift of helps.\n\nUnfortunately, God calls us to do a lot of things, regardless of our individual spiritual gifts. If you think you can be a douche canoe to others just because you haven\'t been endowed with the supernatural gift of mercy, you may want to check out James 2:13: \"Because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.\"  If you think lacking the spiritual gift of giving gets you off the hook for helping others, you may want to look at James 1:27: \"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.\" If you think that you can sit on your tookus all day long just because you don\'t have the gift of serving,  you might want to consider Jesus\' words to the disciples in Luke 22: 25-27.\n\nPerhaps the bigger issue is that we focus too much on ourselves, who we are, and what we are gifted at (or not gifted at). We place an inordinately high value and focus on the gifts, like those listed in 1 Corinthians 12, but forget what Paul said next:\n<blockquote>\"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,<span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"font-size: 11px\"> </span>but do not have love, I gain nothing.\"  1 Corinthians 13:1-3</blockquote>\nSpiritual gifts, after all, aren\'t really gifts to keep for ourselves. God give these gifts to help serve, edify, and build up the other members of the Body of Christ.  To use your gifts, it certainly does help to actually understand and know what they are; the difficulty is finding a way to be self-reflective without being self-absorbed.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Spiritual Gifts and Spiritual Excuses','','inherit','open','open','','1311-revision-12','','','2011-10-27 12:57:14','2011-10-27 19:57:14','',1311,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1311-revision-12/',0,'revision','',0),(1333,48,'2011-10-27 13:16:18','2011-10-27 20:16:18','I am a personality test junkie. Part of this is no doubt due to my interest in psychology. I love to ponder the complexities of personality theory: Does it form early in development and remain unchanging and static? Or is it more plastic, changing as we age? How much do genetics or the environment determine personality? What personality tests are the most accurate?\r\n\r\nI have taken pretty much every free personality test available online (and there are more than a few). I have also taken the official version of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator as part of one of my college psychology courses. (100 points goes to the first reader who can guess what my Myers-Briggs type is purely based off my writing style and the personal information I\'ve disclosed in my posts.) Introspection and self-reflection is pretty inherent to my nature, and psychology tests are another tool to that end. I have plenty of information about the inner-workings of my self and personality; however, I wonder if I am using that information to grow or find my place in the world, or if it\'s just more information I\'m hoarding.\r\n\r\nIf personality tests weren\'t enough, we now have the more spiritual and Christian approved version: spiritual gifts inventories. These are all the rage in Christian conferences, churches, small groups and ministries. I\'m pretty sure I\'ve taken at least three different versions at different times in my life. If you are unfamiliar with the concept, spiritual gift inventories get their listing of gifts from Romans 12 (prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading, and mercy), 1 Corinthians 12 (wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment, speaking in tongues, and interpretation of tongues) and Ephesians 4:11 (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher). Some spiritual gift inventories also include other gifts referred to in miscellaneous places in scripture, such as celibacy, hospitality, martyrdom, musical talent, and voluntary poverty, to name a few. What \"gifts\" should actually be included in spiritual gift inventories is debatable and perhaps a great topic to tackle at another point in time.\r\n\r\nSo, why all the buzz with spiritual gift inventories? Well, we all have a desire to know why God created us in our own unique way, and what His Will is for our life. Knowing what your particular spiritual gifts are is certainly a good place to start in determining what direction to take in your life, be it ministry, vocation or otherwise. If you haven\'t taken one, I highly suggest that you do. (If you google \"spiritual gift inventory\", you will find at least a couple free spiritual gifts tests.)\r\n\r\nThat being said, I have noticed an unfortunate tendency in both myself and others to use spiritual gifts as excuses. Do you want to act like a complete jerk? Claim you don\'t have a mercy gifting. Don\'t want to share the Gospel with others? Claim you aren\'t an evangelist. Don\'t want to tithe, give to the poor, or help someone in need? Claim you don\'t have the gift of giving. Don\'t want to serve others? Claim you don\'t have the gift of serving or the gift of helps.\r\n\r\nUnfortunately, God calls us to do a lot of things, regardless of our individual spiritual gifts. If you think you can be a douche canoe to others just because you haven\'t been endowed with the supernatural gift of mercy, you may want to check out James 2:13: \"Because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.\"  If you think lacking the spiritual gift of giving gets you off the hook for helping others, you may want to look at James 1:27: \"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.\" If you think that you can sit on your tookus all day long just because you don\'t have the gift of serving,  you might want to consider Jesus\' words to the disciples in Luke 22: 25-27.\r\n\r\nPerhaps the bigger issue is that we focus too much on ourselves, who we are, and what we are gifted at (or not gifted at). We place an inordinately high value and focus on the gifts, like those listed in 1 Corinthians 12, but forget what Paul said next:\r\n<blockquote>\"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,<span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"font-size: 11px\"> </span>but do not have love, I gain nothing.\"  1 Corinthians 13:1-3</blockquote>\r\nSpiritual gifts, after all, aren\'t really gifts to keep for ourselves. God give these gifts to help serve, edify, and build up the other members of the Body of Christ.  To use your gifts, it certainly does help to actually understand and know what they are; the difficulty is finding a way to be self-reflective without being self-absorbed.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Spiritual Gifts and Spiritual Excuses','','inherit','open','open','','1311-revision-13','','','2011-10-27 13:16:18','2011-10-27 20:16:18','',1311,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1311-revision-13/',0,'revision','',0),(1336,13,'2011-10-27 13:23:25','2011-10-27 20:23:25','','forgive1','I\'m dropping the stone of anger and choosing a different way. Forgive.','inherit','open','open','','forgive1-2','','','2011-10-27 13:23:25','2011-10-27 20:23:25','',1328,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/forgive11.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(1334,48,'2011-10-27 13:19:37','2011-10-27 20:19:37','I am a personality test junkie. Part of this is no doubt due to my interest in psychology. I love to ponder the complexities of personality theory: Does it form early in development and remain unchanging and static? Or is it more plastic, changing as we age? How much do genetics or the environment determine personality? What personality tests are the most accurate?\n\nI have taken pretty much every free personality test available online (and there are more than a few). I have also taken the official version of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator as part of one of my college psychology courses. (100 points goes to the first reader who can guess what my Myers-Briggs type is purely based off my writing style and the personal information I\'ve disclosed in my posts.) Introspection and self-reflection is pretty inherent to my nature, and psychology tests are another tool to that end. I have plenty of information about the inner-workings of my self and personality; however, I wonder if I am using that information to grow or find my place in the world, or if it\'s just more information I\'m hoarding.\n\nIf personality tests weren\'t enough, we now have the CAV (Christian Approved Version): spiritual gifts inventories. These are all the rage in Christian conferences, churches, small groups and ministries. I\'m pretty sure I\'ve taken at least three different versions at different times in my life. If you are unfamiliar with the concept, spiritual gift inventories get their listing of gifts from Romans 12 (prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading, and mercy), 1 Corinthians 12 (wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment, speaking in tongues, and interpretation of tongues) and Ephesians 4:11 (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher). Some spiritual gift inventories also include other gifts referred to in miscellaneous places in scripture, such as celibacy, hospitality, martyrdom, musical talent, and voluntary poverty, to name a few. What \"gifts\" should actually be included in spiritual gift inventories is debatable and perhaps a great topic to tackle at another point in time.\n\nSo, why all the buzz with spiritual gift inventories? Well, we all have a desire to know why God created us in our own unique way, and what His Will is for our life. Knowing what your particular spiritual gifts are is certainly a good place to start in determining what direction to take in your life, be it ministry, vocation or otherwise. If you haven\'t taken one, I highly suggest that you do. (If you google \"spiritual gift inventory\", you will find at least a couple free spiritual gifts tests.)\n\nThat being said, I have noticed an unfortunate tendency in both myself and others to use spiritual gifts as excuses. Do you want to act like a complete jerk? Claim you don\'t have a mercy gifting. Don\'t want to share the Gospel with others? Claim you aren\'t an evangelist. Don\'t want to tithe, give to the poor, or help someone in need? Claim you don\'t have the gift of giving. Don\'t want to serve others? Claim you don\'t have the gift of serving or the gift of helps.\n\nUnfortunately, God calls us to do a lot of things, regardless of our individual spiritual gifts. If you think you can be a douche canoe to others just because you haven\'t been endowed with the supernatural gift of mercy, you may want to check out James 2:13: \"Because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.\"  If you think lacking the spiritual gift of giving gets you off the hook for helping others, you may want to look at James 1:27: \"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.\" If you think that you can sit on your tuches all day long just because you don\'t have the gift of serving,  you might want to consider Jesus\' words to the disciples in Luke 22: 25-27.\n\nPerhaps the bigger issue is that we focus too much on ourselves, who we are, and what we are gifted at (or not gifted at). We place an inordinately high value and focus on the gifts, like those listed in 1 Corinthians 12, but forget what Paul said next:\n<blockquote>\"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,<span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"font-size: 11px\"> </span>but do not have love, I gain nothing.\"  1 Corinthians 13:1-3</blockquote>\nSpiritual gifts, after all, aren\'t really gifts to keep for ourselves. God give these gifts to help serve, edify, and build up the other members of the Body of Christ.  To use your gifts, it certainly does help to actually understand and know what they are; the difficulty is finding a way to be self-reflective without being self-absorbed.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Spiritual Gifts and Spiritual Excuses','','inherit','open','open','','1311-revision-14','','','2011-10-27 13:19:37','2011-10-27 20:19:37','',1311,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1311-revision-14/',0,'revision','',0),(1335,48,'2011-10-27 13:20:23','2011-10-27 20:20:23','I am a personality test junkie. Part of this is no doubt due to my interest in psychology. I love to ponder the complexities of personality theory: Does it form early in development and remain unchanging and static? Or is it more plastic, changing as we age? How much do genetics or the environment determine personality? What personality tests are the most accurate?\r\n\r\nI have taken pretty much every free personality test available online (and there are more than a few). I have also taken the official version of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator as part of one of my college psychology courses. (100 points goes to the first reader who can guess what my Myers-Briggs type is purely based off my writing style and the personal information I\'ve disclosed in my posts.) Introspection and self-reflection is pretty inherent to my nature, and psychology tests are another tool to that end. I have plenty of information about the inner-workings of my self and personality; however, I wonder if I am using that information to grow or find my place in the world, or if it\'s just more information I\'m hoarding.\r\n\r\nIf personality tests weren\'t enough, we now have the CAV (Christian Approved Version): spiritual gifts inventories. These are all the rage in Christian conferences, churches, small groups and ministries. I\'m pretty sure I\'ve taken at least three different versions at different times in my life. If you are unfamiliar with the concept, spiritual gift inventories get their listing of gifts from Romans 12 (prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading, and mercy), 1 Corinthians 12 (wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment, speaking in tongues, and interpretation of tongues) and Ephesians 4:11 (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher). Some spiritual gift inventories also include other gifts referred to in miscellaneous places in scripture, such as celibacy, hospitality, martyrdom, musical talent, and voluntary poverty, to name a few. What \"gifts\" should actually be included in spiritual gift inventories is debatable and perhaps a great topic to tackle at another point in time.\r\n\r\nSo, why all the buzz with spiritual gift inventories? Well, we all have a desire to know why God created us in our own unique way, and what His Will is for our life. Knowing what your particular spiritual gifts are is certainly a good place to start in determining what direction to take in your life, be it ministry, vocation or otherwise. If you haven\'t taken one, I highly suggest that you do. (If you google \"spiritual gift inventory\", you will find at least a couple free spiritual gifts tests.)\r\n\r\nThat being said, I have noticed an unfortunate tendency in both myself and others to use spiritual gifts as excuses. Do you want to act like a complete jerk? Claim you don\'t have a mercy gifting. Don\'t want to share the Gospel with others? Claim you aren\'t an evangelist. Don\'t want to tithe, give to the poor, or help someone in need? Claim you don\'t have the gift of giving. Don\'t want to serve others? Claim you don\'t have the gift of serving or the gift of helps.\r\n\r\nUnfortunately, God calls us to do a lot of things, regardless of our individual spiritual gifts. If you think you can be a douche canoe to others just because you haven\'t been endowed with the supernatural gift of mercy, you may want to check out James 2:13: \"Because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.\"  If you think lacking the spiritual gift of giving gets you off the hook for helping others, you may want to look at James 1:27: \"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.\" If you think that you can sit on your tuches all day long just because you don\'t have the gift of serving,  you might want to consider Jesus\' words to the disciples in Luke 22: 25-27.\r\n\r\nPerhaps the bigger issue is that we focus too much on ourselves, who we are, and what we are gifted at (or not gifted at). We place an inordinately high value and focus on the gifts, like those listed in 1 Corinthians 12, but forget what Paul said next:\r\n<blockquote>\"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,<span class=\"Apple-style-span\" style=\"font-size: 11px\"> </span>but do not have love, I gain nothing.\"  1 Corinthians 13:1-3</blockquote>\r\nSpiritual gifts, after all, aren\'t really gifts to keep for ourselves. God give these gifts to help serve, edify, and build up the other members of the Body of Christ.  To use your gifts, it certainly does help to actually understand and know what they are; the difficulty is finding a way to be self-reflective without being self-absorbed.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Spiritual Gifts and Spiritual Excuses','','inherit','open','open','','1311-revision-15','','','2011-10-27 13:20:23','2011-10-27 20:20:23','',1311,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1311-revision-15/',0,'revision','',0),(1338,13,'2011-10-27 13:25:23','2011-10-27 20:25:23','Last year I met with a couple of friends for beer and conversation (two of my favorite things!). Let me just preface by saying that at the time neither person I was talking with knew my full life story. Neither has journeyed with me through deep struggles or has seen the way that Christ has transformed me. They only know the Kara they see sitting in front of them today. Yet, I sit here amazed that God showed up and gave me the words to share something that not even the closest of my friends knew at the time.\n\nHere’s what God revealed that day: I can’t define but I can <strong>see</strong> what forgiveness looks like in my life. I can be free from guilt. I don’t fear sharing my life with others because frankly I don’t care if it makes them uncomfortable– being comfortable is for wimps.\n\nOver ten years ago my mother was killed in a car wreck. I guess I should say “accident” but that would require me to believe that there are accidents in life… which I don’t.  I was 16 years old and just starting to figure out who I was. On that hot Texas morning I instantly became a mom figure to my two younger brothers and had to put aside the normal life issues that a teenager deals with. There were more important things to deal with. Of course everyone around my family helped in their own way. People brought dinner to us for over 8 months. Notice I said dinner, not plural. Even now I still can’t look at a chicken casserole without wanting to vomit. Others sent beautiful cards and letters expressing their heartfelt sympathies with phrases like “I understand”, “I know what you’re going through”, “Your mom is in a better place so you shouldn’t feel sad”. Gee, thanks guys.  I had therapists diagnosing me with things like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, and my favorite “anger and rebellion issues”.  Please don’t think that I’m not grateful for other people helping my family. I’m beyond grateful for all that the hundreds of compassionate souls did for us. I’ve also come to the conclusion that the best thing you can do for someone in grief is to stop talking and just listen. The best thing anyone did for me during that time was sit next to me and just listen to me cry, scream, and share my thoughts.  I had a running list of reasons why I was mad and justifiably so:\n\n<em>*My mother was dead. I had watched her die.\n</em>\n\n<em>*My father was hurting and I couldn’t fix him. No one could.</em>\n\n<em>*My brothers were only 6 and 10 and would grow up without their mother too. Elijah at 6 years old would never really remember her.</em>\n\n<em>*I didn’t understand why God let this happen. He should have known right?</em>\n\n<em>*This really REALLY screwed up my life. My social life was dead. I had a family to take care of. I couldn’t enjoy high school and therefore chose to just stop going for a few months.</em>\n\nI was royally pissed off and I wanted everyone to know about it. Not understand it, just know it. In the midst of all of this I found myself placing blame on many people. First, my dad for driving our car. Didn’t he see the other driver run the red light? That only lasted until I regained some sort of common sense. Next, I blamed God (this continued in some form for years to come). I blamed myself. I was sitting in the back of the car until 5 minutes before we left our house. My mother insisted that I sit up front with my dad and she would take my place in back. <strong>She took my place.</strong> Ugh. The guilt of thinking “it could have/should have been me” stuck with me for too long. Finally, I landed on the most obvious choice: the man in the other car.  The idiot who didn’t think to pay attention while driving. The drunk driver.\n\nHis name is Robert. For many years I’ve thought about him and instantly felt sick to my stomach. He utterly repulsed me. How could someone take another life and essentially get away with it? He spent no time in jail, never paid a dime in damages. <strong>He was free. I however was not. </strong>The anger and complete desire to never forgive this man honestly drove many of my decisions for the next few years. I was reckless and didn’t care what others thought or how my choices might affect them.\n\nThere’s so much more of the story to share here and although I won’t write it out right now, I did share my complete story, the good bad and really ugly to those 2 friends at a bar last fall. In that moment God said this to me, “Let go, stop running and just forgive Robert.” Really God? Really??? I had to first figure out what forgiveness was and what it wasn’t. <em>Forgiveness is not a pardon</em>. It’s not me saying that what he did to my family was OK, nor is my act of forgiveness based on his ownership of his mistake. I shouldn’t expect for him to one day find  a way to apologize to us. Would that really help? I can’t wait for him to confront me. <strong>This is not about him anymore.  This is about me and God. Period. </strong>My decision to forgive Robert is not based on anything other than my desire to: 1. authentically be who I am 2. grow closer to Jesus 3. feel freedom.\n\nI read <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bread-Journey-Daybook-Wisdom-Faith/dp/0060663766\" target=\"_blank\">this</a> recently which included the following: Forgiveness, the Way of Freedom by Henri Nouwen. You know when you read something and it hits you like a brick in the face? Your first reaction is “Damn, that really hurt!” followed by, “Yeah, I probably deserved/needed that.”  All this to say, you’ve been warned:\n\n<em>“To forgive another person from the heart is an act of liberation. We set that person free from the negative bonds that exist between us. We say, “I no longer hold your offense against you” <strong>But there is more.</strong> We also free ourselves from the burden of being the “offended one.” As long as we do not forgive those who have wounded us, we carry them with us or, worse, pull them as a heavy load. The great temptation is to cling in anger to our enemies and then define ourselves as being offended and wounded by them. Forgiveness, therefore, liberates not only the other but also ourselves. It is the way to the freedom of the children of God.”</em>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI don’t have a complete definition of what forgiveness is for me but I now know what it looks like in my life and relationships. I no longer cling to anger. I am not defined by what others have done to me or by being a victim of anything. <strong>I am a beloved child of the King. I am free.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;','forgiveness ain\'t easy','','inherit','open','open','','1328-revision-3','','','2011-10-27 13:25:23','2011-10-27 20:25:23','',1328,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1328-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(1339,13,'2011-10-27 13:25:27','2011-10-27 20:25:27','Last year I met with a couple of friends for beer and conversation (two of my favorite things!). Let me just preface by saying that at the time neither person I was talking with knew my full life story. Neither has journeyed with me through deep struggles or has seen the way that Christ has transformed me. They only know the Kara they see sitting in front of them today. Yet, I sit here amazed that God showed up and gave me the words to share something that not even the closest of my friends knew at the time.\r\n\r\nHere’s what God revealed that day: I can’t define but I can <strong>see</strong> what forgiveness looks like in my life. I can be free from guilt. I don’t fear sharing my life with others because frankly I don’t care if it makes them uncomfortable– being comfortable is for wimps.\r\n\r\nOver ten years ago my mother was killed in a car wreck. I guess I should say “accident” but that would require me to believe that there are accidents in life… which I don’t.  I was 16 years old and just starting to figure out who I was. On that hot Texas morning I instantly became a mom figure to my two younger brothers and had to put aside the normal life issues that a teenager deals with. There were more important things to deal with. Of course everyone around my family helped in their own way. People brought dinner to us for over 8 months. Notice I said dinner, not plural. Even now I still can’t look at a chicken casserole without wanting to vomit. Others sent beautiful cards and letters expressing their heartfelt sympathies with phrases like “I understand”, “I know what you’re going through”, “Your mom is in a better place so you shouldn’t feel sad”. Gee, thanks guys.  I had therapists diagnosing me with things like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, and my favorite “anger and rebellion issues”.  Please don’t think that I’m not grateful for other people helping my family. I’m beyond grateful for all that the hundreds of compassionate souls did for us. I’ve also come to the conclusion that the best thing you can do for someone in grief is to stop talking and just listen. The best thing anyone did for me during that time was sit next to me and just listen to me cry, scream, and share my thoughts.  I had a running list of reasons why I was mad and justifiably so:\r\n\r\n<em>*My mother was dead. I had watched her die.\r\n</em>\r\n\r\n<em>*My father was hurting and I couldn’t fix him. No one could.</em>\r\n\r\n<em>*My brothers were only 6 and 10 and would grow up without their mother too. Elijah at 6 years old would never really remember her.</em>\r\n\r\n<em>*I didn’t understand why God let this happen. He should have known right?</em>\r\n\r\n<em>*This really REALLY screwed up my life. My social life was dead. I had a family to take care of. I couldn’t enjoy high school and therefore chose to just stop going for a few months.</em>\r\n\r\nI was royally pissed off and I wanted everyone to know about it. Not understand it, just know it. In the midst of all of this I found myself placing blame on many people. First, my dad for driving our car. Didn’t he see the other driver run the red light? That only lasted until I regained some sort of common sense. Next, I blamed God (this continued in some form for years to come). I blamed myself. I was sitting in the back of the car until 5 minutes before we left our house. My mother insisted that I sit up front with my dad and she would take my place in back. <strong>She took my place.</strong> Ugh. The guilt of thinking “it could have/should have been me” stuck with me for too long. Finally, I landed on the most obvious choice: the man in the other car.  The idiot who didn’t think to pay attention while driving. The drunk driver.\r\n\r\nHis name is Robert. For many years I’ve thought about him and instantly felt sick to my stomach. He utterly repulsed me. How could someone take another life and essentially get away with it? He spent no time in jail, never paid a dime in damages. <strong>He was free. I however was not. </strong>The anger and complete desire to never forgive this man honestly drove many of my decisions for the next few years. I was reckless and didn’t care what others thought or how my choices might affect them.\r\n\r\nThere’s so much more of the story to share here and although I won’t write it out right now, I did share my complete story, the good bad and really ugly to those 2 friends at a bar last fall. In that moment God said this to me, “Let go, stop running and just forgive Robert.” Really God? Really??? I had to first figure out what forgiveness was and what it wasn’t. <em>Forgiveness is not a pardon</em>. It’s not me saying that what he did to my family was OK, nor is my act of forgiveness based on his ownership of his mistake. I shouldn’t expect for him to one day find  a way to apologize to us. Would that really help? I can’t wait for him to confront me. <strong>This is not about him anymore.  This is about me and God. Period. </strong>My decision to forgive Robert is not based on anything other than my desire to: 1. authentically be who I am 2. grow closer to Jesus 3. feel freedom.\r\n\r\nI read <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bread-Journey-Daybook-Wisdom-Faith/dp/0060663766\" target=\"_blank\">this</a> recently which included the following: Forgiveness, the Way of Freedom by Henri Nouwen. You know when you read something and it hits you like a brick in the face? Your first reaction is “Damn, that really hurt!” followed by, “Yeah, I probably deserved/needed that.”  All this to say, you’ve been warned:\r\n\r\n<em>“To forgive another person from the heart is an act of liberation. We set that person free from the negative bonds that exist between us. We say, “I no longer hold your offense against you” <strong>But there is more.</strong> We also free ourselves from the burden of being the “offended one.” As long as we do not forgive those who have wounded us, we carry them with us or, worse, pull them as a heavy load. The great temptation is to cling in anger to our enemies and then define ourselves as being offended and wounded by them. Forgiveness, therefore, liberates not only the other but also ourselves. It is the way to the freedom of the children of God.”</em>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI don’t have a complete definition of what forgiveness is for me but I now know what it looks like in my life and relationships. I no longer cling to anger. I am not defined by what others have done to me or by being a victim of anything. <strong>I am a beloved child of the King. I am free.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','forgiveness ain\'t easy','','inherit','open','open','','1328-revision-4','','','2011-10-27 13:25:27','2011-10-27 20:25:27','',1328,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1328-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(1340,13,'2011-10-27 13:25:54','2011-10-27 20:25:54','Last year I met with a couple of friends for beer and conversation (two of my favorite things!). Let me just preface by saying that at the time neither person I was talking with knew my full life story. Neither has journeyed with me through deep struggles or has seen the way that Christ has transformed me. They only know the Kara they see sitting in front of them today. Yet, I sit here amazed that God showed up and gave me the words to share something that not even the closest of my friends knew at the time.\r\n\r\nHere’s what God revealed that day: I can’t define but I can <strong>see</strong> what forgiveness looks like in my life. I can be free from guilt. I don’t fear sharing my life with others because frankly I don’t care if it makes them uncomfortable– being comfortable is for wimps.\r\n\r\nOver ten years ago my mother was killed in a car wreck. I guess I should say “accident” but that would require me to believe that there are accidents in life… which I don’t.  I was 16 years old and just starting to figure out who I was. On that hot Texas morning I instantly became a mom figure to my two younger brothers and had to put aside the normal life issues that a teenager deals with. There were more important things to deal with. Of course everyone around my family helped in their own way. People brought dinner to us for over 8 months. Notice I said dinner, not plural. Even now I still can’t look at a chicken casserole without wanting to vomit. Others sent beautiful cards and letters expressing their heartfelt sympathies with phrases like “I understand”, “I know what you’re going through”, “Your mom is in a better place so you shouldn’t feel sad”. Gee, thanks guys.  I had therapists diagnosing me with things like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, and my favorite “anger and rebellion issues”.  Please don’t think that I’m not grateful for other people helping my family. I’m beyond grateful for all that the hundreds of compassionate souls did for us. I’ve also come to the conclusion that the best thing you can do for someone in grief is to stop talking and just listen. The best thing anyone did for me during that time was sit next to me and just listen to me cry, scream, and share my thoughts.  I had a running list of reasons why I was mad and justifiably so:\r\n\r\n<em>*My mother was dead. I had watched her die.\r\n</em>\r\n\r\n<em>*My father was hurting and I couldn’t fix him. No one could.</em>\r\n\r\n<em>*My brothers were only 6 and 10 and would grow up without their mother too. Elijah at 6 years old would never really remember her.</em>\r\n\r\n<em>*I didn’t understand why God let this happen. He should have known right?</em>\r\n\r\n<em>*This really REALLY screwed up my life. My social life was dead. I had a family to take care of. I couldn’t enjoy high school and therefore chose to just stop going for a few months.</em>\r\n\r\nI was royally pissed off and I wanted everyone to know about it. Not understand it, just know it. In the midst of all of this I found myself placing blame on many people. First, my dad for driving our car. Didn’t he see the other driver run the red light? That only lasted until I regained some sort of common sense. Next, I blamed God (this continued in some form for years to come). I blamed myself. I was sitting in the back of the car until 5 minutes before we left our house. My mother insisted that I sit up front with my dad and she would take my place in back. <strong>She took my place.</strong> Ugh. The guilt of thinking “it could have/should have been me” stuck with me for too long. Finally, I landed on the most obvious choice: the man in the other car.  The idiot who didn’t think to pay attention while driving. The drunk driver.\r\n\r\nHis name is Robert. For many years I’ve thought about him and instantly felt sick to my stomach. He utterly repulsed me. How could someone take another life and essentially get away with it? He spent no time in jail, never paid a dime in damages. <strong>He was free. I however was not. </strong>The anger and complete desire to never forgive this man honestly drove many of my decisions for the next few years. I was reckless and didn’t care what others thought or how my choices might affect them.\r\n\r\nThere’s so much more of the story to share here and although I won’t write it out right now, I did share my complete story, the good bad and really ugly to those 2 friends at a bar last fall. In that moment God said this to me, “Let go, stop running and just forgive Robert.” Really God? Really??? I had to first figure out what forgiveness was and what it wasn’t. <em>Forgiveness is not a pardon</em>. It’s not me saying that what he did to my family was OK, nor is my act of forgiveness based on his ownership of his mistake. I shouldn’t expect for him to one day find  a way to apologize to us. Would that really help? I can’t wait for him to confront me. <strong>This is not about him anymore.  This is about me and God. Period. </strong>My decision to forgive Robert is not based on anything other than my desire to: 1. authentically be who I am 2. grow closer to Jesus 3. feel freedom.\r\n\r\nI read <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bread-Journey-Daybook-Wisdom-Faith/dp/0060663766\" target=\"_blank\">this</a> recently which included the following: Forgiveness, the Way of Freedom by Henri Nouwen. You know when you read something and it hits you like a brick in the face? Your first reaction is “Damn, that really hurt!” followed by, “Yeah, I probably deserved/needed that.”  All this to say, you’ve been warned:\r\n\r\n<em>“To forgive another person from the heart is an act of liberation. We set that person free from the negative bonds that exist between us. We say, “I no longer hold your offense against you” <strong>But there is more.</strong> We also free ourselves from the burden of being the “offended one.” As long as we do not forgive those who have wounded us, we carry them with us or, worse, pull them as a heavy load. The great temptation is to cling in anger to our enemies and then define ourselves as being offended and wounded by them. Forgiveness, therefore, liberates not only the other but also ourselves. It is the way to the freedom of the children of God.”</em>\r\n\r\nI don’t have a complete definition of what forgiveness is for me but I now know what it looks like in my life and relationships. I no longer cling to anger. I am not defined by what others have done to me or by being a victim of anything. <strong>I am a beloved child of the King. I am free.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','forgiveness ain\'t easy','','inherit','open','open','','1328-revision-5','','','2011-10-27 13:25:54','2011-10-27 20:25:54','',1328,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1328-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(1342,4,'2011-10-30 07:01:17','2011-10-30 14:01:17','“And I’m not going to stand and wait,\r\nNot gonna leave until it’s much too late.\r\nOn a platform, I’m gonna stand and say\r\nthat I’m nothing on my own.  And I love you please come home.”  --  “A Message, by Coldplay\r\n\r\n[embed width=500 height=284]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_4hp_KxO48[/embed]\r\n\r\nThe person in the video is one of the Distillery’s (my faith community) Copastors and founders, Carolyn Turnidge, an asset to our little community in Albany.  She brought this song to us as “A Message” so to speak, and we got the message.  But, we got so much more than that. I apologize that the song starts so abruptly, but our camera operator started the recording a bit late.\r\n\r\nThe idea behind the song for us as a church is that we truly are nothing on our own.  We were meant to be with each other.  I have often heard people say things like “all I need is my Bible and my Heavenly Father to be whole,”  “I don’t listen to anyone but the Holy Spirit,” and “The Bible is the only friend I need.”  All of those statements and statements like them in my experience are false.  As in “not true.”\r\n\r\nWe need each other.  It’s a given.  This is one of those things that God says from the beginning in the simplest of statements, \"It is not good for the man to be alone.” (Gen 2:18)  God was with “Man” at the time by the way, so what was God talking about?  For the man was certainly not alone with the Holy Trinity by his side day after day.  Was God merely saying that man needs a single partner?  Was he only talking about Eve?  I don’t think so.  What we do know is that God created man (woman) not to be exclusive of other men (women).   In fact he created us to be with others like us.\r\n\r\nJesus himself gathers together 12 disciples.  Twelve people to share his day-to-day with, not to mention all of the folks he surrounded himself with on a regular basis.  Yes there were periods of time that Jesus separated himself from the crowds and the disciples, but for the most part Jesus seems to be saying to humanity, “I am nothing on my own.”\r\n\r\nNow before you get offended, think about it. On his own, Jesus would have been a no one. No one would have even known who he was. He needed the people around him as much as they needed him. If Jesus did not have such a huge following -- if he was not constantly surrounded by people, the Pharisees would not even have noticed him. He may not have even been crucified.\r\n\r\nAlso found in scriptures are the classic lines “Where two or three or gathered in my name, there I will be also,” (Matt 18:20) almost as if to insinuate that God prefers to deal with us in numbers or crowds rather than as single solitary individuals.  There is certainly evidence of this in the scriptures.  In fact there are indications in the early history of the church that the Bible itself was not meant for a single reader scenario but was created and distributed to communities of followers.\r\n\r\nOn Saturday the communities would go through the scriptures together as friends and often times as combative family members when they disagreed.  So it seems to me that Christianity, the Bible, and God are all meant to be approached in groups of people, not as single solitary individuals.\r\n\r\nIt is only in America in the last 60 years or so that we have even heard the words “personal savior” used in relation to Jesus.  The whole concept of a personal savior is exclusively American in that we are all about the individual here aren’t we?  “Personal” property, “Personal” space, “Personal” brand --  these are all American terms born out of capitalism and the idea of independence.  These terms and things associated with them are not bad in and of themselves, but we have to acknowledge that they and the ideas behind them come from our individualistic culture, and did not exist in the time of Jesus.\r\n\r\nBack then everyone shared, worked together for the community’s success, and worshiped together a God of the community, not of the individual.\r\n\r\nSo we come back to Carolyn’s song.  Well, the song by Coldplay I mean.  There is something so beautiful about the kind of desperation in which we approach each other.  Part of the verse says “I am not going to stand and wait,” while the other part says “..not gonna leave until it’s much too late.”  It’s that part of each of us that want to keep whatever dignity we seem to have, while at the same time desperately and almost pathetically we cling to each other.   We are nothing on our own.  We all need each other as much as we need God, and as much as we need the Bible.\r\n\r\nNow you might think that this is an argument for church, or that I am saying that you have to go to church to be a good Christian.  No, I am not saying that.  There are other ways for us to be with each other that do not include church.  For me, my little community of faith gives me the “we” I need in order to approach God and the Bible on a regular basis, for others it may be your work crowd, or your family or a circle of good friends.  What do you think about the whole “Personal Savior” phrase and what do you do as far as being with others that works for you? Keep in mind that I am not speaking out against personal time with God here, but merely speaking exclusively about community in this post.','I\'m Nothing On My Own','','publish','open','open','','im-nothing-on-my-own','','','2011-10-30 08:29:31','2011-10-30 15:29:31','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=1342',0,'post','',5),(1343,4,'2011-10-27 14:04:19','2011-10-27 21:04:19','“And I’m not going to stand and wait,\nNot gonna leave until it’s much too late.\nOn a platform, I’m gonna stand and say\nthat I’m nothing on my own.  And I love you please come home.”  --  “A Message, by Coldplay\n\n[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_4hp_KxO48&amp;w=560&amp;h=315]\n\nThe person in the video is one of the Distillery’s (my faith community) Copastors and founders, Carolyn Turnidge, an asset to our little community in Albany.  She brought this song to us as “A Message” so to speak, and we got the message.  But, we got so much more than that.  I apologize that the song starts so abruptly, but our camera operator started the recording a bit late.\n\nThe idea behind the song for us as a church is that we truly are nothing on our own.  We were meant to be with each other.  I have often heard people say things like “all I need is my Bible and my Heavenly Father to be whole,”  “I don’t listen to anyone but the Holy Spirit,” and “The Bible is the only friend I need.”  All of those statements and statements like them in my experience are false.  As in “not true.”\n\nWe need each other.  It’s a given.  This is one of those things that God says from the beginning in the simplest of statements, \"It is not good for the man to be alone.” (Gen 2:18)  God was with “Man” at the time by the way, so what was God talking about?  For the man was certainly not alone with the Holy Trinity by his side day after day.  Was God merely saying that man needs a single partner?  Was he only talking about Eve?  I don’t think so.  What we do know is that God created man (woman) not to be exclusive of other men (women).   In fact he created us to be with others like us.\n\nJesus himself gathers together 12 disciples.  Twelve people to share his day-to-day with, not to mention all of the folks he surrounded himself with on a regular basis.  Yes there were periods of time that Jesus separated himself from the crowds and the disciples, but for the most part Jesus seems to be saying to humanity, “I am nothing on my own.”\n\nNow before you get offended, think about it.  On his own, Jesus would have been a no one.  No one would have even known who he was.  He needed the people around him as much as they needed him.  If Jesus did not have such a huge following -- if he was not constantly surrounded by people, the Pharisees would not even have noticed him.  He may not have even been crucified.  \n\nAlso found in scriptures are the classic lines “Where two or three or gathered in my name, there I will be also,” (Matt 18:20) almost as if to insinuate that God prefers to deal with us in numbers or crowds rather than as single solitary individuals.  There is certainly evidence of this in the scriptures.  In fact there are indications in the early history of the church that the Bible itself was not meant for a single reader scenario but was created and distributed to communities of followers.\n\nOn Saturday the communities would go through the scriptures together as friends and often times as combative family members when they disagreed.  So it seems to me that Christianity, the Bible, and God are all meant to be approached in groups of people, not as single solitary individuals.\n\nIt is only in America in the last 60 years or so that we have even heard the words “personal savior” used in relation to Jesus.  The whole concept of a personal savior is exclusively American in that we are all about the individual here aren’t we?  “Personal” property, “Personal” space, “Personal” brand --  these are all American terms born out of capitalism and the idea of independence.  These terms and things associated with them are not bad in and of themselves, but we have to acknowledge that they and the ideas behind them come from our individualistic culture, and did not exist in the time of Jesus.\n\nBack then everyone shared, worked together for the community’s success, and worshiped together a God of the community, not of the individual.\n\nSo we come back to Carolyn’s song.  Well, the song by Coldplay I mean.  There is something so beautiful about the kind of desperation in which we approach each other.  Part of the verse says “I am not going to stand and wait,” while the other part says “..not gonna leave until it’s much too late.”  It’s that part of each of us that want to keep whatever dignity we seem to have, while at the same time desperately and almost pathetically we cling to each other.   We are nothing on our own.  We all need each other as much as we need God, and as much as we need the Bible.\n\nNow you might think that this is an argument for church, or that I am saying that you have to go to church to be a good Christian.  No, I am not saying that.  There are other ways for us to be with each other that do not include church.  For me, my little community of faith gives me the “we” I need in order to approach God and the Bible on a regular basis, for others it may be your work crowd, or your family or a circle of good friends.  What do you think about the whole “Personal Savior” phrase and what do you do as far as being with others that works for you?  Keep in mind that I am not speaking out against \n\n&nbsp;','I\'m nothing on my own','','inherit','open','open','','1342-revision','','','2011-10-27 14:04:19','2011-10-27 21:04:19','',1342,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1342-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(1344,1,'2011-10-29 07:01:35','2011-10-29 14:01:35','“And I’m not going to stand and wait,\r\nNot gonna leave until it’s much too late.\r\nOn a platform, I’m gonna stand and say\r\nthat I’m nothing on my own.  And I love you please come home.”  --  “A Message, by Coldplay\r\n\r\n[embed width=500 height=284]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_4hp_KxO48[/embed]\r\n\r\nThe person in the video is one of the Distillery’s (my faith community) Copastors and founders, Carolyn Turnidge, an asset to our little community in Albany.  She brought this song to us as “A Message” so to speak, and we got the message.  But, we got so much more than that. I apologize that the song starts so abruptly, but our camera operator started the recording a bit late.\r\n\r\nThe idea behind the song for us as a church is that we truly are nothing on our own.  We were meant to be with each other.  I have often heard people say things like “all I need is my Bible and my Heavenly Father to be whole,”  “I don’t listen to anyone but the Holy Spirit,” and “The Bible is the only friend I need.”  All of those statements and statements like them in my experience are false.  As in “not true.”\r\n\r\nWe need each other.  It’s a given.  This is one of those things that God says from the beginning in the simplest of statements, \"It is not good for the man to be alone.” (Gen 2:18)  God was with “Man” at the time by the way, so what was God talking about?  For the man was certainly not alone with the Holy Trinity by his side day after day.  Was God merely saying that man needs a single partner?  Was he only talking about Eve?  I don’t think so.  What we do know is that God created man (woman) not to be exclusive of other men (women).   In fact he created us to be with others like us.\r\n\r\nJesus himself gathers together 12 disciples.  Twelve people to share his day-to-day with, not to mention all of the folks he surrounded himself with on a regular basis.  Yes there were periods of time that Jesus separated himself from the crowds and the disciples, but for the most part Jesus seems to be saying to humanity, “I am nothing on my own.”\r\n\r\nNow before you get offended, think about it. On his own, Jesus would have been a no one. No one would have even known who he was. He needed the people around him as much as they needed him. If Jesus did not have such a huge following -- if he was not constantly surrounded by people, the Pharisees would not even have noticed him. He may not have even been crucified.\r\n\r\nAlso found in scriptures are the classic lines “Where two or three or gathered in my name, there I will be also,” (Matt 18:20) almost as if to insinuate that God prefers to deal with us in numbers or crowds rather than as single solitary individuals.  There is certainly evidence of this in the scriptures.  In fact there are indications in the early history of the church that the Bible itself was not meant for a single reader scenario but was created and distributed to communities of followers.\r\n\r\nOn Saturday the communities would go through the scriptures together as friends and often times as combative family members when they disagreed.  So it seems to me that Christianity, the Bible, and God are all meant to be approached in groups of people, not as single solitary individuals.\r\n\r\nIt is only in America in the last 60 years or so that we have even heard the words “personal savior” used in relation to Jesus.  The whole concept of a personal savior is exclusively American in that we are all about the individual here aren’t we?  “Personal” property, “Personal” space, “Personal” brand --  these are all American terms born out of capitalism and the idea of independence.  These terms and things associated with them are not bad in and of themselves, but we have to acknowledge that they and the ideas behind them come from our individualistic culture, and did not exist in the time of Jesus.\r\n\r\nBack then everyone shared, worked together for the community’s success, and worshiped together a God of the community, not of the individual.\r\n\r\nSo we come back to Carolyn’s song.  Well, the song by Coldplay I mean.  There is something so beautiful about the kind of desperation in which we approach each other.  Part of the verse says “I am not going to stand and wait,” while the other part says “..not gonna leave until it’s much too late.”  It’s that part of each of us that want to keep whatever dignity we seem to have, while at the same time desperately and almost pathetically we cling to each other.   We are nothing on our own.  We all need each other as much as we need God, and as much as we need the Bible.\r\n\r\nNow you might think that this is an argument for church, or that I am saying that you have to go to church to be a good Christian.  No, I am not saying that.  There are other ways for us to be with each other that do not include church.  For me, my little community of faith gives me the “we” I need in order to approach God and the Bible on a regular basis, for others it may be your work crowd, or your family or a circle of good friends.  What do you think about the whole “Personal Savior” phrase and what do you do as far as being with others that works for you? Keep in mind that I am not speaking out against personal time with God here, but merely speaking exclusively about community in this post.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','I\'m nothing on my own','','inherit','open','open','','1342-autosave','','','2011-10-29 07:01:35','2011-10-29 14:01:35','',1342,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1342-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(1345,4,'2011-10-27 14:04:53','2011-10-27 21:04:53','“And I’m not going to stand and wait,\r\nNot gonna leave until it’s much too late.\r\nOn a platform, I’m gonna stand and say\r\nthat I’m nothing on my own.  And I love you please come home.”  --  “A Message, by Coldplay\r\n\r\n[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_4hp_KxO48&amp;w=560&amp;h=315]\r\n\r\nThe person in the video is one of the Distillery’s (my faith community) Copastors and founders, Carolyn Turnidge, an asset to our little community in Albany.  She brought this song to us as “A Message” so to speak, and we got the message.  But, we got so much more than that.  I apologize that the song starts so abruptly, but our camera operator started the recording a bit late.\r\n\r\nThe idea behind the song for us as a church is that we truly are nothing on our own.  We were meant to be with each other.  I have often heard people say things like “all I need is my Bible and my Heavenly Father to be whole,”  “I don’t listen to anyone but the Holy Spirit,” and “The Bible is the only friend I need.”  All of those statements and statements like them in my experience are false.  As in “not true.”\r\n\r\nWe need each other.  It’s a given.  This is one of those things that God says from the beginning in the simplest of statements, \"It is not good for the man to be alone.” (Gen 2:18)  God was with “Man” at the time by the way, so what was God talking about?  For the man was certainly not alone with the Holy Trinity by his side day after day.  Was God merely saying that man needs a single partner?  Was he only talking about Eve?  I don’t think so.  What we do know is that God created man (woman) not to be exclusive of other men (women).   In fact he created us to be with others like us.\r\n\r\nJesus himself gathers together 12 disciples.  Twelve people to share his day-to-day with, not to mention all of the folks he surrounded himself with on a regular basis.  Yes there were periods of time that Jesus separated himself from the crowds and the disciples, but for the most part Jesus seems to be saying to humanity, “I am nothing on my own.”\r\n\r\nNow before you get offended, think about it.  On his own, Jesus would have been a no one.  No one would have even known who he was.  He needed the people around him as much as they needed him.  If Jesus did not have such a huge following -- if he was not constantly surrounded by people, the Pharisees would not even have noticed him.  He may not have even been crucified.  \r\n\r\nAlso found in scriptures are the classic lines “Where two or three or gathered in my name, there I will be also,” (Matt 18:20) almost as if to insinuate that God prefers to deal with us in numbers or crowds rather than as single solitary individuals.  There is certainly evidence of this in the scriptures.  In fact there are indications in the early history of the church that the Bible itself was not meant for a single reader scenario but was created and distributed to communities of followers.\r\n\r\nOn Saturday the communities would go through the scriptures together as friends and often times as combative family members when they disagreed.  So it seems to me that Christianity, the Bible, and God are all meant to be approached in groups of people, not as single solitary individuals.\r\n\r\nIt is only in America in the last 60 years or so that we have even heard the words “personal savior” used in relation to Jesus.  The whole concept of a personal savior is exclusively American in that we are all about the individual here aren’t we?  “Personal” property, “Personal” space, “Personal” brand --  these are all American terms born out of capitalism and the idea of independence.  These terms and things associated with them are not bad in and of themselves, but we have to acknowledge that they and the ideas behind them come from our individualistic culture, and did not exist in the time of Jesus.\r\n\r\nBack then everyone shared, worked together for the community’s success, and worshiped together a God of the community, not of the individual.\r\n\r\nSo we come back to Carolyn’s song.  Well, the song by Coldplay I mean.  There is something so beautiful about the kind of desperation in which we approach each other.  Part of the verse says “I am not going to stand and wait,” while the other part says “..not gonna leave until it’s much too late.”  It’s that part of each of us that want to keep whatever dignity we seem to have, while at the same time desperately and almost pathetically we cling to each other.   We are nothing on our own.  We all need each other as much as we need God, and as much as we need the Bible.\r\n\r\nNow you might think that this is an argument for church, or that I am saying that you have to go to church to be a good Christian.  No, I am not saying that.  There are other ways for us to be with each other that do not include church.  For me, my little community of faith gives me the “we” I need in order to approach God and the Bible on a regular basis, for others it may be your work crowd, or your family or a circle of good friends.  What do you think about the whole “Personal Savior” phrase and what do you do as far as being with others that works for you?  Keep in mind that I am not speaking out against personal time with God here, but merely speaking exclusively about community in this post.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','I\'m nothing on my own','','inherit','open','open','','1342-revision-2','','','2011-10-27 14:04:53','2011-10-27 21:04:53','',1342,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1342-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(1346,1,'2011-10-27 13:26:51','2011-10-27 20:26:51','Last year I met with a couple of friends for beer and conversation (two of my favorite things!). Let me just preface by saying that at the time neither person I was talking with knew my full life story. Neither has journeyed with me through deep struggles or has seen the way that Christ has transformed me. They only know the Kara they see sitting in front of them today. Yet, I sit here amazed that God showed up and gave me the words to share something that not even the closest of my friends knew at the time.\r\n\r\nHere’s what God revealed that day: I can’t define but I can <strong>see</strong> what forgiveness looks like in my life. I can be free from guilt. I don’t fear sharing my life with others because frankly I don’t care if it makes them uncomfortable– being comfortable is for wimps.\r\n\r\nOver ten years ago my mother was killed in a car wreck. I guess I should say “accident” but that would require me to believe that there are accidents in life… which I don’t.  I was 16 years old and just starting to figure out who I was. On that hot Texas morning I instantly became a mom figure to my two younger brothers and had to put aside the normal life issues that a teenager deals with. There were more important things to deal with. Of course everyone around my family helped in their own way. People brought dinner to us for over 8 months. Notice I said dinner, not plural. Even now I still can’t look at a chicken casserole without wanting to vomit. Others sent beautiful cards and letters expressing their heartfelt sympathies with phrases like “I understand”, “I know what you’re going through”, “Your mom is in a better place so you shouldn’t feel sad”. Gee, thanks guys.  I had therapists diagnosing me with things like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, and my favorite “anger and rebellion issues”.  Please don’t think that I’m not grateful for other people helping my family. I’m beyond grateful for all that the hundreds of compassionate souls did for us. I’ve also come to the conclusion that the best thing you can do for someone in grief is to stop talking and just listen. The best thing anyone did for me during that time was sit next to me and just listen to me cry, scream, and share my thoughts.  I had a running list of reasons why I was mad and justifiably so:\r\n\r\n<em>*My mother was dead. I had watched her die.\r\n</em>\r\n\r\n<em>*My father was hurting and I couldn’t fix him. No one could.</em>\r\n\r\n<em>*My brothers were only 6 and 10 and would grow up without their mother too. Elijah at 6 years old would never really remember her.</em>\r\n\r\n<em>*I didn’t understand why God let this happen. He should have known right?</em>\r\n\r\n<em>*This really REALLY screwed up my life. My social life was dead. I had a family to take care of. I couldn’t enjoy high school and therefore chose to just stop going for a few months.</em>\r\n\r\nI was royally pissed off and I wanted everyone to know about it. Not understand it, just know it. In the midst of all of this I found myself placing blame on many people. First, my dad for driving our car. Didn’t he see the other driver run the red light? That only lasted until I regained some sort of common sense. Next, I blamed God (this continued in some form for years to come). I blamed myself. I was sitting in the back of the car until 5 minutes before we left our house. My mother insisted that I sit up front with my dad and she would take my place in back. <strong>She took my place.</strong> Ugh. The guilt of thinking “it could have/should have been me” stuck with me for too long. Finally, I landed on the most obvious choice: the man in the other car.  The idiot who didn’t think to pay attention while driving. The drunk driver.\r\n\r\nHis name is Robert. For many years I’ve thought about him and instantly felt sick to my stomach. He utterly repulsed me. How could someone take another life and essentially get away with it? He spent no time in jail, never paid a dime in damages. <strong>He was free. I however was not. </strong>The anger and complete desire to never forgive this man honestly drove many of my decisions for the next few years. I was reckless and didn’t care what others thought or how my choices might affect them.\r\n\r\nThere’s so much more of the story to share here and although I won’t write it out right now, I did share my complete story, the good bad and really ugly to those 2 friends at a bar last fall. In that moment God said this to me, “Let go, stop running and just forgive Robert.” Really God? Really??? I had to first figure out what forgiveness was and what it wasn’t. <em>Forgiveness is not a pardon</em>. It’s not me saying that what he did to my family was OK, nor is my act of forgiveness based on his ownership of his mistake. I shouldn’t expect for him to one day find  a way to apologize to us. Would that really help? I can’t wait for him to confront me. <strong>This is not about him anymore.  This is about me and God. Period. </strong>My decision to forgive Robert is not based on anything other than my desire to: 1. authentically be who I am 2. grow closer to Jesus 3. feel freedom.\r\n\r\nI read <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bread-Journey-Daybook-Wisdom-Faith/dp/0060663766\" target=\"_blank\">this</a> recently which included the following: Forgiveness, the Way of Freedom by Henri Nouwen. You know when you read something and it hits you like a brick in the face? Your first reaction is “Damn, that really hurt!” followed by, “Yeah, I probably deserved/needed that.”  All this to say, you’ve been warned:\r\n\r\n<em>“To forgive another person from the heart is an act of liberation. We set that person free from the negative bonds that exist between us. We say, “I no longer hold your offense against you” <strong>But there is more.</strong> We also free ourselves from the burden of being the “offended one.” As long as we do not forgive those who have wounded us, we carry them with us or, worse, pull them as a heavy load. The great temptation is to cling in anger to our enemies and then define ourselves as being offended and wounded by them. Forgiveness, therefore, liberates not only the other but also ourselves. It is the way to the freedom of the children of God.”</em>\r\n\r\nI don’t have a complete definition of what forgiveness is for me but I now know what it looks like in my life and relationships. I no longer cling to anger. I am not defined by what others have done to me or by being a victim of anything. <strong>I am a beloved child of the King. I am free.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','forgiveness ain\'t easy','','inherit','open','open','','1328-revision-6','','','2011-10-27 13:26:51','2011-10-27 20:26:51','',1328,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1328-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(1347,1,'2011-10-27 14:08:37','2011-10-27 21:08:37','Last year I met with a couple of friends for beer and conversation (two of my favorite things!). Let me just preface by saying that at the time neither person I was talking with knew my full life story. Neither has journeyed with me through deep struggles or has seen the way that Christ has transformed me. They only know the Kara they see sitting in front of them today. Yet, I sit here amazed that God showed up and gave me the words to share something that not even the closest of my friends knew at the time.\r\n\r\nHere’s what God revealed that day: I can’t define but I can <strong>see</strong> what forgiveness looks like in my life. I can be free from guilt. I don’t fear sharing my life with others because frankly I don’t care if it makes them uncomfortable– being comfortable is for wimps.\r\n\r\nOver ten years ago my mother was killed in a car wreck. I guess I should say “accident” but that would require me to believe that there are accidents in life… which I don’t.  I was 16 years old and just starting to figure out who I was. On that hot Texas morning I instantly became a mom figure to my two younger brothers and had to put aside the normal life issues that a teenager deals with. There were more important things to deal with. Of course everyone around my family helped in their own way. People brought dinner to us for over 8 months. Notice I said dinner, not plural. Even now I still can’t look at a chicken casserole without wanting to vomit. Others sent beautiful cards and letters expressing their heartfelt sympathies with phrases like “I understand”, “I know what you’re going through”, “Your mom is in a better place so you shouldn’t feel sad”. Gee, thanks guys.  I had therapists diagnosing me with things like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, and my favorite “anger and rebellion issues”.  Please don’t think that I’m not grateful for other people helping my family. I’m beyond grateful for all that the hundreds of compassionate souls did for us. I’ve also come to the conclusion that the best thing you can do for someone in grief is to stop talking and just listen. The best thing anyone did for me during that time was sit next to me and just listen to me cry, scream, and share my thoughts.  I had a running list of reasons why I was mad and justifiably so:\r\n\r\n<em>*My mother was dead. I had watched her die.\r\n</em>\r\n\r\n<em>*My father was hurting and I couldn’t fix him. No one could.</em>\r\n\r\n<em>*My brothers were only 6 and 10 and would grow up without their mother too. Elijah at 6 years old would never really remember her.</em>\r\n\r\n<em>*I didn’t understand why God let this happen. He should have known right?</em>\r\n\r\n<em>*This really REALLY screwed up my life. My social life was dead. I had a family to take care of. I couldn’t enjoy high school and therefore chose to just stop going for a few months.</em>\r\n\r\nI was royally pissed off and I wanted everyone to know about it. Not understand it, just know it. In the midst of all of this I found myself placing blame on many people. First, my dad for driving our car. Didn’t he see the other driver run the red light? That only lasted until I regained some sort of common sense. Next, I blamed God (this continued in some form for years to come). I blamed myself. I was sitting in the back of the car until 5 minutes before we left our house. My mother insisted that I sit up front with my dad and she would take my place in back. <strong>She took my place.</strong> Ugh. The guilt of thinking “it could have/should have been me” stuck with me for too long. Finally, I landed on the most obvious choice: the man in the other car.  The idiot who didn’t think to pay attention while driving. The drunk driver.\r\n\r\nHis name is Robert. For many years I’ve thought about him and instantly felt sick to my stomach. He utterly repulsed me. How could someone take another life and essentially get away with it? He spent no time in jail, never paid a dime in damages. <strong>He was free. I however was not. </strong>The anger and complete desire to never forgive this man honestly drove many of my decisions for the next few years. I was reckless and didn’t care what others thought or how my choices might affect them.\r\n\r\nThere’s so much more of the story to share here and although I won’t write it out right now, I did share my complete story, the good bad and really ugly to those 2 friends at a bar last fall. In that moment God said this to me, “Let go, stop running and just forgive Robert.” Really God? Really??? I had to first figure out what forgiveness was and what it wasn’t. <em>Forgiveness is not a pardon</em>. It’s not me saying that what he did to my family was OK, nor is my act of forgiveness based on his ownership of his mistake. I shouldn’t expect for him to one day find  a way to apologize to us. Would that really help? I can’t wait for him to confront me. <strong>This is not about him anymore.  This is about me and God. Period. </strong>My decision to forgive Robert is not based on anything other than my desire to: 1. authentically be who I am 2. grow closer to Jesus 3. feel freedom.\r\n\r\nI read <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bread-Journey-Daybook-Wisdom-Faith/dp/0060663766\" target=\"_blank\">this</a> recently which included the following: Forgiveness, the Way of Freedom by Henri Nouwen. You know when you read something and it hits you like a brick in the face? Your first reaction is “Damn, that really hurt!” followed by, “Yeah, I probably deserved/needed that.”  All this to say, you’ve been warned:\r\n\r\n<em>“To forgive another person from the heart is an act of liberation. We set that person free from the negative bonds that exist between us. We say, “I no longer hold your offense against you” <strong>But there is more.</strong> We also free ourselves from the burden of being the “offended one.” As long as we do not forgive those who have wounded us, we carry them with us or, worse, pull them as a heavy load. The great temptation is to cling in anger to our enemies and then define ourselves as being offended and wounded by them. Forgiveness, therefore, liberates not only the other but also ourselves. It is the way to the freedom of the children of God.”</em>\r\n\r\nI don’t have a complete definition of what forgiveness is for me but I now know what it looks like in my life and relationships. I no longer cling to anger. I am not defined by what others have done to me or by being a victim of anything. <strong>I am a beloved child of the King. I am free.</strong>','forgiveness ain\'t easy','','inherit','open','open','','1328-revision-7','','','2011-10-27 14:08:37','2011-10-27 21:08:37','',1328,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1328-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(1348,4,'2011-10-27 14:07:22','2011-10-27 21:07:22','“And I’m not going to stand and wait,\r\nNot gonna leave until it’s much too late.\r\nOn a platform, I’m gonna stand and say\r\nthat I’m nothing on my own.  And I love you please come home.”  --  “A Message, by Coldplay\r\n\r\n[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_4hp_KxO48&amp;version=3&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0]\r\n\r\nThe person in the video is one of the Distillery’s (my faith community) Copastors and founders, Carolyn Turnidge, an asset to our little community in Albany.  She brought this song to us as “A Message” so to speak, and we got the message.  But, we got so much more than that.  I apologize that the song starts so abruptly, but our camera operator started the recording a bit late.\r\n\r\nThe idea behind the song for us as a church is that we truly are nothing on our own.  We were meant to be with each other.  I have often heard people say things like “all I need is my Bible and my Heavenly Father to be whole,”  “I don’t listen to anyone but the Holy Spirit,” and “The Bible is the only friend I need.”  All of those statements and statements like them in my experience are false.  As in “not true.”\r\n\r\nWe need each other.  It’s a given.  This is one of those things that God says from the beginning in the simplest of statements, \"It is not good for the man to be alone.” (Gen 2:18)  God was with “Man” at the time by the way, so what was God talking about?  For the man was certainly not alone with the Holy Trinity by his side day after day.  Was God merely saying that man needs a single partner?  Was he only talking about Eve?  I don’t think so.  What we do know is that God created man (woman) not to be exclusive of other men (women).   In fact he created us to be with others like us.\r\n\r\nJesus himself gathers together 12 disciples.  Twelve people to share his day-to-day with, not to mention all of the folks he surrounded himself with on a regular basis.  Yes there were periods of time that Jesus separated himself from the crowds and the disciples, but for the most part Jesus seems to be saying to humanity, “I am nothing on my own.”\r\n\r\nNow before you get offended, think about it.  On his own, Jesus would have been a no one.  No one would have even known who he was.  He needed the people around him as much as they needed him.  If Jesus did not have such a huge following -- if he was not constantly surrounded by people, the Pharisees would not even have noticed him.  He may not have even been crucified.  \r\n\r\nAlso found in scriptures are the classic lines “Where two or three or gathered in my name, there I will be also,” (Matt 18:20) almost as if to insinuate that God prefers to deal with us in numbers or crowds rather than as single solitary individuals.  There is certainly evidence of this in the scriptures.  In fact there are indications in the early history of the church that the Bible itself was not meant for a single reader scenario but was created and distributed to communities of followers.\r\n\r\nOn Saturday the communities would go through the scriptures together as friends and often times as combative family members when they disagreed.  So it seems to me that Christianity, the Bible, and God are all meant to be approached in groups of people, not as single solitary individuals.\r\n\r\nIt is only in America in the last 60 years or so that we have even heard the words “personal savior” used in relation to Jesus.  The whole concept of a personal savior is exclusively American in that we are all about the individual here aren’t we?  “Personal” property, “Personal” space, “Personal” brand --  these are all American terms born out of capitalism and the idea of independence.  These terms and things associated with them are not bad in and of themselves, but we have to acknowledge that they and the ideas behind them come from our individualistic culture, and did not exist in the time of Jesus.\r\n\r\nBack then everyone shared, worked together for the community’s success, and worshiped together a God of the community, not of the individual.\r\n\r\nSo we come back to Carolyn’s song.  Well, the song by Coldplay I mean.  There is something so beautiful about the kind of desperation in which we approach each other.  Part of the verse says “I am not going to stand and wait,” while the other part says “..not gonna leave until it’s much too late.”  It’s that part of each of us that want to keep whatever dignity we seem to have, while at the same time desperately and almost pathetically we cling to each other.   We are nothing on our own.  We all need each other as much as we need God, and as much as we need the Bible.\r\n\r\nNow you might think that this is an argument for church, or that I am saying that you have to go to church to be a good Christian.  No, I am not saying that.  There are other ways for us to be with each other that do not include church.  For me, my little community of faith gives me the “we” I need in order to approach God and the Bible on a regular basis, for others it may be your work crowd, or your family or a circle of good friends.  What do you think about the whole “Personal Savior” phrase and what do you do as far as being with others that works for you?  Keep in mind that I am not speaking out against personal time with God here, but merely speaking exclusively about community in this post.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','I\'m nothing on my own','','inherit','open','open','','1342-revision-3','','','2011-10-27 14:07:22','2011-10-27 21:07:22','',1342,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1342-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(1349,1,'2011-10-27 14:09:59','2011-10-27 21:09:59','Last year I met with a couple of friends for beer and conversation (two of my favorite things!). Let me just preface by saying that at the time neither person I was talking with knew my full life story. Neither has journeyed with me through deep struggles or has seen the way that Christ has transformed me. They only know the Kara they see sitting in front of them today. Yet, I sit here amazed that God showed up and gave me the words to share something that not even the closest of my friends knew at the time.\n\nHere’s what God revealed that day: I can’t define but I can <strong>see</strong> what forgiveness looks like in my life. I can be free from guilt. I don’t fear sharing my life with others because frankly I don’t care if it makes them uncomfortable– being comfortable is for wimps.\n\nOver ten years ago my mother was killed in a car wreck. I guess I should say “accident” but that would require me to believe that there are accidents in life… which I don’t.  I was 16 years old and just starting to figure out who I was. On that hot Texas morning I instantly became a mom figure to my two younger brothers and had to put aside the normal life issues that a teenager deals with. There were more important things to deal with. Of course everyone around my family helped in their own way. People brought dinner to us for over 8 months. Notice I said dinner, not plural. Even now I still can’t look at a chicken casserole without wanting to vomit. Others sent beautiful cards and letters expressing their heartfelt sympathies with phrases like “I understand”, “I know what you’re going through”, “Your mom is in a better place so you shouldn’t feel sad”. Gee, thanks guys.  I had therapists diagnosing me with things like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, and my favorite “anger and rebellion issues”.  Please don’t think that I’m not grateful for other people helping my family. I’m beyond grateful for all that the hundreds of compassionate souls did for us. I’ve also come to the conclusion that the best thing you can do for someone in grief is to stop talking and just listen. The best thing anyone did for me during that time was sit next to me and just listen to me cry, scream, and share my thoughts.  I had a running list of reasons why I was mad and justifiably so:\n\n<em>*My mother was dead. I had watched her die.\n</em>\n\n<em>*My father was hurting and I couldn’t fix him. No one could.</em>\n\n<em>*My brothers were only 6 and 10 and would grow up without their mother too. Elijah at 6 years old would never really remember her.</em>\n\n<em>*I didn’t understand why God let this happen. He should have known right?</em>\n\n<em>*This really REALLY screwed up my life. My social life was dead. I had a family to take care of. I couldn’t enjoy high school and therefore chose to just stop going for a few months.</em>\n\nI was royally pissed off and I wanted everyone to know about it. Not understand it, just know it. In the midst of all of this I found myself placing blame on many people. First, my dad for driving our car. Didn’t he see the other driver run the red light? That only lasted until I regained some sort of common sense. Next, I blamed God (this continued in some form for years to come). I blamed myself. I was sitting in the back of the car until 5 minutes before we left our house. My mother insisted that I sit up front with my dad and she would take my place in back. <strong>She took my place.</strong> Ugh. The guilt of thinking “it could have/should have been me” stuck with me for too long. Finally, I landed on the most obvious choice: the man in the other car.  The idiot who didn’t think to pay attention while driving. The drunk driver.\n\nHis name is Robert. For many years I’ve thought about him and instantly felt sick to my stomach. He utterly repulsed me. How could someone take another life and essentially get away with it? He spent no time in jail, never paid a dime in damages. <strong>He was free. I however was not. </strong>The anger and complete desire to never forgive this man honestly drove many of my decisions for the next few years. I was reckless and didn’t care what others thought or how my choices might affect them.\n\nThere’s so much more of the story to share here and although I won’t write it out right now, I did share my complete story, the good bad and really ugly to those 2 friends at a bar last fall. In that moment God said this to me, “Let go, stop running and just forgive Robert.” Really God? Really??? I had to first figure out what forgiveness was and what it wasn’t. <em>Forgiveness is not a pardon</em>. It’s not me saying that what he did to my family was OK, nor is my act of forgiveness based on his ownership of his mistake. I shouldn’t expect for him to one day find  a way to apologize to us. Would that really help? I can’t wait for him to confront me. <strong>This is not about him anymore.  This is about me and God. Period. </strong>My decision to forgive Robert is not based on anything other than my desire to: 1. authentically be who I am 2. grow closer to Jesus 3. feel freedom.\n\nI read <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Bread-Journey-Daybook-Wisdom-Faith/dp/0060663766\" target=\"_blank\">this</a> recently which included the following: Forgiveness, the Way of Freedom by Henri Nouwen. You know when you read something and it hits you like a brick in the face? Your first reaction is “Damn, that really hurt!” followed by, “Yeah, I probably deserved/needed that.”  All this to say, you’ve been warned:\n\n<em>“To forgive another person from the heart is an act of liberation. We set that person free from the negative bonds that exist between us. We say, “I no longer hold your offense against you” <strong>But there is more.</strong> We also free ourselves from the burden of being the “offended one.” As long as we do not forgive those who have wounded us, we carry them with us or, worse, pull them as a heavy load. The great temptation is to cling in anger to our enemies and then define ourselves as being offended and wounded by them. Forgiveness, therefore, liberates not only the other but also ourselves. It is the way to the freedom of the children of God.”</em>\n\nI don’t have a complete definition of what forgiveness is for me but I now know what it looks like in my life and relationships. I no longer cling to anger. I am not defined by what others have done to me or by being a victim of anything. <strong>I am a beloved child of the King. I am free.</strong>','Forgiveness Ain\'t Easy','','inherit','open','open','','1328-autosave','','','2011-10-27 14:09:59','2011-10-27 21:09:59','',1328,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1328-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(1350,4,'2011-10-27 14:09:32','2011-10-27 21:09:32','“And I’m not going to stand and wait,\r\nNot gonna leave until it’s much too late.\r\nOn a platform, I’m gonna stand and say\r\nthat I’m nothing on my own.  And I love you please come home.”  --  “A Message, by Coldplay\r\n\r\n[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_4hp_KxO48?rel=0&amp;w=500&amp;h=284]\r\n\r\nThe person in the video is one of the Distillery’s (my faith community) Copastors and founders, Carolyn Turnidge, an asset to our little community in Albany.  She brought this song to us as “A Message” so to speak, and we got the message.  But, we got so much more than that.  I apologize that the song starts so abruptly, but our camera operator started the recording a bit late.\r\n\r\nThe idea behind the song for us as a church is that we truly are nothing on our own.  We were meant to be with each other.  I have often heard people say things like “all I need is my Bible and my Heavenly Father to be whole,”  “I don’t listen to anyone but the Holy Spirit,” and “The Bible is the only friend I need.”  All of those statements and statements like them in my experience are false.  As in “not true.”\r\n\r\nWe need each other.  It’s a given.  This is one of those things that God says from the beginning in the simplest of statements, \"It is not good for the man to be alone.” (Gen 2:18)  God was with “Man” at the time by the way, so what was God talking about?  For the man was certainly not alone with the Holy Trinity by his side day after day.  Was God merely saying that man needs a single partner?  Was he only talking about Eve?  I don’t think so.  What we do know is that God created man (woman) not to be exclusive of other men (women).   In fact he created us to be with others like us.\r\n\r\nJesus himself gathers together 12 disciples.  Twelve people to share his day-to-day with, not to mention all of the folks he surrounded himself with on a regular basis.  Yes there were periods of time that Jesus separated himself from the crowds and the disciples, but for the most part Jesus seems to be saying to humanity, “I am nothing on my own.”\r\n\r\nNow before you get offended, think about it.  On his own, Jesus would have been a no one.  No one would have even known who he was.  He needed the people around him as much as they needed him.  If Jesus did not have such a huge following -- if he was not constantly surrounded by people, the Pharisees would not even have noticed him.  He may not have even been crucified.  \r\n\r\nAlso found in scriptures are the classic lines “Where two or three or gathered in my name, there I will be also,” (Matt 18:20) almost as if to insinuate that God prefers to deal with us in numbers or crowds rather than as single solitary individuals.  There is certainly evidence of this in the scriptures.  In fact there are indications in the early history of the church that the Bible itself was not meant for a single reader scenario but was created and distributed to communities of followers.\r\n\r\nOn Saturday the communities would go through the scriptures together as friends and often times as combative family members when they disagreed.  So it seems to me that Christianity, the Bible, and God are all meant to be approached in groups of people, not as single solitary individuals.\r\n\r\nIt is only in America in the last 60 years or so that we have even heard the words “personal savior” used in relation to Jesus.  The whole concept of a personal savior is exclusively American in that we are all about the individual here aren’t we?  “Personal” property, “Personal” space, “Personal” brand --  these are all American terms born out of capitalism and the idea of independence.  These terms and things associated with them are not bad in and of themselves, but we have to acknowledge that they and the ideas behind them come from our individualistic culture, and did not exist in the time of Jesus.\r\n\r\nBack then everyone shared, worked together for the community’s success, and worshiped together a God of the community, not of the individual.\r\n\r\nSo we come back to Carolyn’s song.  Well, the song by Coldplay I mean.  There is something so beautiful about the kind of desperation in which we approach each other.  Part of the verse says “I am not going to stand and wait,” while the other part says “..not gonna leave until it’s much too late.”  It’s that part of each of us that want to keep whatever dignity we seem to have, while at the same time desperately and almost pathetically we cling to each other.   We are nothing on our own.  We all need each other as much as we need God, and as much as we need the Bible.\r\n\r\nNow you might think that this is an argument for church, or that I am saying that you have to go to church to be a good Christian.  No, I am not saying that.  There are other ways for us to be with each other that do not include church.  For me, my little community of faith gives me the “we” I need in order to approach God and the Bible on a regular basis, for others it may be your work crowd, or your family or a circle of good friends.  What do you think about the whole “Personal Savior” phrase and what do you do as far as being with others that works for you?  Keep in mind that I am not speaking out against personal time with God here, but merely speaking exclusively about community in this post.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','I\'m nothing on my own','','inherit','open','open','','1342-revision-4','','','2011-10-27 14:09:32','2011-10-27 21:09:32','',1342,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1342-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(1792,77,'2011-11-07 07:20:23','2011-11-07 15:20:23','As a teenager, I was one of those kids who hadn\'t a clue what I wanted to be when I grew up. My twenties came and life just kind of happened.  I had opportunities.  I took advantage of them.  I gave it my all.  And life unfolded from there. By the time I was 23 I was in a mid-level retail management position overseeing about 20 employees. And I thought to myself that by the time I was in my thirties I wanted to be a senior level manager in my company with a big profit sharing portfolio on a trajectory toward retirement by my mid-forties.\r\n\r\nAfter learning of the disproportionate number of those managers who ended up dead early of heart attacks or divorced, I opted for a move into another industry in my thirties. As life continued to unfold I looked ahead to my forties with a desire to be successfully self-employed and financially independent.\r\n\r\nI entered my forties over three years ago and today I am neither successfully self-employed nor financially independent.  And with another decade of life well underway I am once again looking ahead to the next milestone, the age of 50, and thinking about where I want to be, where I feel I need to be, when I arrive at that number which at the moment scares the hell out of me.  Fifty?  Me?  No way.\r\n\r\nI am learning something valuable in my forties that I didn’t grasp in the first few decades of life.  And that is the necessity of finding balance and forward momentum in the midst that which is less desirable while longing for my preferred future.  The Chinese call a similar tension in life the Yin Yang.  It is the interconnectedness and interdependence between seemingly polar opposite forces.  Light. Dark. Positive. Negative. Happy. Sad. Difficult. Easy. Complex. Simple.\r\n\r\nTranslated into the Zen of work, it looks something like this.  You know what you were created to do, but circumstances seem to prevent you from doing it.  You know what you are great at.  But real life demands that you devote a lot of time and energy to other things that you aren’t so great at.  You have your dreams.  Yet reality always seems to get in the way causing your dreams to be deferred for perhaps another decade or two, or three, or five.\r\n\r\nSounds frustrating doesn’t it?  It can be.  After a couple of decades, I think most people simply give up.  The ones who do surrender are the ones who misunderstand the nature of Yin Yang.  It isn’t a battle in which negative overcomes positive, or positive overcomes negative.  To the contrary, one is dependent upon and gives rise to the other in turn.  Both are required.  Both are unavoidable.  And the person who finds fulfillment in life and work is the person who learns to cooperate with the negative to bring about the positive and in the midst of the positive is strengthened, prepared, and emboldened to endure the negative that will come in turn.  The Yin Yang symbol demonstrates this interdependence. White on one side (representing light, positive, happy, easy and simple with black on the other representing dark, negative, sad, difficult, and complex.  Yet there is the presence of a black circle in the midst of the white side and the presence of a white circle on the black side.\r\n\r\nSo here you are in the midst of living and working and dreaming about the future.  You may have a very good job with a great company, surrounded by positive, talented people. But you still dream about someday finding that career “sweet spot” wherein it’s nearly impossible to distinguish between work and play.  You have a vision for the thing you’d love to be doing.  But you aren’t there.  You don’t know how to get there.  You keep waiting for all of the stars and planets to align perfectly so you wake up one morning and all you’ve dreamed about is right outside your door waiting for you to step onto the scene.  But life doesn’t happen that way.  Yin. Yang. Tick. Tock.\r\n\r\nLook again at the <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Yin_and_Yang.svg\">taijitu symbol</a>.  In the forward portion of the dark side is a circle of light. And herein lies the secret of maintaining forward momentum toward your dream career. Hidden in plain sight within your present reality are daily moments of preparation for the future you dream about.  Remember, the Yin Yang concept does not teach us that one force or one reality conquers the other.  Dark doesn’t conquer light.  Light doesn’t conquer dark.  They interplay and give rise to one another.  Your goal is not to find a means of escape from your present reality to enter the career of your dreams.  Your goal is to undergo hands-on training for the career of your dreams in the midst of your present reality.\r\n\r\nEven if the work you dream about doing bears little resemblance to what you do today, there are basic fundamentals that are common across the entire spectrum of our work.  And mastering those fundamentals is a prerequisite to successfully entering your preferred future.\r\n\r\nWhat will you need to know about people in your dream job?  You can master it in your present job.\r\n\r\nWhat will you need to know about business in your dream job?  You can master it in your present job.\r\n\r\nWhat will you need to know about marketing in your dream job?  You can master it in your present job.\r\n\r\nWhat will you need to know about finance in your dream job?  You can master it in your present job.\r\n\r\nWhat will you need to know about leadership in your dream job?  You can master it in your present job even if leadership isn’t a formal part of your job description.\r\n\r\nAll of these things are common themes in work and business.  Every day that you wake up to do the work that you have to do while waiting to do the work you’d love to do you are presented with  and surrounded by moment after moment, opportunity after opportunity, to prepare for the work of your dreams.  Recognizing those moments and seizing those opportunities will keep your heart and mind in balance with life today as you maintain forward momentum toward what you were created to contribute to this world.','Here Today; Where Tomorrow?','','publish','open','open','','here-today-where-tomorrow','','','2011-11-07 09:18:03','2011-11-07 17:18:03','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=1792',0,'post','',3),(1352,4,'2011-10-27 14:10:03','2011-10-27 21:10:03','“And I’m not going to stand and wait,\r\nNot gonna leave until it’s much too late.\r\nOn a platform, I’m gonna stand and say\r\nthat I’m nothing on my own.  And I love you please come home.”  --  “A Message, by Coldplay\r\n\r\n[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_4hp_KxO48?rel=0]\r\n\r\nThe person in the video is one of the Distillery’s (my faith community) Copastors and founders, Carolyn Turnidge, an asset to our little community in Albany.  She brought this song to us as “A Message” so to speak, and we got the message.  But, we got so much more than that.  I apologize that the song starts so abruptly, but our camera operator started the recording a bit late.\r\n\r\nThe idea behind the song for us as a church is that we truly are nothing on our own.  We were meant to be with each other.  I have often heard people say things like “all I need is my Bible and my Heavenly Father to be whole,”  “I don’t listen to anyone but the Holy Spirit,” and “The Bible is the only friend I need.”  All of those statements and statements like them in my experience are false.  As in “not true.”\r\n\r\nWe need each other.  It’s a given.  This is one of those things that God says from the beginning in the simplest of statements, \"It is not good for the man to be alone.” (Gen 2:18)  God was with “Man” at the time by the way, so what was God talking about?  For the man was certainly not alone with the Holy Trinity by his side day after day.  Was God merely saying that man needs a single partner?  Was he only talking about Eve?  I don’t think so.  What we do know is that God created man (woman) not to be exclusive of other men (women).   In fact he created us to be with others like us.\r\n\r\nJesus himself gathers together 12 disciples.  Twelve people to share his day-to-day with, not to mention all of the folks he surrounded himself with on a regular basis.  Yes there were periods of time that Jesus separated himself from the crowds and the disciples, but for the most part Jesus seems to be saying to humanity, “I am nothing on my own.”\r\n\r\nNow before you get offended, think about it.  On his own, Jesus would have been a no one.  No one would have even known who he was.  He needed the people around him as much as they needed him.  If Jesus did not have such a huge following -- if he was not constantly surrounded by people, the Pharisees would not even have noticed him.  He may not have even been crucified.  \r\n\r\nAlso found in scriptures are the classic lines “Where two or three or gathered in my name, there I will be also,” (Matt 18:20) almost as if to insinuate that God prefers to deal with us in numbers or crowds rather than as single solitary individuals.  There is certainly evidence of this in the scriptures.  In fact there are indications in the early history of the church that the Bible itself was not meant for a single reader scenario but was created and distributed to communities of followers.\r\n\r\nOn Saturday the communities would go through the scriptures together as friends and often times as combative family members when they disagreed.  So it seems to me that Christianity, the Bible, and God are all meant to be approached in groups of people, not as single solitary individuals.\r\n\r\nIt is only in America in the last 60 years or so that we have even heard the words “personal savior” used in relation to Jesus.  The whole concept of a personal savior is exclusively American in that we are all about the individual here aren’t we?  “Personal” property, “Personal” space, “Personal” brand --  these are all American terms born out of capitalism and the idea of independence.  These terms and things associated with them are not bad in and of themselves, but we have to acknowledge that they and the ideas behind them come from our individualistic culture, and did not exist in the time of Jesus.\r\n\r\nBack then everyone shared, worked together for the community’s success, and worshiped together a God of the community, not of the individual.\r\n\r\nSo we come back to Carolyn’s song.  Well, the song by Coldplay I mean.  There is something so beautiful about the kind of desperation in which we approach each other.  Part of the verse says “I am not going to stand and wait,” while the other part says “..not gonna leave until it’s much too late.”  It’s that part of each of us that want to keep whatever dignity we seem to have, while at the same time desperately and almost pathetically we cling to each other.   We are nothing on our own.  We all need each other as much as we need God, and as much as we need the Bible.\r\n\r\nNow you might think that this is an argument for church, or that I am saying that you have to go to church to be a good Christian.  No, I am not saying that.  There are other ways for us to be with each other that do not include church.  For me, my little community of faith gives me the “we” I need in order to approach God and the Bible on a regular basis, for others it may be your work crowd, or your family or a circle of good friends.  What do you think about the whole “Personal Savior” phrase and what do you do as far as being with others that works for you?  Keep in mind that I am not speaking out against personal time with God here, but merely speaking exclusively about community in this post.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','I\'m nothing on my own','','inherit','open','open','','1342-revision-5','','','2011-10-27 14:10:03','2011-10-27 21:10:03','',1342,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1342-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(1353,4,'2011-10-27 14:24:03','2011-10-27 21:24:03','','Carolyn','','inherit','open','open','','carolyn','','','2011-10-27 14:24:03','2011-10-27 21:24:03','',1342,'http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Carolyn.gif',0,'attachment','image/gif',0),(1354,4,'2011-10-27 14:14:15','2011-10-27 21:14:15','“And I’m not going to stand and wait,\r\nNot gonna leave until it’s much too late.\r\nOn a platform, I’m gonna stand and say\r\nthat I’m nothing on my own.  And I love you please come home.”  --  “A Message, by Coldplay\r\n\r\n[embed width=500 height=284]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_4hp_KxO48[/embed]\r\n\r\nThe person in the video is one of the Distillery’s (my faith community) Copastors and founders, Carolyn Turnidge, an asset to our little community in Albany.  She brought this song to us as “A Message” so to speak, and we got the message.  But, we got so much more than that.  I apologize that the song starts so abruptly, but our camera operator started the recording a bit late.\r\n\r\nThe idea behind the song for us as a church is that we truly are nothing on our own.  We were meant to be with each other.  I have often heard people say things like “all I need is my Bible and my Heavenly Father to be whole,”  “I don’t listen to anyone but the Holy Spirit,” and “The Bible is the only friend I need.”  All of those statements and statements like them in my experience are false.  As in “not true.”\r\n\r\nWe need each other.  It’s a given.  This is one of those things that God says from the beginning in the simplest of statements, \"It is not good for the man to be alone.” (Gen 2:18)  God was with “Man” at the time by the way, so what was God talking about?  For the man was certainly not alone with the Holy Trinity by his side day after day.  Was God merely saying that man needs a single partner?  Was he only talking about Eve?  I don’t think so.  What we do know is that God created man (woman) not to be exclusive of other men (women).   In fact he created us to be with others like us.\r\n\r\nJesus himself gathers together 12 disciples.  Twelve people to share his day-to-day with, not to mention all of the folks he surrounded himself with on a regular basis.  Yes there were periods of time that Jesus separated himself from the crowds and the disciples, but for the most part Jesus seems to be saying to humanity, “I am nothing on my own.”\r\n\r\nNow before you get offended, think about it.  On his own, Jesus would have been a no one.  No one would have even known who he was.  He needed the people around him as much as they needed him.  If Jesus did not have such a huge following -- if he was not constantly surrounded by people, the Pharisees would not even have noticed him.  He may not have even been crucified.  \r\n\r\nAlso found in scriptures are the classic lines “Where two or three or gathered in my name, there I will be also,” (Matt 18:20) almost as if to insinuate that God prefers to deal with us in numbers or crowds rather than as single solitary individuals.  There is certainly evidence of this in the scriptures.  In fact there are indications in the early history of the church that the Bible itself was not meant for a single reader scenario but was created and distributed to communities of followers.\r\n\r\nOn Saturday the communities would go through the scriptures together as friends and often times as combative family members when they disagreed.  So it seems to me that Christianity, the Bible, and God are all meant to be approached in groups of people, not as single solitary individuals.\r\n\r\nIt is only in America in the last 60 years or so that we have even heard the words “personal savior” used in relation to Jesus.  The whole concept of a personal savior is exclusively American in that we are all about the individual here aren’t we?  “Personal” property, “Personal” space, “Personal” brand --  these are all American terms born out of capitalism and the idea of independence.  These terms and things associated with them are not bad in and of themselves, but we have to acknowledge that they and the ideas behind them come from our individualistic culture, and did not exist in the time of Jesus.\r\n\r\nBack then everyone shared, worked together for the community’s success, and worshiped together a God of the community, not of the individual.\r\n\r\nSo we come back to Carolyn’s song.  Well, the song by Coldplay I mean.  There is something so beautiful about the kind of desperation in which we approach each other.  Part of the verse says “I am not going to stand and wait,” while the other part says “..not gonna leave until it’s much too late.”  It’s that part of each of us that want to keep whatever dignity we seem to have, while at the same time desperately and almost pathetically we cling to each other.   We are nothing on our own.  We all need each other as much as we need God, and as much as we need the Bible.\r\n\r\nNow you might think that this is an argument for church, or that I am saying that you have to go to church to be a good Christian.  No, I am not saying that.  There are other ways for us to be with each other that do not include church.  For me, my little community of faith gives me the “we” I need in order to approach God and the Bible on a regular basis, for others it may be your work crowd, or your family or a circle of good friends.  What do you think about the whole “Personal Savior” phrase and what do you do as far as being with others that works for you?  Keep in mind that I am not speaking out against personal time with God here, but merely speaking exclusively about community in this post.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','I\'m nothing on my own','','inherit','open','open','','1342-revision-6','','','2011-10-27 14:14:15','2011-10-27 21:14:15','',1342,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/27/1342-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(2370,100,'2011-11-18 09:07:11','2011-11-18 17:07:11','[caption id=\"attachment_2373\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\" caption=\"Joshua Hanson\"]<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/joshua-hanson.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-2373\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/joshua-hanson-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nThis week we talk with Joshua Hanson, one of the founders of Nomad’s Land in Alabama. Nomad’s Land is a 40-acre property that’s becoming a place of rest for weary travelers built around sustainable building and agriculture.\r\n\r\nJoshua talks about his “rock-n-roll” lifestyle following the grateful dead and other bands around the country, ending up meeting with a shaman who bathed him in cow manure and how a group of ex-hippies showed him a love he hadn’t experienced anywhere else.\r\n\r\n[audio http://somethingbeautifulpodcast.com/podcast/111811.mp3]','Something Beautiful - Joshua Hanson','','publish','open','open','','something-beautiful-joshua-hanson','','','2011-11-18 09:07:11','2011-11-18 17:07:11','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=2370',0,'post','',0),(1356,0,'2011-10-27 17:39:39','2011-10-28 00:39:39','The teachings of Jesus Christ, as they relate to social justice and how we priorities our time and focus, to \"Bear one another\'s burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ.\"  (Galatians 6:2)\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Margaret Ann (\"Maggie\") Schaaf\nAUTHOR EMAIL: margaretanns@gmail.com\nAUTHOR URL: http://www.myheartcry.wordpress.com\nSUBJECT: Provoketive Magazine Writing For Provoketive\nIP: 173.20.245.138\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Margaret Ann (\"Maggie\") Schaaf\n    [Email] =&gt; margaretanns@gmail.com\n    [Existing Blog or Website] =&gt; www.myheartcry.wordpress.com\n    [List the topic you are interested writing about] =&gt; The teachings of Jesus Christ, as they relate to social justice and how we priorities our time and focus, to \"Bear one another\'s burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ.\"  (Galatians 6:2)\r\n\n    [Current or New WordPress Login Name (We\'ll send you a password.)] =&gt; MyHeartCry\n)\n','Margaret Ann (\"Maggie\") Schaaf - 2011-10-27 17:39:39','','publish','open','open','','a85d0d376f641102684b07c309a10a37','','','2011-10-27 17:39:39','2011-10-28 00:39:39','',358,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=1356',0,'feedback','',0),(1357,0,'2011-10-27 23:30:55','2011-10-28 06:30:55','culture, justice, faith, politics, sports, literature\n<!--more-->\nAUTHOR: Christopher Cocca\nAUTHOR EMAIL: chriscocca@gmail.com\nAUTHOR URL: http://chriscocca.com\nSUBJECT: Provoketive Magazine Writing For Provoketive\nIP: 64.121.69.66\nArray\n(\n    [Name] =&gt; Christopher Cocca\n    [Email] =&gt; chriscocca@gmail.com\n    [Existing Blog or Website] =&gt; chriscocca.com\n    [List the topic you are interested writing about] =&gt; culture, justice, faith, politics, sports, literature \n    [Current or New WordPress Login Name (We\'ll send you a password.)] =&gt; christophercocca\n)\n','Christopher Cocca - 2011-10-27 23:30:55','','publish','open','open','','17b3b9fcdb033c1f8b44b7786ee9679c','','','2011-10-27 23:30:55','2011-10-28 06:30:55','',358,'http://provoketive.com/?post_type=feedback&p=1357',0,'feedback','',0),(1798,1,'2011-11-08 09:39:11','2011-11-08 17:39:11','<a href=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/perception.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1799\" title=\"perception\" src=\"http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/perception.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"567\" height=\"422\" /></a>\r\n\r\nCopyright Rainer Galea, <a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/pages/fluid-ink/121128974566421\">Fluid Ink</a>','Fluid Ink ','','publish','open','open','','fluid-ink','','','2011-11-08 09:39:11','2011-11-08 17:39:11','',0,'http://provoketive.com/?p=1798',0,'post','',0),(1360,64,'2011-10-28 10:56:17','2011-10-28 17:56:17','<div>\r\n\r\nFeminism to me is the crazy belief that women and men are both created in God’s image and that each of us deserves a life of freedom and opportunity inside or outside the Church.\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n<strong>It began like any other day by </strong><strong>logging on to the internet, as I gratefully sipped my coffee and slowly woke up.</strong>\r\n\r\nScouring various sources, I saw a new book on women was out titled <a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fgp%2Fproduct%2F1414337302%2Fref%3Das_li_ss_tl%3Fie%3DUTF8%26tag%3Dhansresodevei-20%26linkCode%3Das2%26camp%3D217145%26creative%3D399373%26creativeASIN%3D1414337302&amp;h=cAQF09IvWAQHLC8jkQwJq03PMm3_t4ngP4ePDIj1gc6-nYg\" target=\"_blank\">The Resignation of Eve: What If Adam\'s Rib Is No Longer Willing to Be the Church\'s Backbone?</a> (I have to admit that is a clever title.)  It has women’s stories of their experiences in the Church written <em>by a man</em>?  Giving it very little further thought, I wrote this comment on Facebook:\r\n<blockquote>“While I find it highly ironic that it requires a man to tell these women\'s stories to in order for them to be heard, and though I have not obviously read this book since it is not yet out, still there must be something important here if he does as he alleges and has <em>listened to women</em> talk about their experience in the Church.   It seems sketchy to me though ...”</blockquote>\r\nI copied a few friends and that began the banter, then a lively discussion about women and access, why women don’t trust their own voices, why it takes a man for women’s stories to be \"heard\", how men (may) self-promote more than women, and why the only thing women are invited to write and speak on are soft topics, and we even discussed our theological grounding for our perspectives.  It was <em>much</em> more civil than many internet discussions, as several of my friends across the globe, and locally, began to discuss!\r\n\r\n<strong>But I have to go back, even further.</strong>\r\n\r\nThis story really began a few weeks ago as I sat perched on the edge of my chair, once again at the computer.  I was trying to gather my thoughts.  Sighing deeply and knowing that being on the computer was the last thing I needed.  I needed time alone.\r\n\r\n<strong>And the<em> </em><em>lack of it</em><em> </em>was weighing heavily on my spirit. </strong> I knew that what I really needed was to turn it all off, especially the technological barrage, and find – time – to – think.  And <em>not</em> time while doing last night\'s dishes, or throwing another load in, or while picking up the endless socks, books and dog toys.  <em>Not</em> time driving my son to the doctor or waiting.  Time spent on the responsibilities of home life can be a meditation, but <em>not</em> what I needed.\r\n\r\n<strong>I needed noiseless, exclusive solitary time with Yahweh.  </strong>\r\n\r\n<strong></strong>How often do we really find this kind of time? I cannot underscore how important solitary thinking time is for me spiritually and creatively.  It helps me be less impulsive.  It centers me.  It makes the anxiety, anger, and disappointments of life fade away, lacking the importance I might have given them.  My priorities sift and sort and I am more circumspect.  In that place, I find my quavering voice.\r\n\r\n<strong>Here’s what I had been thinking about.  </strong>When it all first occurred I definitely tried to ignore it.  I kept thinking how <em>obsessive</em> I was being.  I kept telling myself I was being ridiculous, absurd, unreasonable, and even disagreeable.  Doubting my own inner voice is a frequent problem that I have.  I had tried to ignore the nagging voice inside me until finally I accepted that this was not going away!\r\n\r\n<strong>I\'ve been thinking about</strong> <strong>the lack of </strong><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">presence and example</span></strong><strong> of</strong> <strong>women in <em>the Church</em>.</strong><strong>  That Sunday at my church in particular, women were </strong><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">simply spectators</span></em></strong><strong>, the audience, the bystanders, the recipients and beneficiaries.  </strong>\r\n\r\nAnd the more I thought I could not remember the last time one of the teaching pastors suggested a book they were reading written by a woman.  Women are never quoted in my church.  Female theologians or scholars are never referenced or even mentioned, probably because the pastors don’t read them.  I can\'t remember the last time, if ever, a pastor in my church has suggested or referred to or quoted a female theologian, religious author, or historian.  <em>Am I the only one that notices these things?</em>\r\n\r\n<strong><em>T</em><em>he entire thing</em><em> </em></strong><em><strong>makes me very sad</strong></em><strong>.  And so tired. <strong> I am tired of the male dominated culture on the platform, as authors, as experts, as theologians, as speakers at conferences and in the Church at large. </strong></strong>Considering women are half the church (some would say more) I do not buy the argument that there aren\'t capable women to select from, though I\'ve been told that very thing.  \"The women haven\'t risen up who have the gift of teaching.\"\r\n\r\n<strong><em>Risen up</em><em>?</em></strong>   To be honest, one would think in a service-by-gifts based church there must not<em> be</em> any qualified gifted female teachers.   I attend an EFCA church of 5,000. You do the math.\r\n\r\nI would guess that many people, but especially women, will not put themselves forward (i.e. rise up) because of self-doubt, true humility or a combination of motivations.\r\n\r\nI think it is very likely that <em>there are</em> gifted, wise articulate women who are not yet comfortable with their own voice, but have natural instincts for leadership or teaching that could be taught, mentored, helped to find their voice.  Who knows?\r\n\r\n<strong><em>Will we ever know if they are not given the opportunity? And what a loss not to hear from them!  </em></strong>\r\n\r\nI believe it harms us to rarely hear the spiritual voices of women and for me personally, it hampers my faith and my journey with Christ.  Thank God that we have the example of Jesus who took risks for women, ministered with, received from and listened to women.  He was our example of reconciliation and grace in the lives of women.  If only the church modeled their behavior toward women after Jesus. Sadly the Church is ignoring the stories of women in the Bible, and of women historically and in the Church worldwide today.  Women have been actively participating in the work of the church since its inception.  Women are missionaries, teaching in seminaries, running nonprofits and leading in higher education.  Women are writing and want to write on more than “soft or women’s issues.”  But in the Church women are still finding their voice.\r\n\r\n<strong>I have to confess that I do not want my feminist radar (that\'s what my daughter calls it) to always go off in church.</strong>  It is distracting, sometimes painful and it is utterly exhausting.  It steals some of the joy out of my spiritual life, like recently when we attended a one man show at church.  The actor introduced us to eight characters (both in the Bible and fictional) who had met Jesus.  It was powerful.  <a title=\"Curt Cloninger\" href=\"http://curtcloninger.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Curt Cloninger</a> is supremely talented.  Sadly, in the entire two and a half hour show, women were invisible – utterly missing – other than being mentioned as briefly as whores and spinsters.  I tried hard, I really did.  I used all kind of energy that night trying to forget that I was <em>the invisible woman</em> and simply experience the show.  And it worked -- almost.\r\n\r\nYes, I tire of voicing what I believe.  And I have considered asking God to take it away – this feminist awareness – to either shut it up or get me out – but for now I stay.  And I continue to work to find my voice and listen, getting those times alone so that I can have something solid to say with a circumspect and healthy heart.  I hold on tight to Jesus in those moments when I want to quit the Church.  And I consider that as long as I can think out loud on my <strong><a title=\"Logic and Imagination\" href=\"http://logicandimagination.wordpress.com/\" target=\"_blank\">blog</a></strong> and places like <strong>Provoketive</strong> and as long as I have a few people in my life that I can express my pain and rancor to, I\'ll survive, for now.\r\n\r\n<em>Photo Credit: <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/llimaorosa/1351327769/\" target=\"_blank\">Llima Orosa</a></em>','The Voice Of The Feminine','','inherit','open','open','','1258-revision-5','','','2011-10-28 10:56:17','2011-10-28 17:56:17','',1258,'http://provoketive.com/2011/10/28/1258-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),