I have been a big fan of Living Sacrifice, roughly since I became a Christian. They put out amazing music with great lyrics and intense spirituality over a long period of time (approximately 16 years), and they seemed to be genuinely good guys. They were always willing to hang out and talk after shows, whether they were playing at big festivals or little venues.
When I was a sophomore in high school, my dad took me to see them, which I’m assuming was his first metal show. Great times. He later took me to Cornerstone. Amazing times. My dad’s an amazing guy like that. I took my youth pastor to see them once, too. He had seen AC/DC, though, among other things. Also good times.
Anyway. The point of all this is that Living Sacrifice has reformed after a three or four year hiatus, and will be touring and releasing a new album in 2008. Wonderful news.
Over the last year or so, I have noticed a lot of interest in new monasticism. Blogs, organizations, churches, and so on have been learning about mysticism, hospitality, living in community, and embracing a simple life. They’ve been learning concepts of monasticism, and applying them to the emerging culture. Thus, they are learning to study, pray, and engage in social action as a real community.
Some of these include Missio Dei, The Simple Way, and to varying extents lots of other places.
I’ve watched these developments, and this week there was an article in the Boston Globe about new monasticism. It’s a great article. Worth a read.
More fundamentally, New Monastics consider themselves “monks in the world.” They are not interested in extreme isolation or asceticism (though there are stories about the occasional Protestant “hermit” living in the Mountain West). Nearly all have regular jobs and social lives. From the traditionalist perspective, many break the most essential monastic rule: they are married…
More importantly, these groups do not aim to separate themselves from society - on the contrary, they see New Monasticism as a means to better integrate core Christian values into their lives as average citizens. This is the fundamental difference between old monks and the new. New Monastics often quote one of their heroes, Lutheran theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who captured the ambitions - and the ecumenical limits - of the movement when he wrote in 1935, “the restoration of the church will surely come only from a new kind of monasticism which will have nothing in common with the old but a life of uncompromising adherence to the Sermon on the Mount in imitation of Christ.”
In watching and thinking about these kind of things, I find that it speaks to me, but I’m not entirely sure what to do with it. It’s entirely possible that I could end up living in community. I find the thought challenging. I want to learn to engage in solitude, hospitality, and prayer in ways that I don’t know. It, also, is challenging.
Regardless of whether I end up getting a house with a bunch of other people, it is essential that I, and the church, learn from this kind of thing. I believe there are ways to integrate this at my faith community, and ways that we are, and probably ways that we are not, called to this kind of life.
In the near future, I’ll be working on getting materials together to apply for graduate admission to the Savannah College of Art & Design, which has a campus in downtown Atlanta. They have a program called an M.F.A. in Interactive Design and Game Development. Essentially, there are two tracks: interactive design, and game development. I will be applying for the interactive design track.
While it is somewhat inconvenient for curriculum’s sake, I believe I’ll be applying to start in the January, 2009 quarter. Thus, I have time to take the GRE, get my portfolio together and as strong as possible, and get references and anything else that can help me be admitted to and afford this degree. Exciting stuff.
Anyway. I will also have to decide whether or not I can do this kind of degree full-time, while working full-time. Whether it is all in-class, or a mixture of in-class and online classes, this will be difficult. Should this post make it on a relevant Google or Technorati search, I would be interested in any feedback on this kind of thing.
So. Today is Georgia’s primary. In case it isn’t obvious, I’m voting for Barack Obama. I want to examine some of the reasons for my vote. I don’t agree with everything he says, or everything he stands for. I don’t expect to ever agree with everything that anyone says or stands for. I expect to be able to trust people, and to believe that they have passion and drive for things that line up with my passion and drive. And he does.
I believe, first of all, that Obama offers a chance at change. He comes without the baggage of Washington. He comes with a freshness that makes him willing to dialogue in ways, and with people, that don’t make sense to those who have spent many years dealing with our policies and their consequences.
In light of this, he seeks to change mindsets. And that, I believe, is where his power for positive influence and change lies. There is a certain mindset that believes America is the police of the world, and that democracy is the highest goal that we should seek. Every other candidate remaining in this election, with the exception of Ron Paul, has that mindset. Obama apparently does not. This relates, of course, to the Iraq war, but it also relates to every other current and potential issue of foreign policy from whether it is acceptable to torture to whether it is acceptable to consider the use of nuclear weapons.
There are significant other foreign policy issues where his views can improve the worldwide perception, and actual ethical practices and positions, of the United States. They relate to AIDs, the economy, the environment, international poverty, and any number of other things where we are entirely lost in our own mess. I believe he offers the best chance of getting us out of it in a way that will bring people in Washington and out of it along with him.
There are significant domestic issues where his views will offer positive change. Immigration, economics, domestic poverty, governmental ethics, and technology are all in extreme danger from various things. I think he offers ways of uniting and strengthening the country in these and other areas without isolating ourselves from those who need something positive from us.
Overall, I believe there is a significant ethic of life that Obama represents. From abortion, which I don’t believe is the most significant pro-life issue, to war, poverty, justice for enemies and those who hurt us, he offers the most significant opportunity to address issues of treating humans like humans. To address the causes of the suffering of humanity rather than hide behind political smokescreens. Do I think he is perfect in all of these areas? No. Is anyone perfect in all of these areas? No. But I can believe in him.
Here are a few things around the web that express the kind of thoughts that have accompanied my personal decision process. Whether I agree with all of them is irrelevant; they have been part of my thoughts.