May 06, 2008
By: Cathi-Lyn Dyck, Managing Editor
Category: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
By Brent Thomas
www.ColossiansThreeSixteen.com
Some time ago I wrote a piece entitled Who Says What’s Christian Music? in which I briefly examined the sad fact that the actual content of music has little to nothing to do with what is actually classified as “Christian” and “secular” music. Artists like Sufjan Stevens openly express their faith with artistic excellence but won’t be purchased in your local Christian bookstore because they dont play the marketing game. Meanwhile, Phillips, Craig and Dean, who openly deny the orthodox view of the Trinity are in every “Christian” bookstore because they do play the marketing game. Marketing rather than content determines what you can buy and where you can buy it.
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May 02, 2008
By: Cathi-Lyn Dyck, Managing Editor
Category: , , ,
By Brent Thomas
www.ColossiansThreeSixteen.com
Awhile back, I had an interesting talk with a friend regarding the idea of where we place our Christian boundaries. He works in the music industry and of course, has a vested interest in music and the thought that surrounds it. He asked a stimulating question: have we misplaced our “boundaries” when it comes to the entertainment “filters” that we use?
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August 12, 2007
By: Cathi-Lyn Dyck, Managing Editor
Category: , , , , , , , ,
Getting back to the land, owning an acreage or a small farm, is a really cool fad these days. Everyone’s doing it, you know.
For one, it seems to mesh with a certain portion of the Christian homeschooling community, so well that conservative Christian businessfolk Paul and Gena Suarez expanded their online business to cater to Christian homesteaders. What began as The Old Schoolhouse Magazine and HomeschoolBlogger.com now includes HomesteadBlogger.com, which amounts to an online small town in both size and culture.
What’s the deal? Well, the rhetoric about good management of the earth comes from a couple of directions—one, it comes from within the churches. What amounts to campaign materials are handed out to churches and denominations. These even include sermon suggestions for incorporating concern for the earth. [1]
Two, like those campaign materials, the rhetoric comes from secular sources. Accusations link Christianity to male domination and exploitation of, like, everything—women, children, and dolphins. (I had no idea my church’s deacons had so much spare time on their hands.) Homesteading and ecological awareness is one response from the Christian community.
Most of all, though, there is realistic motivation for individuals as they pick up on the realities of our food distribution system. People aren’t satisfied with blueberries that have been sitting on the boat from Chile for a month. [2] Folks are absorbing a perennial flow of news items about environmental concerns, and an ever-expanding grassroots buzz about better living.
The sustainability movement has links to globalism, and also contains plenty of pagan philosophy. Are Christians aware of everything they’re adopting? And what about pagans? I’ve seen several pagans try to integrate into the HomesteadBlogger community, only to end up leaving or limiting their participation, for various reasons. Do Christians handle these interactions wisely?
Lemme know what you think. [3]
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[1] Forcing Change Magazine, Issue 6, Volume 1, www.forcingchange.org
[2] See http://lazycreek.net/TYDOS/2007/04/seasonal-produce-and-winter-eating.html for more information.
[3] Author’s note: The uploading of this post was fraught with homesteading peril, so I appeal to the record for grounds that my frazzled nerves deserve the contribution of your opinion, dear reader.
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