Hermenuetics

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You are most assuredly on an unquestionably difficult but rewarding quest. Many people have become so addicted to the titillating content of movies, TV, even commercials, that the media find themselves in a constant battle to one-up each other, regardless of who they must degrade to do so. It's very sad. We need truth and we get fabricated rubbish.

Thom
http://thom-signsofastruggle.blogspot.com/

Posted By: Thom Hunter | November 6, 2009 4:06 PM

McCulley has a Pot/Kettle/Black problem.

What she promotes on her own website -- the "True Woman Manifesto," the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, the "joke" that women's brains are "powered by emotion," the notion that we should be wary of helping women to provide for themselves for fear of dislodging husbands as leaders of the home, and a lot of other complementarian exhortations -- is almost all just as invidiously misogynistic as any gangsta rap out there. As for me, I reject both.

Lines from a song I sang in my youth choir come to mind -- "Love greater than our little minds can conceive." It's only our little minds that crave order so much that we are driven to impose our own rules and limitations on God. The God of the Bible I know would not chain His power to the bright lines of gender (or race, or ethnicity, or age or orientation ...).

When I look at the blue infinity of the horizon at the beach, when I'm still and know that HE IS God, when I contemplate the vastness of His love, I am in awe. When I see the diversity of gifts and callings across gender and racial lines, I don't think God makes mistakes. I think McCulley's god is too small. How sad.

Posted By: Christian Lawyer | November 7, 2009 2:23 AM

Hello
I completely agree with your perspective.You have very well said about Media and I support you.Thank you very much for sharing this post with us.You have done a good job.Keep up the good work.

Posted By: creatine  | November 7, 2009 6:25 AM

Bravo!

Posted By: Melody Hanson | November 7, 2009 10:26 AM

Hi! Greetings from Sri Lanka.

I am a Christian Evangelist/Musician/Singer here in the beautiful Island named Sri Lanka.

I was given the mercies to write Christian Spiritual Songs (now accumulated to about 90 songs), in my mother Tongue called Sinhala, after I went through a fatal accident in the Middle East and was survived with a paralyzed right hand fixed with a buttress plate with eleven screws inside the upper right arm.

The Doctor who operated on me who was from America, told me that> "he did not believe in a god, but only a god can heal my hand completely." It was because there was a damage to the radial nerve of the same broken arm area and was paralyzed.

But The Pioneer of Miracles and All Mighty hand of The Lord God our Father, through Jesus Our Lord! healed my hand and my whole body. HE is The Awesome God.

And not only that He restored my Spirit and soul too, through The Precious Blood of The Lamb. And has anointed me to bless all since then.

And there after I was given mercies to study in an Evangelical Bible College for seven years and they offered me the grade of B.Th. My Theme of the Thesis was " Worship not by Lips alone"

And since, then, from about 2000, I am being used by HIM as an Evangelist/Musician/Singer. for HIS glory.

And now, I am being guided to produce my own Spiritual Songs Album in Sinhala and Tamil Languages in a completely different way. And I am looking forward to do 12 video/visuals for these spiritual Songs. This would be the first time here, a Sri Lankan Christian Video Spiritual songs DVD like this nature to be produced.

What I humbly want to ask from you is, If your Film company can help me to get these song videos done here in Sri Lanka. Or would you be able to sponsor me for HIS work or help me through anyone of your friendly film companies or some one from your film company could come here with a suitable film camera and join doing HIS work here, ( I am now blessed to give accommodation free in my own home if someone suitable can come here to stay with us and join HIS work.) It would be a greatest blessing for the whole nation here in this Island if you can join with me and help to get His work done.

I write this way because I am being guided by HIM to touch the hearts of Sri Lankan women especially, through this Spiritual Songs Video. This concept was given by HIM in one of my prayer times. The visuals would be mainly concentrated on the real life style here in Sri Lanka.

Me and my wife Carmela are now married for 30 years, a Christian family and has two children a son who is 27 years and he is one of the most popular Music Composers here in the Sri Lanka music scene. And our daughter who is 23 years now is an IT Engineer working for an Australian owned IT developing Company here. My wife was a school vice principal/ teacher and now living on pension. And me an Evangelist/Singer serves HIM in faith life.

So, If you are interested in joining a venture to build HIS Kingdom here among the people of this beautiful Island Sri Lanka, by way of HIS project, please contact me.

If not, Please, close your eyes right now, and offer a little prayer, so that The Good Lord! would guide me to meet a good and a suitable sponsor like you in the Film or Video industry to get HIS work done.

I thank you very much, for reading this message. And I look forward to have more best continued relationship with you in HIM, if you would join with me by way of producing this Spiritual Song DVD.

Bless You and your good work in His Best Name.

I am Chrisantha De Silva in HIM.

Posted By: Chrisantha De Silva | November 9, 2009 1:33 AM

Questioning media content - or, as you could also call it, "culture" :) - is a good thing. Studying media and culture is a hobby of mine, quite enjoyable.

But one thing I miss a lot in Christian conversation is informed questioning or criticism. I've heard pastors from render moral judgments from the pulpit on films they haven't seen, books they haven't read. I like video games and comics as a medium, and sci-fi and fantasy as genres, and you would be amazed by how many Christians criticize those entire media and genres as being evil, inappropriate, unfit, ruinous. It gets kind of tiring, constantly having the revelation that I read comics being met with a reaction generally reserved for those who practice Satanism. The people the majority of Christians seem to consider to be more "hardline" take that same view of TV and film in their entirety (i.e. it is impossible for any show or movie to be beneficial in any way).

When this happens, the Christian voice is lost. No one can properly participate in a conversation whose subject they know nothing about, and by doing so they make themselves fair game for disrespect and ridicule. The Christian voice is not there when interesting and important stories (or just plain fun) are found in media like games and comics, because with little involvement and wholesale condemnation there's no one to report those stories, and when troublesome or evil content is found in such media, the Christian voice is often useless, because it speaks out of ignorance. EA Games proved this very well back in the summer with an ad campaign for an upcoming video game based on Dante's Inferno that featured fake Christian protesters rendering moral judgment on an unreleased game based on its name alone. That caught the attention of a lot of real Christian protesters...many of whom promptly proceeded to render moral judgments on a game that is still yet to be released and whose content and story remain unknown to those who aren't working on it, or who don't have friends who are working on it. Most of these moral judgments were in fact rendered based on the game's name alone, many by people self-admittedly unfamiliar with the Divine Comedy itself.

Yes, let's question media. Let's question sources of entertainment. There is evil within, and there is good within. Let's explore the impacts it has on our culture. But let's be sure to do it from an informed point of view, entering into the discussion from a position of respectability and true authority.

Posted By: elly | November 9, 2009 12:51 PM

I volunteer in a ministry that reaches out to women who work as exotic dancers. Every week, I see the effects of media right before my eyes, especially as it relates to the normalizing of stripping and pornography.

I cringe every time I see sitcoms or movies that treat strip clubs as harmless fun . . . and it happens a lot. The women we care about in the clubs get into the business partly because they've been taught over and over (in music and other media) that it's no big deal, and it's a good way to make a lot of money fast.

But the numbers of girls who end up being addicted to alcohol and drugs to cope with their work tells a different story. Add to that the disproportionate number of dancers who have abuse in their background, and it becomes clear that these are women who are crying out for real love. They need to know that there's a God who thinks they're precious, that they have value, dignity and worth.

Part of that message has got to be told in mainstream media outlets, or they may never hear it.

Posted By: Nancy | November 9, 2009 9:43 PM

There is a great battle here & we spiritual power from God. Money talks & that's the world wants. Many people perished because of ignorance & even our own people made the same mistakes. We have to destroy the mind opposite & against HIM. That's a lot of work & nothing is impossible with God. God bless.

Posted By: andy padolina | November 11, 2009 1:31 AM