In this book Design Matters, the author starts off by saying that before you learn to do any designing for projection, the very first step is to change how you think. If all we're doing is projecting lyrics and pretty backgrounds then using visual technology is a waste of money, there are many less expensive ways to do that. WOW that was harsh.
Our culture isn't just visual in terms of wanting pretty pictures. This new medium has changed how we think and process. Our culture thinks and communicates in metaphor. Take commercials: for decades the Polar Bear has been used by Coke. Is it just cute? NO, the Polar Bear is a metaphor for COLD which makes us think refreshing. Or take Music: Firecracker (about a woman), The Race is On (about heartbreak), I left something turned on at home (about a woman not a stove). I like country music but this is the case in all genres.
We need to learn to think in metaphor. My husband is really good at this. He can come up with a metaphor for just about anything. Sometimes his are too complicated, but still that's how he thinks.
This book said that a good metaphor can be connected in one simple sentence. Anyway, just really thought this was an interesting idea to dwell on. Do we use metaphor in our our church? Do you use it in yours?
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Response: God as Game Designer
So my husband, who is designing board games for fun, sent me this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wy3ORyK8CA
Since I don't want to be writing my Mid-Term on Moltmann right now I'm going to think about this instead.
The premise of the discussion is that if God designed the world like a game designer designs a game then he didn't do a very good job. If Heaven and Hell are the win loose conditions, then what are the rules? Well no one can agree, even on the 10 commandments. A good game has clear concise rules so that games spend 90% of the time playing the game instead of debating it. Christians, with their non-concise, unclear "rules" spend that 90% of time debating the rules instead. You win the game by maximizing chance, minimizing losses, and playing by the rules.
In some ways this is a reasonable argument. It would be nice to think that there are straight forward rules to live by that would lead to success, and it is clear that those have not been given to us.
I think, however that the analogy, while we long for its simplicity and ability to understand, is not accurate. Life is not a game. 1) Rules become ends in themselves and not fulfilling the Game. 2) Additionally, it seems clear that there is not one set of rules for everyone, instead faithfulness is a process. 3)Heaven and Hell are not win loose conditions to life. So here are my ideas and thoughts on those three things. I could definitely be wrong, and these are always works in progress.
Heaven and Hell are not win loose conditions - Heaven has to be more than something at the end of life, or after the resurrection of the dead. Heaven is in the moments where the divine is manifest on earth. In Charity, in Love, in Compassion, in Beauty, in Creativity, in Solidarity, in Community. It is a blessing to experience Heaven on Earth, and yes Heaven is probably also an end game scenario where "there is a new heaven and a new earth" as Revelation says, but it is not a reward for playing by the rules. In fact, most Christians believe in the impossibility of playing by the rules.
Some Christians do treat Heaven and Hell as these win loose end game scenario. It speaks to an inner longing to escape from the trials of this world. But Heaven and Hell are not about individuals winning and loosing. Heaven is about a collective salvation. Redeeming a broken and suffering world.
Summary: So really what I'm saying is that Faithfulness is not about the End result! Being a "Good Christian" is not just about getting to heaven and avoiding hell, it is about a life lived now. There are lots of things that come from this, a life lived without fear, a life of abundance, a life of blessing to the world, a life of belonging and not loneliness. There are also risks and pain. It is not easy to glimpse redemption and live in a broken world. Life is complicated. God is bigger than all of us, and when we open ourselves up to the Holy Spirit God can guide us in a way unique to us and our gifts and our situation in order to lead us in a life of Faithfulness now. Life's game is not about the end of our life, but the end of all history in a new creation.
Alright, lots more I could say but this is a way long post so I'll sign off now.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wy3ORyK8CA
Since I don't want to be writing my Mid-Term on Moltmann right now I'm going to think about this instead.
The premise of the discussion is that if God designed the world like a game designer designs a game then he didn't do a very good job. If Heaven and Hell are the win loose conditions, then what are the rules? Well no one can agree, even on the 10 commandments. A good game has clear concise rules so that games spend 90% of the time playing the game instead of debating it. Christians, with their non-concise, unclear "rules" spend that 90% of time debating the rules instead. You win the game by maximizing chance, minimizing losses, and playing by the rules.
In some ways this is a reasonable argument. It would be nice to think that there are straight forward rules to live by that would lead to success, and it is clear that those have not been given to us.
I think, however that the analogy, while we long for its simplicity and ability to understand, is not accurate. Life is not a game. 1) Rules become ends in themselves and not fulfilling the Game. 2) Additionally, it seems clear that there is not one set of rules for everyone, instead faithfulness is a process. 3)Heaven and Hell are not win loose conditions to life. So here are my ideas and thoughts on those three things. I could definitely be wrong, and these are always works in progress.
Rules: The goal of the rules, can become the rules themselves. I should know as I'm a legalistic type of player. The rules of a game are not designed to be followed for the sake of following the rules. They are designed to make the game fun and accessible for all. The problem the Apostle Paul points out with the Jewish rules was that they were becoming ends in themselves instead of being instruments that empowered life to be fun and accessible for all. That is what people are trying to say when they say the New Testament supersedes the Old. Though I don't agree with that statement, it is true that the New Testament says that the old legalism is not effective. "Rules" are only good as long as they help.
One set of Rules: Unfortunately, I don't think that one set of rules works for everyone. If there were, then it seems likely that we would know them, perhaps they could be as clear as a board game's rules. Instead, faithfulness is a process, it is ongoing, it does not look the same for everyone. Nor is what was right for you in one situation necessarily right for you in another. Faithfulness requires discernment. This is the beauty of God's Holy Spirit. The "rules of life" are not written out, they are implanted, so to speak, inside of each of us. The Bible, our Community, our Experience, and Tradition helps us be attuned to, and understand, that voice of the Holy Spirit. I'm not saying anything goes. There are probably some things that are absolutely wrong (like rape) but most things are not black and white. That is why instead of rules, God gave us stories and a guide.
Heaven and Hell are not win loose conditions - Heaven has to be more than something at the end of life, or after the resurrection of the dead. Heaven is in the moments where the divine is manifest on earth. In Charity, in Love, in Compassion, in Beauty, in Creativity, in Solidarity, in Community. It is a blessing to experience Heaven on Earth, and yes Heaven is probably also an end game scenario where "there is a new heaven and a new earth" as Revelation says, but it is not a reward for playing by the rules. In fact, most Christians believe in the impossibility of playing by the rules.
Some Christians do treat Heaven and Hell as these win loose end game scenario. It speaks to an inner longing to escape from the trials of this world. But Heaven and Hell are not about individuals winning and loosing. Heaven is about a collective salvation. Redeeming a broken and suffering world.
Summary: So really what I'm saying is that Faithfulness is not about the End result! Being a "Good Christian" is not just about getting to heaven and avoiding hell, it is about a life lived now. There are lots of things that come from this, a life lived without fear, a life of abundance, a life of blessing to the world, a life of belonging and not loneliness. There are also risks and pain. It is not easy to glimpse redemption and live in a broken world. Life is complicated. God is bigger than all of us, and when we open ourselves up to the Holy Spirit God can guide us in a way unique to us and our gifts and our situation in order to lead us in a life of Faithfulness now. Life's game is not about the end of our life, but the end of all history in a new creation.
Alright, lots more I could say but this is a way long post so I'll sign off now.
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