tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14410967.post3670807973091960552..comments2024-03-25T19:00:40.046-06:00Comments on The Constructive Curmudgeon: A Curmudgeon's Dream (or Nightmare): Christianity Today's Faux CoverDouglas Groothuis, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08766692378954258034noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14410967.post-35061250736554743602007-06-08T22:10:00.000-06:002007-06-08T22:10:00.000-06:00Rick:I haven't looked into the nature of the film ...Rick:<BR/><BR/>I haven't looked into the nature of the film yet. I'm sure it is terrible, though, given Hollywood.Douglas Groothuis, Ph.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08766692378954258034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14410967.post-41596367470749919702007-06-08T12:32:00.000-06:002007-06-08T12:32:00.000-06:00How is a faux cover any different from a deception...How is a faux cover any different from a deception? It is not fitting for a magazine that stands for the truth. <BR/><BR/>I also wonder how the church can applaud a film that drags that which is sacred down to spoof. Whatever happened to the reverence and fear of God? <BR/><BR/>We really need to be more discerning when it comes to Hollywood. The church has naively embraced anything that hints of being 'faith friendly'. It wants so badly to be entertained, but all this entertainment can actually dull the spiritual senses.Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04141155972241122000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14410967.post-37528076540075914742007-06-04T21:28:00.000-06:002007-06-04T21:28:00.000-06:00I'm sure Miller or his editor could spell better t...I'm sure Miller or his editor could spell better than that.Douglas Groothuis, Ph.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08766692378954258034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14410967.post-17078055432094775052007-06-04T15:30:00.000-06:002007-06-04T15:30:00.000-06:00Hmm, Blue Like Jazz, didn't care for that so much ...Hmm, Blue Like Jazz, didn't care for that so much either.<BR/><BR/>Donald Miller should write a follow up book entitled "Church: the First Two Millenia are Irrelovent"Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07600780136429792975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14410967.post-27713827024344663252007-06-04T10:23:00.000-06:002007-06-04T10:23:00.000-06:00I am in sympathy with much of the Blue bashing tha...I am in sympathy with much of the Blue bashing that has surfaced on this blog. I am also at peace with the assertions that CT has crossed the line (although I find the novelty of these assertions interesting, since in my estimation CT crossed the line years ago in its apparent alignment with worldviews that have found that there are church growth models that are suitable substitutes for biblical revival). I would, however, offer one point in behalf of the truth-as-narrative motif, although not as Donald Miller has stated it.<BR/><BR/>If you poll apologetics savants as to their favorite book of Scripture, chances are good that Ecclesiastes will emerge as a top-three choice. Ecclesiastes is a wonderfully contemporary discussion of the place of God by considering His omission from our world and worldview. I think it is perhaps valuable to note that the structure of the book is not philosophical, at least as we understand that concept. Ecclesiastes is part poem, part memoir (putting aside entertaining questions about the book’s authorship). The structure itself feels like (I’m feeling the need for courage in order to state this in this forum) a postmodern personal essay. I think it is valuable to consider Wolterstorff’s Lament for a Son in this comparison; the author, a philosophical giant among Christians, expressed his faith in trial not in terms of cumulative case, but as a narrative reflection. There seems to be a place for the proof of Christianity to be stated in personal terms.<BR/><BR/>A key difference, of course, between Ecclesiastes and Blue Like Jazz is the content of the conclusion drawn by the Professor: Fear God, and keep His commands. This is not simply my story, he says; “this applies to everyone,” because God will objectively judge every action, whether open or secret. In an age that insists that every story is equally valid on its face, we continue to bear personal witness to the God Who is there for every man.hobiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07393063519454575153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14410967.post-57848097396075066752007-06-04T09:36:00.000-06:002007-06-04T09:36:00.000-06:00The Miller hagiography (which I have not yet had t...The Miller hagiography (which I have not yet had the patience to read in its entirety) echoes an interesting claim of his: that the proper locus of truth is story, not proposition. That got me thinking: could I, say, spray paint this sentence on a brick wall and still expect it to be meaningful? The article puts the claim in the context of a speech Miller is giving, so it is in one sense embedded in a kind of story. But my thought experiment seems to suggest that you could remove the claim--the <I>propositional</I> claim--from any narrative context and still understand it completely.<BR/><BR/>I didn't react quite as negatively to <I>Blue Like Jazz</I> as you did, but I still didn't find it to be all that insightful or worthy of the attention it got. And this kind of thing--asserting propositions like "truth is not propositional"--is just tiring. It is mystifying to me that it gets you on the [inner, non-ad-based] cover of CT.Tim Berglundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09856891716956455602noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14410967.post-14832473707773321482007-06-04T09:04:00.000-06:002007-06-04T09:04:00.000-06:00Maybe marketing can do for the church what radical...Maybe marketing can do for the church what radical commitment couldn't...<BR/><BR/>You're rather strong opinioned and often go against the tide. And this is what the church really needs: wounds inflicted by a friend.Yossmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16536162779634467220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14410967.post-40647659868953086672007-06-04T06:49:00.000-06:002007-06-04T06:49:00.000-06:00I was equally appaled by the cover, and then the l...I was equally appaled by the cover, and then the letter from the editor David Neff said "the advertisement you see wrapped around this cover is a bold symbol of the new cooperative spirit. Yet the relationship is cautious and tentative."<BR/><BR/>This is a relationship that needs to be severed. I have lately gotten tired of seeing so much advertising in CT. I know every seminary name (including yours) from here to Vancouver because of all the advertising. <BR/><BR/>I say enough. I recently was asked to join the CT advisory panel and I am writing my concerns today. I am glad someone else shares them as well.jcubsdadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08441530898226119655noreply@blogger.com