Schism

Schism, n. A breach of the unity of the visible Church;

This word has been bouncing around in my head for a couple days now. It's a word that carries very strong meaning to it. To publicly remove oneself from the church over matters of doctrine has given rise to many a change in the course of Western Christian history. The Orthodox church, The Protestant Reformation and now... the Emergent church. Yes, I am lumping the Emergent church in with the other great schisms of Christianity. Or at least, I am postulating the idea that it could lead to a great schism. I have said for a number of years that there is a great something changing within the American church. Some would refer to this as apostasy rearing its ugly head. These same individuals would tell you that within our lifetime we will see the end of the world and the return of Christ. I am not throwing myself in with that lot. Does this mean I am saying it won't happen? Not at all. What I am saying is that this fixation on the end of the world speaks leaps and bounds about your own personal and theological perception. I have always tried to be an optimist and believer in the idea that a life change in Christ is a positive one. I also feel, due to circumstances in my own life, that our life here on Earth is not some prison that we need to escape from, but should be embraced as a gift from God. How this relates into a view of "being an alien in a foreign land" I see as follows; we are put here on this plane of existence for a reason and whatever that reason may be we should pursue it. Being that I come from a Christian perspective I view this reason as being an agent of change, particularly in telling (through both words and actions) about the restored life one can have in Christ. Salvation is an ongoing process that begins with our realization of our need for a redemptive relationship with Christ and continues through death. The point is not that we have some destination and are simply on hold over but that we are an active agent in the world in which we live and we should live with that mindset. In our temporal minds, 80 years is a long time and if we are here for that long of a time we should enjoy and rejoice in that time. Particularly if we have the restored relationship with the Creator of this life we should rejoice all the more! I may sound like a hypocrite as there have been times, recently even, where I have not practiced what I preach. However, no human is without even the slightest bit of hypocrisy. The old standby, "none of us are perfect" rings very true. The goal is to live to the best you can, but this life can be hard and harsh and unforgiving. Once again, all the more reason to live with the perspective that I am here and here for a reason and that reason is to show to the world the redemptive life I live and they too can live in Christ. It's not about collecting souls. It's about life.

Ok, now onto what I was actually going to talk about. Yes, I chase rabbits very often. We have seen a cultural shift in the American church as of late. This can be due to several factors. The advance of humanism, postmodernism, an increased awareness of culture and religion in other areas of the world... take your pick. The typical party line you will hear towed by Christians is that all these things are bad and have had a hand in taking away our "God" from America. This is a great fallacy as far as I'm concerned. God was never anymore in America than He is anywhere else in the world. Yes, we have a history of Puritanism in the U.S. and that influenced the formation of the nation but it was not the sole or main reason. The main reason was to get out of British colonial rule. Let's not forget, the American Revolution motto was not "A nation built for God!" but "No taxation without representation!" The shift away from a strong Puritan influence (which did not bring about all good... slavery was almost unilaterally supported and in actuality the Amish and Mennonites were the first Christian denominations to speak out against slavery, not the Puritans) in the United States is as I've come to see it a result of the influence of humanistic thought but also the result of globalization. I'll give you that. However, the idea of postmodernism also brought about the emergent church which seeks to be relevant to the current generation who see nothing vital in the traditional values of modernist Christianity. The current generation feels rejected, disconnected and that Christians simply don't care. These are all things I've felt and why I probably fall most closely in theology to the emergent church. However, I do not call myself an emergent. Here is why, I feel it is counter productive. The goal of the emergent movement, as I have seen it, is to reform the church by tearing down the distinctions in traditional Christianity. For an example of this, read Brian McLaren's "A Generous Orthodoxy" where he tries to find the good in the variety of Christian denominations. I commend this and see the value in it. It can also lead to a sort of Christianity that smacks of Universalistic values. The emergent church is a varied, fractured movement at the moment and one that does not have a set sort of values. In essence, there is no postmodern creed. This is one of the reasons why I am not labeling myself an emergent. I feel that if the church is to become one again, to tear down the idea of denominations and become a whole body again, there should be no label other than the one that labels us as followers of Christ. Emergent runs the risk of becoming yet another denomination. It will be a fractured denomination though, one with a few noteworthy leaders who don't always agree with each other. Is this bad? No, but it is troubling. It leaves the idea of lasting impact too far fetched. So, could the emergent church be a schism. Well, it already is. You wouldn't be surprised to find emergents who question the reality of hell, emphasize the humanity of Christ, and draw inspiration from humanistic writers. These are things that "traditional" western Christianity will not tolerate. Hence, a schism has, or is occurring. Is it apostasy? Not quite but it can be dangerous.

My final thought is this. This theological shift that is occurring in Christianity can go to ways. Either it will reform the church and bring thousands to hear the message of the gospel (as is evidenced by Rob Bell's Mars Hill Church) or it will simply fall to the wayside and people will continue to leave the church. Then apostasy may set in. Or you may find the same thing as you've found the past 10-15 years; Christians who still believe and claim a deep faith yet feel no need to attend what has been the model of church for the past several hundred years.

The sound of clarity

Ah Music... you have been my obsession since that tender, innocent age of 15. Over the years, we've had a healthy relationship that has mostly revolved around me gaining insurmountable pleasure from you. If only I could return to that time where I was so excited about every single cd I bought. Where listening to KILO resulted in me hearing some cool new band. When Mudvayne were a "new" band. I can still remember going to Best Buy to buy L.D. 50 and seeing the odd, pharmacy meets humanity cover. Seeing the faces of the four band members painted, looking demonic and alien and just too damn cool.

Tonight I have been brought to a night wherein I should be catching up on all my homework (I have several papers to start and/or finish) and while I've done some of that (while also registering) I find myself wanting to do nothing more than sit in my room, draped in my wornwaytoomuchandheldontotoolong hoodie and engage in an act of intimacy with the auditory equivalent of perfection. Some thoughts at the moment; Mudvayne were at one point an incredible band. Since the release of L.D. 50 back in 2000 the band have regressed into an above average radio metal band. However, the band at one point tackled complex topics such as the idea of drugs and hallucinogens and how they have impacted human evolution. Nothing that complex anymore. Now we have "Are you feeling happy?" I suppose it's the natural consequence of being in the music business and achieving a slight bit of success. There is a need to repeat that, or fall by the wayside. Same story. Band X gets obscure radio hit despite being uncharacteristic of radio music, label gets greedy, band likes more support from label, pressure to repeat success, band does not, gets dropped, repeat add nausea. I still feel somewhat cheated. Like I've lost something. Something that was so exciting and fresh and new and now... not.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, some bands utterly surprise me with their renewed level of awareness and dedication to creating art. Machine Head have long been one of my favorite bands and their new album, "The Blackening," shows just what can happen when a band loses its head to the pressures of potential radio success only to come back, fully in love with the idea of creating music for music's sake. It's an album that flows, is aggressive, beautiful, haunting and challenging from a musical standpoint. After my first spin of the album, I felt that same excitement from when I first discovering the world of metal and music. It lit a fire under my ass and made pick up my guitar and start to write riffs. Same thing when I discovered the Psalters over the summer. Moments of Zen. Moments that I crave. Moments that motivates me to go and play that next show. Moments I would love someday to give back to others.

For now, I'll continue to engulf myself in the Zen that is sonic violence. Music, music, I hear music. Music over my... head...