Lunar Eclipse

During our Christianity and Postmodernism class we went outside a couple of times to look at the Lunar Eclipse. There was a bit of cloud around so we couldn't get a good view. The Age newspaper has a great slideshow montage of the event which captures the whole event. Apparently a lunar eclipse was one of the evidences used to show that the earth was round as the shadow cast on the moon was curved.

Go the "Bow and Arrow Man"

Glenn Archer (or as Rex Hunt calls him - the Bow and Arrow Man) overtook Wayne Schimmelbusch as the Kangaroos' games record holder when he played his 307th game for North Melbourne against Carlton on Saturday. Annette and I and the kids (along with James and Grace from next door) went to see the game and we all enjoyed the 82 point win. Archer epitomises the North Melbourne never give up underdog spirit. He was named as Shinboner of the Century and although he may not be the most talented AFL player he is respected by most AFL supporters as the most courageous. Well done Glenn, it's a pleasure to watch you play.

Let's Get Real

I was re-reading the chapter on Authenticity in Exiles this week and it felt like I underlined the whole chapter - Frost is so quotable. Here is one that jumped out at me - “Part of the pervading phoniness about many Christian’s lives is that there seems to be an assumed difference between our public worship experience and our private lifestyle and practices.” (p. 93).
At a recent visit to a church I was again astonished at how forced and routinised (is that a word?) the meeting was - it was as though the church felt obliged to follow a particular pattern that actually discouraged real interaction bettwen the people who were present. Even though there were not people in the meeting who could assist with musical accompaniment there were songs played (on CD)in the regular places of hymns which everyone sat and listened to as though is was a requirement of the weekly ritual. I hope I'm not sounding too critical but I left feeling that this small group would have been much better off sitting in a circle (rather than in rows behind each other) and having a heart to heart discussion about a passage of Scripture, some sharing about what God was doing (or not doing) in their lives and prayer to encourage and inspire each other to continue the fight and press on toward the prize.
Luckily, I attend a lot of different churches for work, so this one will not easily be identified but more and more I am seeking a real engagement with other Jesus followers when I gather with them in various locations around the country. . . And don't get me wrong, I'm not against a formal liturgy I am just against a disconnected and lifeless liturgy whether it be formal or informal.

I'm So Confused

I will be teaching the Christianity and Postmodernism class at Kingsley this Semester and although I already had a fairly good grasp on things postmodern my preparation for the more philosophical aspects of postmodernity have been straining my brain just a little. Here's an example from Stanley Grenz trying to explain Jacques Derrida's understanding of meaning in language.
"A Language is a chain of signifiers referring to other signifiers, in which each signifier in turn becomes what is signified by another signifier."
Hmmmm. I know that understanding the philosophical underpinnings of postmodernism is important but I'm really looking forward to the discussions on the effects of postmodern thought on popular culture and the necessary response from the church.