Author Archives: Dave

Friday, a U.S. District Judge ruled that an Oklahoma county courthouse was not in violation of the Constitution by displaying a monument of historical artifacts, which included tributes to veterans, Native American tribes, the Mayflower Compact, and (insert gasp and horrified look here) the Ten Commandments. This judge ruled that this monument did not promote Christianity at the expense of other religions. The ACLU, of course, is talking appeal.

This trainwreck just keeps going, doesn’t it? A misconception perpetuated by stupidity, ignorance, and intolerance that is carefully disguised as tolerance.

After all, isn’t that the core of this whole issue? Those with too much time on their hands, like the ACLU, have decided that Christianity is a faith of intolerant bigots who like to persecute those of other faiths. Ironically, I find that what is promoted here is tolerance and respect of any faith, except Christianity. Because the ACLU, and those like them, are full of empty rhetoric, much sound and fury signifying nothing. In fact, the ACLU’s attorney for this particular case, said that “the court’s decision really represents a loss for religious freedom.” How exactly is that, again? How exactly has faith lost its freedom of expression here?

A myth that I see perpetuated here is that the root of all bigotry and intolerance is Christianity. Granted, Christians say and do a lot of stupid things. However, just as all members of the Islamic faith shouldn’t be judged by a few homicidal maniacs who kill in the name of their religion, all Christians shouldn’t be judged by a few impulsive windbags who get on television and say ignorant things. Christ-followers are not the root of intolerance, but rather victims of it, the same as every other faith in an American culture that claims a desire to flee from faith while embracing it in secret. The irony here is that this wasn’t even a religious expression at this courthouse…it was an historical one. And yet, the ACLU wants to proclaim that religious freedom has suffered a blow. From an historical display. One more opportunity to scapegoat the intolerance they preach.

Tolerance. The theme of our generation, and of our culture.

It seems to me that, if tolerance is what we are aiming to achieve, then a great deal would stand to be gained if the ACLU would just shut up and go away.

Oops. Did that sound intolerant?

My academic career has began to culminate…finally…and has left me with a passion.

I started Seminary to study my faith. That study has been a fascinating one. Not only do I know more about God, but my faith is stronger (for long time readers, yes I have blasted Seminary in the past, but roll with me here…everything has positives as well as negatives). My eyes see more clearly. My mind reflects more deeply. I would even dare to say that my heart loves more fully now, although not nearly at the level it should. It’s a work in progress.

My undergraduate work was in communication and theatre. Melding that with graduate work in Biblical studies and faith seems odd. Some have even scratched their heads and called them opposite ends of the spectrum. The fact that I have been in the behavioral health profession for some time makes some raise an eyebrow also, because it just seems like a different world than my creative side. I think most people shrug and say, “well, everyone has to pay the bills, right?”

I confess that these different aspects of my life have seemed to be a dichotomy at times, contradictory at times, even completely at odds with each other at times. Any creative personality reading this can share the pain of having to do one thing to pay the bills, while that very employment robs you of the time you desperately need to create. I’ve felt the same frustration with Seminary, because grad school sucks away your time as nothing else will. Then I went and got married…when attempting to manage my time over the last few months, I’ve feared for my sanity on occasion.

Now, though, I can see where God has been bringing me. Not in the whole, but at least a crucial chunk of it. I can see where all the threads of my life intersect. I have a starting point, at least (about time…I’m 32, for crying out loud!). At that starting point is this:

I am passionate about, and fascinated by, how faith intersects with art, and with culture. There is a key there to our lives and to our society. Somehow, the three must integrate, although the church has largely seen them at odds with each other through history. My future writing will, at least in part, take this direction. And I can’t wait to get started.

So, a couple of changes, I think, are in order.

I changed the subtitle of my blog to “thoughts on faith, art, and culture.” I’d say that I’m changing the focus of what I’ll write about here, but I can’t truly say that that will happen, because I think that this has been germinating in my mind since I started this blog, so what I’ve written here has always focused on those three things. I’m certainly no authority on this or any other subject, but I’m going to have fun exploring it!

I’ve also discovered that my wife, Karen, is fascinated more than a little by the same topic. If anything, she has wisdom in vast amounts, and, being that we’re joined in this life-journey together, it only makes sense that she and I explore this together. So, Karen will be blogging here as well. My blogosphere friends, please make her feel welcome!

That being said, I have a little less than a week before classes begin for my final year. So, as excited as I am about that, it’s bittersweet as always, because time will become a much more precious commodity than it already is in a week or so.

So, pardon me while I go and weep over the end of my summer…

I have some issues with movies that are releasing currently.

First of all is World Trade Center. I’ve listened to news coverage of the movie, and of the reactions, both positive and negative, to Stone’s new film, the second about that fateful day when they came and knocked our towers down. I see the value in, as one person stated, creating a memorial to the event while the memories are still fresh in our minds. I’ve listened to many, many of my own friends say that they’re just not ready for this yet.

Now there is a television movie called Surviving Katrina on the Discovery Channel. My wife and I had the same reaction…we rolled our eyes at the commercial.

9-11 and Katrina were horrific tragedies…one was man-made, one was natural. I’m not attempting to compare or equate the two in any way by any method or any quantity other than to say that, in both events, lives were lost, hearts were broken, and lives were changed forever. Both are scars on the souls of those who lived through them, nightmares in their dreams, flashbacks during their days. In some way or another, both were undoubtedly spiritual journeys and sources of questions about God and evil for all of us. Certainly they were for me.

As an artist, I understand commemorating these events.

As an American, I cringe when I hear either one referred to.

In any case, I question whether this is true artistic reflection, or whether they are capitalizing on past tragedies for financial reasons. It concerns me.

Will I see either one? I have to leave that undecided for now.

I complain a lot.

Yes, it’s true, I’ve confessed. Things that I should be happy about I complain about. I guess that makes me human, but it probably makes me an irritating human. The thing that really gets me is that I complain about good things. Take my other job for example. As long as I’m a student, then my side job as a counselor is paying the bills. But I complain about it. I complain because I’ve been in the field forever, and I’m trying to get out of it, and that I don’t want to deal with the clients that I’m dealing with, and that I don’t want to keep the hours that I’m keeping there….grumble, grumble, grumble.

Of course, I forget that it provides regular income, health insurance, and that I’m making a difference in others’ lives. Seems lopsided, doesn’t it?

I complain that I’m not able to write as much as I should, that all of my writing time is taken up by class, term papers, and eventually, I think, a thesis will be in the works this year. As productive as those things are, as critically important as every paper I write is to my education, I complain.

I complain because our apartment isn’t finished yet, that we don’t have all the boxes unpacked, and that it’s still a bit chaotic. But I don’t stop to be thankful that part of the reason we haven’t completely unpacked is that we’re both working. We’re both busy with friends. We both have a lot of stuff.

I should be so thankful, but I complain so much. Because my comfort level isn’t what I perceive that it should be.

I shouldn’t compartmentalize my life quite so much, I think. Writing is writing. every chance I get to do it is huge. If weren’t able to write at all…then I would have a reason to complain. If my wife or I neither one had jobs, then I would have reason to complain. If we didn’t have a place to live, or if we had no friends, then I would have reason to complain.

Or would I? Paul said, “…I have learned how to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know both how to have a little, and I know how to have a lot” (Philippians 11b-12, HCSB). Seems that, perhaps, I don’t ever have reason to complain about my standard of living. Perhaps it’s comfort level. Perhaps we’re just too comfortable…well, I’m afraid to say that. Perhaps we’re too attached to our comfort. There’s nothing wrong with being comfortable, as long it’s not what we prioritize, as long as we’re not so afriad of being uncomfortable that life grinds to a halt.

So, perhaps instead of complaining, I should spend more time being grateful.

Now where have I heard that before?

So, while I’m at the beach last week, some interesting things happened to me. I don’t know if I’ll write about all of them or not, but this one has definitely been on my mind.

My wife and I (that still sounds strange to say!) were parked at a public beach access and unloading chairs and towels and stuff from the trunk of the car while another family were getting into their SUV in the parking spot directly across from us. A girl (I couldn’t tell how old…somewhere between 18 and 21) was furiously shaking the top she had on over her bathing suit and grumbling. After a few seconds, one of the grumbles became discernable: “I hate sand!”

My immediate response (out loud to my wife, probably audible to the girl as well…I need to work on that), was, “why in the world would you come to the beach if you hate sand????”

As we walked on, the girl had gotten into the SUV, only to jump out and begin dancing again…”D*&$#! There’s sand everywhere!”

I had to laugh. Probably completely insensitive of me, but I can be like that. This girl was just totally cracking me up. It has, however, left me to ponder.

We’re just never really happy with things, are we?

My wife and I were seriously stressed about a week or two ago with our finances. We signed a lease on a new place assuming the salary she would make in her field, but after finishing her master’s degree, it took forever to find a job. The place was not affordable on my income alone, but at the last moment, she signed a contract (literally two days before the wedding). A God thing? Totally. Was it the salary she could have made? Maybe not, but it’s enough. We’re not wealthy, but we’re not poor either. We’re comfortable.

So I’m reading Proverbs this week and I re-aquaint myself with King Agur’s prayer: “Give me neither poverty nor wealth; feed me with the food I need. Otherwise, I might have too much and deny You, saying,’Who is the Lord?’or I might have nothing and steal, profaning the name of my God” (Proverbs 30:8b-9, HCSB). There’s a reason that this is classified as wisdom literature. Our culture pressures us to want, ask for, strive for, and expect, the absolute most we can get. Of everything. Money, success, sex, fun…everything. That’s not what God encourages us to do. He encourages us to want enough.

I think enough differs from person to person. Certainly I know people who have been blessed with, and have the hearts to handle, much more wealth than I. I think that, in God’s eyes, that’s “enough” for them. I think what we have currently is “enough” for us.

And that’s what I should want. Instead of going to the beach and complaining about the sand, instead of wanting to “have my cake and eat it too,” instead of trying to soak the most material satisfaction I can get from life, perhaps I should loosen up, enjoy what is given to me, and do the best I can with it from there.

Maybe that would be enough.