King and Kingdom: Thoughts on N. T. Wright

Posted on June 21, 2012 by awtraughber

LAST NIGHT AT CHURCH we sang Psalm 82, with one verse saying: “Arise, O God, and rule the earth, for you shall take all nations for your own.”  This psalm, I teach my sophomores, would be known as an enthronement or royal psalm, one that celebrates God as king, who rules over the earth of his creation.

That’s a key part in N. T. Wright’s thinking on Jesus as he is portrayed in the four Gospels.  And it’s a part that he suggests that most Christians have inadvertently missed or minimized in our conversations on the nature of God, Jesus, and the world around us.

Wright most recently articulated this line of thought in How God Became King, a book that dropped a few months ago, a book that I devoured over a few days.  Whatever your thoughts on Wright (and opinions and concerns vary wildly), there’s something so conservative about his approach to the biblical text and turn-of-history worldview that almost comes across as radical.  His assertions about the kingdom and kingship of Jesus are a great example of that.

The folks over at Patheos recently posted an interview with Wright done in connection with that most recent book.  It’s a good summary of things, a whetting of the whistle (so to speak) if you’re interested in some thought-provoking reading.  Even if you disagree with him, I think you’ll find the read worthwhile (article and book).  You can find the article here.  I’d love to hear your comments, too, so feel free to share.

(image courtesy of freewebs.com)

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Monsters (go to) University

Posted on June 20, 2012 by awtraughber

JUST IN TIME FOR this weekend’s release of Brave, Disney-Pixar has released a teaser trailer for Monsters University.  When Monsters Inc came out, I had no real sense of what the movie was to be about, and I was genuinely surprised by how much I loved the finished product.  Hopefully this sequel can do the same.

 

Thanks for the heads-up, aintitcoolnews.com.

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U2 and the Full-Circle Song

Posted on June 19, 2012 by awtraughber

MY FIRST REAL U2 ALBUM was 2000’s All That You Can’t Leave Behind.  Years after my brother tortured me with his music (often with Rattle and Hum in his truck), I found a respect for the band and bought some albums but hadn’t the chance to buy one on its release.

And then came ATYCLB.  I still remember driving home from a Halloween party with a local radio station playing through the album for the first time: amazing.  The song that will be played forever, of course, is “Beautiful Day.”  (I’m sure it will get played again during the summer Olympics, really.)  But the song that always stood out to me, moved me in a deep way, was the song “Walk On.”  The verses, the chorus, the part at the end.  And then I found out its political bent: dedicated to Aung San Suu Kyi, a major proponent for democracy in Myanmar who had been under house arrest for years and had been unable to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for her work.

Fast-forward to this week.  Just yesterday Bono was able to meet the subject of his song as she was able to receive her award and tour Europe.  Turns out that the song was written from the perspective of her husband, which I hadn’t quite realized.  You can read more about it from the NY Daily News here.

And you can check out a live version of “Walk On” below.  Watch it to the end, when they break in a wonderful and ancient chorus (which was also captured in the version of the song on the ep 7.

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New Song Saturday: Eric Peters

Posted on June 16, 2012 by awtraughber

LAST SATURDAY I posted a link to the latest song by Andrew Peterson.  Today I post a link to an artist known in Peterson’s circle but who is often just outside my own circle of listening: Eric Peters.

Eric Peters has been around for a while now, though until recently I had only downloaded a few of his songs.  He has an easy-to-listen-to voice, which is always a good thing.  His lyrics are thoughtful, perhaps a little more sparse than some of the artists I usually like.  His new album, Birds of Relocation is solid, one that I’ve already given several spins to.

You can listen to “No Stone Unturned,”one song from the album, here.  You can also get a bit of the songs history there, too.  Just click the link and scroll down to the ‘play’ button.  As always, thanks to the Rabbit Room for posting quality stuff.

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Closing Time (of Your Life)

Posted on June 15, 2012 by awtraughber

SOME SAY THAT SERENDIPITY IS DEAD thanks to our hyper-connected internet culture.  Much of the time, I agree with those sentiments.  Then there are other times, though, where you follow the white rabbit from link to link and find something that really makes you happy, really challenges you, really gets you to reflect on the big ideas of life.

Or you find something that reminds you of that brilliant cultural moment that was the (late) ’90s.  Case in point: an article I found over at Grantland from last November about the song “Closing Time” by Semisonic.  I bought Semisonic’s greatest hits album a few years ago (back where there was still a Tower Records, I think) based on my love of “Closing Time” and the weird recollection I have of their other radio hit that I knew of, “Chemistry.”  It was a decent collection, really scratching the itch of the moment for me.  I’ve been a fan of “Closing Time” from the beginning, and I appreciate anything well-said about the song and its moment.

Check out that Grantland article by Steven Hyden here.  Warning: I’ve not watched the clips embedded in that article with the exception of the one from The Office, so viewer beware.

And, just because, here’s the song and video itself: “Closing Time” by Semisonic.

There’s just something about the ’90s that I really miss.

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Donald Miller Would Be Proud?

Posted on June 12, 2012 by awtraughber

ONE OF THE THINGS said by Donald Miller at the Storyline conference that I attended in Portland was that “we live in a world of way too much, so we have to fight to keep our stories clean.”

Miller said this in the context of “editing the story of your life” by making sure that you have clear goals and a real sense of ways to stay focused on what is most important.  I hadn’t heard such a thought articulated like that before, and it came to my mind Monday while reading a Huffington Post article by Bianca Bosker titled “The Rise of the ‘Less Is More’ Selective Social Network.”

Bosker begins the article with an anecdote about viewing a friend’s collection of seventy photos taken over a five-hour period.  The collection was full of random images, taken at whim.  Bosker’s conclusion: “there was no attempt to weed out irrelevant images.”  And why should there be, when editing things takes time and effort, and who has time for that?  The author’s other solid observation: “we’ve been thrust into an unlikely scenario where it actually takes more effort to consume the content that’s being shared than it does to create it.”

We are, of course, a consumer culture.  We are always taking in.  And in the midst of all the taking in, we take “more than enough” as a mark of excellence and success.  Is the case the same for social media and digital interaction?

You can read the entire Bosker article here.  And, as always, you can check out Donald Miller’s blog here.

(image courtesy of wikieducator)

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The Emotional Make-Up of Muppets

Posted on June 11, 2012 by awtraughber

ONE OF THE HIGH POINTS of last year’s The Muppets movie (and there were many), was the song between Walter and Gary, “Man or Muppet.”  It was an Oscar-winning song (admittedly in a slow music year), but it was also a brilliant take on differences and growing up.  One would think that there would be no more obvious distinction: you’re either a man or a muppet.

Enter Dahlia Lithwick of Slate Magazine.  This past Friday, Slate’s legal person released an essay titled “What Kind of Muppet Are You?” in which she drew the line between Order Muppets and Chaos Muppets.  Granted, I pretty much thing of every Muppet as some kind of Chaos Muppet, but she has a point.  Sure, it’s a tongue-in-cheek article that more people than not will probably take too seriously, but it is an interesting article to muse on (especially when she uses the distinction to give relationship advice.  You can check out the Slate article here.  What kind of Muppet are you?

And here’s the “official” video for “Man or Muppet.”  Have a great Monday!

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New Song Saturday: Andrew Peterson

Posted on June 9, 2012 by awtraughber

A FEW DAYS AGO I posted an entry on Grantland’s “Top 10 Songs in Christian Rock.”  In it, I commented that I don’t listen to much Christian music these days apart from particular artists (many of them out of Nashville).  Turns out that one of those artists, Andrew Peterson, has a new album dropping in August.  Peterson brings an interesting perspective, both wise and whimsical, to his work.  More often than not, his music resonates in a good place and encourages good belief and behavior.

Peterson has made the first song from his forthcoming album, Light for the Lost Boy, here.  Just scroll down and hit the play button.  “Rest Easy” is a good reminder of a great truth.  Can’t wait for the rest of the “light” this album will shed.  For more information, you can always take a break in The Rabbit Room.

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Remembering Ray Bradbury (and reading him, too)

Posted on June 7, 2012 by awtraughber

I CAME LATE TO THE RAY BRADBURY PARTY.  It was a couple of years ago.  Donald Miller had spoken highly of Bradbury’s collection of essays on writing: Zen and the Art of Writing.  Somewhere around there I found my way to Fahrenheit 451.  Both books blew me away.  I had heard of Bradbury’s great novel, of course, heard it referenced here and there.  But to read it?  A strange but powerful revelation.

Fahrenheit 451 was a revelation because I’m a reader surrounded by non-readers.  It’s not the people around me hate books; they just don’t have the time to read and then don’t say anything about what they have time for.  My students, God bless them, read less and less each year.  Reading allows for at least some sense of distance from everyday life, gives you a broader horizon to view life against.  I wish every one of my students, my co-workers, my friends could have a Guy Montag series of moments, of revelations about the power of books.

The title and cover of Zen and the Art of Writing were major turn-offs for me.  Brightly colored with cheesy font, title all but ripped of from another work (assuming the other came first).  But the insides? Potent stuff.  Something about his style: honest and true, scalding like magma.  It was from his essay “The Joy of Writing” that I took the title of the blog between my last one and this: “I claim no victory.  But there was blood on my gloves when I hung them up.”  That’s what writing was about to him: fighting through your loves and hates, your joys and sorrows.

While I am saddened to hear of Bradbury’s passing, I’m glad I found my way to him.  I haven’t made it beyond these two books, but I now find myself referring to them often (along with giving copies when appropriate).  Makes me think twice about how flippantly I may treat the written and printed word.

(Image courtesy of The Guardian UK)

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Musical Genre Revisit

Posted on June 6, 2012 by awtraughber

CHRISTIAN MUSIC has changed a lot since I lived near a decent CCM radio station (and even then, things were changing fast).  I still listen to a handful of artists, though most of them are now independent music makers living in Nashville and traveling the Southeast.  Still, I’m always interested in hearing how the industry is doing.

So I was quite surprised to find a musical “top ten” article about Christian (rock) music over at Grantland.com.  They run such a feature quite often, often spotlighting genres tied to distant locations or eclectic tastes.  The article, I suppose, is more descriptive than prescriptive, which is good.  Some of the artists mentioned in the list (well, two of them) have connections to some of my old favorites.  And the comments made by the site don’t seem to be overly sarcastic, which is the way many music experts treat the genre.  The comments at the bottom of the article are also interesting, with nods to oldies-but-goodies and a running gag on Coldplay and U2.

Check out the article here.

Picture courtesy of zazzle.com.

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