Author: Andre Nelson

I am a senior communication major with a philosophy minor, an Honors Student, and a varsity athlete. I currently serve on the leadership committee for the Student Alumni Association, I have been an RA for two years, and have served as a TA for biology as well as a French tutor. Prior to Houghton, I was evacuated from the darkest forests of war-torn Congo, immersed in the French culture of the beautiful Montagne Bourbonnaise, and raised in the streets of dirty dirty Dallas in the bold state of Texas.

Categories
Opinions

Trivializing the Sacrifice

Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.

The above passage is taken from St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, chapter 11, verses 27-29. To give a brief summary of this passage, St. Paul is writing to the Corinthians reprimanding them for things they’re doing wrong, one of which is communion.

andreI have attended a wide range of churches throughout the course of my life. This is not to say that I understand each and every one of their doctrines, but simply to say that I have had decent amount of exposure. I attended a Catholic school for a little over a decade; simultaneously I attended an Assemblies of God church, followed by a nondenominational church. Interspersed in all this was a Baptist church and getting into the Vineyard movement. For a few years I also joined a Mennonite congregation and now I finally—for the time being—settle in the Wesleyan Church. One thing that is constant in all these churches is the practice of communion, also known as Holy Communion, the Lord’s Supper, the Eucharist, the breaking of bread and the divine service, all referring to the eating of the bread and drinking of the wine in remembrance of Christ’s ultimate sacrifice for our salvation.

I have always been fascinated by how different churches conduct communion. Regardless of the church you attend, this practice is pretty much guaranteed to take place within the walls of a Christian institution. And of course as with any Christian practice, it varies from church to church. Some uphold the doctrine of transubstantiation whereby the bread and wine literally transform into the flesh and blood of Christ while others uphold the doctrine of Consubstantiation whereby the blood and body of Christ are present alongside the bread and wine which remain present—think of red hot iron, where fire is joined with iron yet both retain their distinct elements—and lastly (for the purpose of this editorial) we have the memorialists who take on a more simplistic approach and that is that the bread and wine symbolize and remind us of the sacrifice Christ made on our behalf.

Not only do churches hold differing opinions on what exactly happens to the elements during communion, they also differ in how and to whom it is administered. Some churches I have attended reserved communion exclusively for members of their particular denomination, other churches request that only those that have been baptized by immersion partake in the Lord’s supper, and others allow everyone who sets foot in their church to partake, regardless of their affiliation, commitment, age, etc.

I would like to clarify that I by no means see myself as anything other than a layman. I have not studied the original text, nor have I had any training in biblical interpretation other than the basic introductory classes required by Houghton College. So I will not attempt to pick apart these doctrines. What I will say is that regardless of your stance, there is one common denominator amongst all these views: communion is a mystery. Whether you believe that there is a physical transformation occurring, a metaphysical change, or just plain remembering the death and resurrection, there is a component that cannot be explained in human terms and therefore we deem it to be sacred.

What St. Paul is reprimanding the Corinthians for is not a faulty belief regarding the practice of communion. He is getting after them for trivializing the practice.  If I am honest with myself, I have to confess that I have never put much thought into what I was doing when communion was served. For kids it is nothing more than a mid-service snack, and unfortunately for many adults it isn’t much more either.

A few weeks ago during a Sunday morning service communion was served. I had not been feeling particularly well; I was not where I needed to be in my relationship with God and various people in my life. I knew there was a lot of sin in my life that had not been dealt with. As the pastor invited people to come receive the elements I noticed an array of people go up. The passage that I opened with struck me. If I were to get up and take these elements without examining myself I would be eating and drinking a judgment on myself because I would be trivializing what they represent.

Leaving aside the details of the various doctrines, we take communion for the purpose of commemorating the most sacred act, the death and resurrection of Christ. To go through these motions of eating the bread and drinking the wine without fully understanding their meaning is to in essence mock the sacrifice Christ made by trivializing this sacred act.

Categories
Opinions

Woes of the Privileged Dependent

As dependents we like to complain. Or rather, as the privileged we like to complain, because it really is a question of privilege. It is a privilege to be dependent on someone financially, and even if you are an independent financially, as a student you are currently depending on this institution for food, lodging, and education.

But we love to complain. Throughout my time at Houghton and even more so it seems since I graduated, all I hear from current students is how awful this place is. Sodexo is taking over everything. The rules are too constricting and frankly ridiculous. Res Life is on a constant witch hunt. The dorms are nasty. The education is minimalistic. Finally, my personal favorite, “Houghton shelters us and does not prepare us for the real world.” The list of complaints goes on, but you get my point.

Don’t get me wrong, I love to complain as well. But every once in a while you need to stop, sit back, and consider what you are complaining about. Because more often than not we sound pathetic, and the grounds for complaints are nothing more than juvenile trivialities.

Let me put things into perspective. According to Forbes, Houghton College is currently ranked in the top 4% of colleges nationwide. Our Investment Center just recently broke $300K. Our Media program has had students go to Antarctica, and produce documentaries for the Gates Foundation. 83% of applicants from Houghton have been accepted into medical school (the national average is 43% according to the Association of American Medical Colleges). We may be small, but the quality of academics is undeniable.

During my last weekend on campus I went up to the cafeteria to eat lunch. I had to struggle choosing between numerous delicious-looking options. No institutional food will ever compare to your mother’s cooking, but have you eaten at other colleges? We get quality food, tons of variety, and all you can eat. Last but not least, Sodexo accommodates dietary restrictions like few other institutions. I would also like to praise the new management of Java 101. Flex dollars can be used to purchase coffee, and it is now open all day Sunday!

Our student guide requires students to not drink, use illegal substances, or act promiscuously. Now go find another Faith-based institution that promotes those. In fact, go find an actively Christian institution that is more liberal on those issues at all.

When it comes to Res Life, I have sat in on disciplinary hearings while serving as an RA, and I was shocked. Not because of the strictness, but because of the understanding and caring on behalf of the staff. The case I was in had to do with drugs, which under the student guide is a one-strike offense. The evidence was compelling; the confession was there. The student should have been expelled. But instead, the staff asked how the student was, what was the reasons for this, how could we help. I was asked to be his mentor.

Dorms are dorms. Hundreds of people have used the room you are in. Of course it’s not a five-star hotel in Monaco. But next time you feel compelled to whine, go spend a night in a state school dorm that has been sullied by thousands of drunken, puking, fornicating residents, and then see how you feel.

Lastly, do you really need to drink, smoke, and have sex, or even be surrounded by such things, in order to prepare yourself for the “real world”?  Let me give you a glimpse of the real world: most people work 8-5 jobs with an hour lunch break, after which they go home and watch TV. On occasion they enjoy happy hour at the local bar. Far fewer may hook up for some quick sex. But mostly this is just a television fantasy. According to the CDC, while two out of three American adults drink, the average amount consumed is 4 drinks per week. 19% of Americans smoke and only half of Americans purport to have sex once a week. So you really aren’t falling behind the rest of the population with the amount of alcohol, tobacco and sex of which you are deprived.

Houghton is not perfect. There are things that could stand improvement, but by and large it is a truly quality institution. Remember that there are so many issues in the world, i.e. world hunger, child prostitution, homelessness, domestic violence, and gender inequality. And explain to me why your life is particularly miserable at Houghton.

 

Categories
Opinions

What’s Orthodox to Someone is Heresy to Another

As I come to the end of my undergraduate career at a private faith-based liberal arts college, I think it is appropriate that I reflect on my journey.

I am not sure what sort of Christian I am. I only hope I’m not a heretic. Where amongst the thirty thousand denominations do I fall? I agree with the declaration of the Nicene Creed, so I must be ok.

Courtesy of fotogalerias.universia.c
Courtesy of fotogalerias.universia.c

Throughout my life, I have been dragged through a slew of different denominations. My parents, coming from Gideon and Baptist backgrounds, joined the inter-denominational mission organization Wycliffe Bible Translators. The first four years of my life were spent in a non-denominational Congolese Church. This was quite the Charismatic experience, as I’m sure you can imagine. I recall a story of a woman, supposedly practicing sorcery and possessed by a demon, who barged into the Church hollering in a man’s voice. They say it took seven men to drag her out and beat the demon out of her.

After this, we moved to France, where I was put in a private Catholic school for the following 11 years. I attended Catechism. I was taught that the Saints would intercede for me. I went to confession. I partook in the Holy Communion.

Also in France I attended an Assemblies of God church with my family. Within the first few months I could mimic word for word the “bidi-bidi” sounds that they claimed were Tongues and could also give the interpretations that would always follow.

Around this time, my parents became intrigued by what was happening in Toronto. John Arnott prayed his famous prayer “come Holy Spirit, come;” And thus began the infamous Toronto Blessing. After this, my family joined the Vineyard movement, a neo-charismatic movement stemming out of the Calvary Chapel.

After I moved back to the States, some close friends of the family invited me to attend the International House of Prayer in Kansas City. This is a charismatic non-denominational mission organization that emphasizes post-tribulational premillenialism. Led by a former Kansas City Prophet, Mike Bickle, the movement focuses on the end times.

I am no theologian; however, I’d hazard a guess that I have come across quite a few views that stray in some ways from orthodox Christianity, yet in each of these everyone maintains that their views are most in line with that of the early Church. I find myself distraught. I can’t help but to wonder what heretical views I uphold. Are gays Christian? When does human life begin? Is paedobaptism wrong? Is credobaptism necessary? Do demons exist? Are revivals psychological? Does God carry on personal relationships with everyone? Does God have a plan for my life?

Spiritual people always try to point to scripture. They tell us to base our beliefs on the word of God. Unfortunately, there are verses for and against each one of these questions. I don’t have any answers. I don’t know whether demons exist. I don’t know whether I should be re-baptized, or what happens when I take communion. I don’t know why God has been silent.  I find comfort in Thomas’s doubt. But I recognize that for some people, these questions, when unanswered, put Biblical faith at risk.

Rather than continue preaching these ambiguities—that is, all the doctrines that cause division amongst Christians—for which two thousand years have taught us that there are no conceivable resolutions, let us, as Wolterstorff writes, “endure holding on to God… join with God in keeping alive the protest against early death and unredemptive suffering… own our own suffering… and join with the divine battle against all that goes awry with reference to God’s intent.”

At the last supper, Jesus commanded his disciples to love one another. This was nothing new. He had instructed his followers to do this time and time again. Yet a few hours before his death, he tells his followers that they will be recognized for how they treat others.

Ultimately I am no longer afraid of being a heretic because, as one wise blogger once wrote, “what is orthodox to someone is going to be heresy to another.”

Throughout my time at Houghton I have heard, on at least three different occasions, individuals make reference to being Catholic and “converting” to Christianity. This makes me cringe. Was it their Catholicism that made them unchristian? What if I stated that I used to be Evangelical but then I became a Christian? I used to be Charismatic, but then I got saved. The fact is that Catholics are heretics, and so are the Eastern Orthodox, Baptists, Wesleyans, Mennonites, and the 30 thousand other denominations. We are all heretics to someone else. None of us hold the keys to the mystery of the universe. But we can choose how we are going to treat our fellow heretics: with Love.

Categories
News

Christians for the Mountains to Visit for Earth Day Activities

On Monday, April 22, Houghton College will be observing Earth Day. This is a day intended to raise awareness about the effects of climate change on the earth and on individuals. Allen Johnson—the coordinator and co-founder of Christians For The Mountains (CFTM)—will be speaking in Chapel at 11:30, leading an open discussion over dinner between 5:00-6:30 in the alumni dining room, and giving a lecture in the CFA at 8.

Allen Johnson helped develop the Evangelical Environmental Network while earning a masters degree from Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He served as a founding leader of the Religious Coalition for Creation Care of which he continues on the Steering Committee.  Johnson has presented papers for The National Association of Environmental Professionals and The Colloquium on Violence and Religion, has written articles on faith and the environment, and wrote a chapter in Holy Ground: A Gathering Of Voices On Caring For Creation.

Johnson retired in 2011 to pursue CFTM work. CFTM is an initiative to summons Christians to act responsibly to God’s creation with a specific focus on the central Appalachian Mountains region. Their chief objective is the end of mountaintop removal extraction. They have been has been featured in numerous publications including Newsweek, Prism, Grist, documentary programs such as Bill Moyers Journal, and films including Mountaintop Removal and Renewal. Johnson also produced the DVD film, Mountain Mourning.

Johnson’s Chapel sermon, We Either Will Be Lovers or Else the Earth Will Die (Calling all Lovers!),will discuss the decreasing viability of Earth and its inhabitants, and the efforts of science to offer society practical solutions to restore planetary ecological equilibrium. A distinction that Johnson makes is that science, as beneficial as it is, only touches the mind. Social movements come from the heart.

Johnson’s evening lecture, Economic, Political, And Moral Considerations On The Health Externalities Of Mountaintop Mining in Central Appalachia, will be focusing more specifically, as the title suggests, on mountaintop mining in Central Appalachia. Mountaintop mining is a method of extracting coal by blasting apart a mountain layer by layer in order to extract the coal. The remaining 97% of rock debris pushed down into the valleys. Naturally this causes health concerns for local population which are some of the most impoverished in the nation.

These events will be a time where students will be encouraged to focus on the impact they have on the Earth and how we can become better stewards of our natural resources.

Categories
Opinions

Houghton College Encouraging Obesity

As an institution we have lost sight of what holiness is. While we vilify drinking and smoking, we actively encourage gluttony and obesity. As a Wesleyan institution, our roots are buried deep in the Holiness Movement. This movement focused on Wesley’s teachings of Christian Perfection, which holds that the heart of the born again believer could attain a state free of voluntary sin. Out of this teaching, the movement adopted practices that have become quintessentially equated with Wesleyans. Two of the more dominant practices are that of not drinking alcoholic beverages and not using tobacco products in any form. A few reasons for the exclusion of these substances are for the purpose of avoiding sin, maintaining purity and avoiding the appearance of evil.

Courtesy of http://climbforcharity.com/
Courtesy of http://climbforcharity.com/

At this point I am not much interested in delving deeper into these teachings—this is not intended to be a theological exploration—rather, I would like to turn my attention towards healthy living, and use the foundations of the Holiness Movement and Wesley’s teachings as a basis for critiquing the current health practices of the majority of Christians, Houghton students, faculty, and western society as a whole.

As Christians we are taught that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. This is one of the most used arguments by the adversaries of drinking and smoking. We point out the negative effects of smoke on the human lungs. Not only does the tobacco burn the lungs and deposit toxic tar, but it increases risks of heart disease, mouth cancer, and numerous other diseases. Alcohol wreaks havoc on the liver, has ruined countless lives, torn apart families, and destroyed reputations. Numerous children are affected by fetal alcohol syndrome. The fact is that alcohol can be dangerous.

Few are those that would dispute these facts. The proponents of indulging typically appeal to moderation, which is absolutely valid.

Yet as partakers in the holiness movement, I believe we have lost track of what the movement’s original purpose was. We focus on vilifying those that enjoy the substances we’ve qualified as evil; meanwhile, we continue to abuse our bodies by filling them with unhealthy foods. It has been deemed acceptable to attack smokers and drinkers, but it remains taboo to have open discussions about obesity.

Each meal, I wait in line at one of four water dispensers, nestled between 28 soda dispensers waiting to fill my cup with flavored high fructose corn syrup. The healthy food options are hidden amongst an abundance of fried food, sugary food, and sodium-filled food.  In Shenawana Hall there are two vending machines but not one water fountain.  At 5 Bites locations there are a hundred variations of corn based candy and maybe one organic food option. It is as though Houghton is actively encouraging obesity.

If our body is indeed the “temple of the holy spirit” then what should we make of these consumption habits? We condemn drinking and smoking. What about high fructose corn syrup, fried food, and all the other terrible things we ingest? Why do these fall into a different category?

Why is obesity acceptable? We used to hear talk about “freshmen 15,” now it is increasingly becoming “freshmen 30”. Worse than simply accepting obesity as a norm, we are actually encouraging it and making ourselves feel better about it. Obesity costs us approximately 147 billion dollars per year in medical expenditures. Over two thirds of all Americans are Obese.

Why is this form of self-harm any more acceptable than the other previously mentioned forms?

Categories
Opinions

Pros and Cons of Cultural Identity: Part 1 of 3

Cultural diversity is a concept that it is valued by most progressives, and even the non-progressive and monocultural, though they may not value others’ cultural identities, would die before they allowed someone to strip them of their heritage. But is praising cultural diversity a healthy practice? Though I would like to think so, I wonder if it really is beneficial, especially if we wish to decrease the high levels of violence and hate in our societies.

Courtesy of sempresicilia.wordpress.com
Courtesy of sempresicilia.wordpress.com

I was born in Southern California, but set foot on three different continents before my first birthday. I have lived in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, France, and Texas. I have traveled to approximately 15 different countries. I am the descendant of a survivor of one of the worst and most neglected genocides in history—that of the Armenians. Needless to say, when it comes to cultural diversity, I lack no experience. Yet through all this, I have not come out with a particularly passionate view of the plethora of cultures that inhabit our world, rather I have come to view them as a significant source of violence and hatred. Could it be that mankind would be more productive and peaceful were it not for all this diversity?

Fukuyama, a political and economic scientist, wrote a book titled The End of History in which he discusses the development of liberal democracy as being the “end point of mankind’s ideological evolution.” However, Fukuyama limits his idea to state ideology and claims that the shift into liberal democracy will only eliminate conflict between “post-historical” states. Could we then extend this concept to include secular globalism? After all, religion and cultural identities (which are really synonymous in the majority of the world) appear to supersede, in most cases, that of national identity.

Fukuyama bases his theory on observable historical trends. He is deeply influenced by Hegelian thought, stating, “Hegel was the first philosopher to speak the language of modern social science, insofar as man for him was the product of his concrete historical and social environment.” Much like Hegel, Fukuyama sees historical trends suggesting a progression in humankind, not necessarily towards a utopian-style society as perhaps Marx would, but rather, “a moment in which a final, rational form of society and state became victorious.” This is to say that despite there still being violent acts perpetrated by individuals, there will be no more large-scale cultural or ideological inspired acts of violence.

Similar to both of these thinkers, I would like to take a look at the historical development of cultures from around the world. The Armenians and the Turks are an obvious choice for me, given my heritage. My ancestors were slaughtered in the early 20th century, and to this day many Turks still deny that this genocide ever happened. Violence against the Armenians still residing in Turkey continues today, not to any genocidal proportions, but the hatred remains deeply rooted in the culture. The simple explanation is the same one that explains the never ending slaughters in the Balkans, and the incessant retributive attacks between the Palestinians and the Israelis–it is due to cultural and religious diversity.

On an individual level, a Catholic and a Muslim, for example, can have a peaceful and loving relationship. But, on a larger scale, if we wish to maintain our separate cultural identities, it seems unlikely that we can live in divided communities without developing hatred and violence. For thousands of years the Croats, Serbs, and Bosniaks have been slaughtering each other, for thousands of years the Jews and Arabs have despised each other, and for thousands of years the Turks and the Armenians have been at each other’s throats.

Where peace has begun to develop is within secularized, postmodern, Western societies. Could it be that as secularization settles in, as cultural identities are abandoned, and as we enter into not only a liberal democratic world but a secular and globalized world, that we will see peace, innovation and prosperity? It is in this environment that humankind seems to thrive together.

While I cringe at the thought of abandoning cultural diversity, as I do see beauty that has come out of various cultures, I would like to see peace develop in this world on a large scale. It seems as though the societies in which mass cultural violence has been near eradicated are secular and globalized societies, where cultural heritage is but a vague memory and faith is personal and disconnected from society as a whole. Is there any way we can practically achieve worldwide peace while maintaining cultural diversity?

Categories
Opinions

Military Innovations: Cheapening the Sanctity of Life

Talk surrounding drone strikes has increased significantly, and many valid points have been raised both in objection and in support to the use of these killing machines. Drones are unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) that are armed with weaponry and serve both for reconnaissance and for combat purposes. Arguments surrounding the use of these machines have revolved primarily around the moral and ethical dilemmas that their use entails.

Courtesy of http://dronewarsuk.files.wordpress.com/
Courtesy of http://dronewarsuk.files.wordpress.com/

A major concern deals with the large amounts of civilian casualties caused by drone strikes. According to a study by Stanford Law School and New York University’s School of Law, the level of targets killed as a percentage of total casualties is around 2 percent. For every terrorist killed there are approximately 50 civilians killed. According to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism one reason for the 98 percent civilian casualty rate is not a result of lack of training or terrible aim but rather a “double tap” strategy—reminiscent of terrorist organizations—which aims to target people who gather at drone attack sites to mourn the victims.
Arguments in favor of drones emphasize the utility of these machines in sparing American lives. Why risk sending a regiment of young men to risk their lives when you can send in an unmanned drone? From the perspective of the officials this isn’t even a question; there is no reason to ask someone to risk their lives if there is an alternative. But how many foreign lives are worth the American lives that are spared? The question I would like you to grapple with focuses on the sanctity of life.

The military has always been on the forefront of technological advances. If it weren’t for people always trying to find more innovative and efficient ways to kill and conquer each other, we would not have anywhere near the amount of technology that we do currently. What’s happened as a result of these innovations is that we have increasingly distanced ourselves from the act of killing, without decreasing the amount of killing. We are still using bullets and firearms, but instead of seeing, hearing, and feeling the individuals we are killing, we are merely seeing his or her figure through an iron site, a scope, or worse yet, a computer monitor.

In an interview with a sniper, the reporter asked if the soldier felt anything when he pulled the trigger. His chilling response was, “Yeah, the recoil.” This illustrates the effect of  the progression of our military innovations. As we create weaponry that distances us from the people we are fighting, we are not just distancing our soldiers physically, but we are removing them emotionally and even spiritually from the understanding and appreciation of the sanctity of life.

It is crucial for those doing the killing to fully witness the act, so that they may fully understand the severity of their decision.  The truth of the matter is that we are, in pulling the trigger, condemning our enemies to an eternity of something–whether that is heaven, hell, or simply nothingness–and there is no coming back.

When I play Call of Duty or any other first-person shooter game, I have no emotion connected with the act of killing my opponent. When I pull the trigger, all I feel is the vibration of the controller. Similarly, when the fighter pilot drops a bomb on a target, they do not feel anything except perhaps the shock from the explosion down below. When the sniper takes down his target, all he feels is the recoil. And when the soldier controlling the drone locks in on a group of suspected terrorists, all he or she sees are figures on a screen, no different from those on any other first-person shooter game. There is no better example of this than the always capricious Prince Harry. According to CNN, the young man who once wore a Nazi uniform to a costume party, “compared having his finger on the trigger of rockets, missiles and a 30mm cannon to playing video games.”

The Vietnam War was the first time in history where live footage of the war was broadcast. The result was widespread protests against the war. People were outraged because of what they were seeing. Since then, war has become a source of entertainment, to the extent that you can see footage of live fire combat filmed with the use of Go-Pro cameras fixed on the helmets of soldiers.

We have made a joke out of combat, and a huge reason for this is that we have distanced ourselves from the seriousness of killing. We are so quick to hop on board with the “kill them ay-rabs” attitude, without recognizing that once the trigger is pulled, their life is condemned to an eternity of heaven or hell.

This is not to say that defending your home is wrong. Being a soldier is not sinful. Of all of King David’s sins, being a warrior was not one of them. Nevertheless, God forbade him from building the temple because he was a “man of war and had shed blood.” This is because life is sacred, and though it is not sinful in and of itself to take a life, you are responsible for having committed the act. What is not right is making it easier—emotionally—to take a life, because it cheapens the sanctity of life.

Categories
Opinions

The World on the Mend

The U.S. government has troops deployed in over 150 countries in the world. We are actively engaged throughout the Middle East, North and Central Africa and some South American nations. In the 20th century alone, we witnessed two world wars and a handful of genocides including that of the Armenians, the Jews, the Tutsis and many more. Since the 21st century we’ve seen some of the worst terrorist attacks in history as well as the rise of the Arab Spring. Last but not least we can’t overlook the increase of mass shootings with Aurora, the Sikh temple and most recently, Sandy Hook.

Courtesy of http://www.theatlanticcities.com/
Courtesy of http://www.theatlanticcities.com/

How many times have you thought something along the lines of, “What is wrong with humanity?” or said the classic: “Jesus is going to come back and judge this world.” But is the world actually getting worse? Is it even as bad as it always has been? Or could it possibly be  that the world is actually becoming a better, more beautiful and peaceful place? Statistics are suggesting that the world is actually on the mend.

In a recent editorial about gun control I suggested that violent crime rates in the U.S. have dropped nearly 50 percent over the last 20 years. The U.S. is not alone in this positive trend. Crime rates have been steadily decreasing worldwide. According to Steven Pinker, a prominent Harvard psychologist, statistics have revealed a dramatic reduction in war deaths, family violence, racism, rape, and murder.

Pinker states in one of his three books on the history of violence, “The decline of violence may be the most significant and least appreciated development in the history of our species.” According to Pinker—whose findings are based on peer-reviewed studies—the number of people killed in battle per hundred thousand has dropped over a thousand fold since before the common era. In pre-industrial societies there was an average of 500 killed per hundred thousand. In 19th century Europe the death toll dropped to less than 70 per hundred thousand. In the 20th century, even with two world wars and numerous genocides, the rate dropped to less than 60. Currently there are less than three-tenths of a person per hundred thousand killed in combat.

Sixty years ago there were less than 20 democracies; now there are over a hundred. Authoritarian nations have dropped from 90 in the late 70’s to less than 25 today. Murder rates have dropped over all and especially within families; the rate of husbands murdering their wives has gone down from 1.4 to 0.8 per hundred thousand, and wives murdering their husbands have gone down from 1.2 to 0.2. Rape has dropped 80 percent over the last 40 years and lynching has gone from a rate of 150 per year to zero. Blacks, women, and gays are steadily gaining rights.

According to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, the amount of undernourished people in the world is steadily decreasing. Life expectancy is higher than ever. Modern medicine never ceases to surpass expectations, finding cures for diseases and new ways for operating on the human body.

As a Christian, this seems to be a problem. Isn’t the world supposed to be on a steady decline toward another “Sodom and Gomorrah” situation? According to St. John’s Book of Revelation there will be wars and rumors of wars in the end times. In the streets, the blood of the martyrs will be running up to the necks of the horses. Then Christ returns and saves us all. This sort of talk is common in a Christian milieu. But what do we say when faced with the evidence of a world that is becoming increasingly better?

God vowed to destroy Nineveh, but when he saw them change he then changed his mind. At the time that St. John was writing the book of Revelation, Caesar was lighting his parties with human torches. Humanity was in a pretty bad place. Now we live in a society with unlimited food, education, and commodities. The trends are suggesting that the rest of the world is quickly “stepping out of history” as Fukuyama wrote. The world is becoming a better and more beautiful and peaceful place.

As Christians are we going to continue, as Jonah did, to beg God to rain down fire and brimstone? Or are we going to accept that the world is getting better? This is not to say that we live in a utopia; there is still a lot of work to be done. But it is nowhere near being beyond redemption.

Categories
Opinions

Rap: A Reflection of Culture; Not an Instigator

Courtesy of http://www.glogster.com/
Courtesy of http://www.glogster.com/

I’ll confess, I love rap. And not the clean Christian substitute that started making an appearance with groups such as The Cross Movement and Reach Records. I’m not even a fan of clean secular artists; Will Smith may very well have been the worst thing that ever happened to the rap industry. No, I like the raw, uncut, uncensored rap in all its vulgarity, and, in no way does that mean that I am misogynistic or racist. Rather, I think it is important for us to hear these words for the harsh critique of what our society is. The Marilyn Mansons and Eminems in this world are not responsible for shootings and rapes; rather, they expose serious problems that society struggles with.

Eminem writes, “That’s why we sing for these kids who don’t have a thing… or for anyone who’s ever been through [hard times] in their lives.” This is the reason that rap is one of the fastest-growing and furthest-reaching musical genres in history and why everyone seems so intrigued by it.

Lowkey was right when he sang, “You can never avoid the voices of the voiceless,” and rap gives the voiceless a voice. We can’t ignore the helpless. We must face it, but in facing it we run into layers upon layers of misconceptions, one of which is the notion that rap is evil. After all, any industry that glorifies murder, violence, drugs, rape and general hedonism must be evil, right? But this is the biggest misconception. Rap tells the story of broken people, not a tale of evil’s glorification.

Another misconception is that rap has strayed away from its glory days, that it has somehow lost its way and left its roots. The truth is that there never were any “glory days” that were somehow lost and forgotten; what has happened is simply a cultural paradigm shift. We are faced with different problems and the music industry has shifted its focus to reflect these problems. The poetry of these artists has changed from the socio-political platform it once held in the 70’s, 80’s and even early 90’s to the position it now holds: talking about the accumulation of wealth, drug use, and promiscuity.

During the days of Afrika Mambaataa and the Zulu Nation and the early days of Ice Cube, Eazy-E and Dr. Dre, the issues that needed addressing were those of the outstanding racism in our nation, the economic and social repression of minority groups, and the violence in underprivileged neighborhoods. Obviously these issues have not disappeared, and many are the rappers who still sing about them. But what we are currently experiencing is something different: the Great Recession and a world dominated by a small percentage of elite. And this has changed the focus of the songs being produced.

If you think that the “hood” is a worse place because of rap, you are mistaken. The violence that plagues the hood has yet to hit the suburbs with the influx of mainstream “gangsta rap,” you just need to look at the decrease in crime rates over the last 20 years to see that. What has happened though is that the negative aspects of our culture, the homophobia, misogyny, racism, violence, promiscuity, and substance abuse are being exposed for what they are. Rappers are reflecting a developing trend; not setting examples for youths.

Rather than attacking the rap industry, our time would be better spent addressing the social issues within our culture. Rap is not the cause of the issues. Ice Cube performs a satirical song titled “Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It”—a witty twist on the famous “The Devil Made Me Do It”—in which a professor condemns gangster rap for the ills of society during a classroom lecture. The teacher says, “Prior to gangster rap music the world was a peaceful place. And then all of that changed, violence, rape, murder, arson, theft, war, they are all things that came about as a result of gangster rap.” Ice Cube goes on to list horrific things such as “if I shot up your college, ain’t nothin’ to it, gangsta rap made me do it.” The purpose of this line is not to blame the musical genre for society’s ills, but to recognize the problems’ origination and the need to fix them.

The issue with trying produce “clean” rap is that it too often leaves out the sting that this genre carries with it. It detracts from the message that is trying to be conveyed; the cries of a hurting society. In all this, I am not trying to say that there is no place for Christian rap. By all means, keep “ridin’ with your top down listening to that “Jesus Muzik,’” but do not be so hasty to throw away the rest of rap.

Categories
Arts

Indie Rap Goes Mainstream

Don’t waste another minute if you haven’t yet heard Macklemore’s album The Heist; get on iTunes, YouTube, Pandora, Grooveshark, or Spotify and listen to it.  It is by far the best rap album of 2012.

Courtesy of http://respect-mag.com/
Courtesy of http://respect-mag.com/

Ben Haggerty, known by his stage name Macklemore, in conjunction with young producer Ryan Lewis, released his first studio album on October 9th 2012. The Heist quickly rose to the top of the charts, landing number 1 on iTunes within hours of its release, number 2 on US Billboard 200, and selling over 78, 000 copies within the first week, all without any mainstream promotion or support.

Macklemore is not your typical rapper. He studied at Evergreen State University, and during his time as a student he worked with Gateways for Incarcerated Youth. He is an intellectual humanitarian activist and gay rights advocate, and he is concerned with reaching the younger generation and educating youth about cultural identity.

The most notable aspect of The Heist is its vulnerability. Macklemore doesn’t simply expose his life in any voyeuristic fashion, nor does he get carried away whining about the hardships of wealth and popularity. Instead, he is honest about the socio-economic issues that affect so many of us.

While Haggerty did check himself into rehab for drug-addiction in 2008, this only further fueled his desire to take a stand against drug use. With lyrics like, “That’s the same stuff Weezy’s sippin’… And tons of other rappers that be spittin’ hard,” he calls out Lil Wayne and other mainstream artists whose work makes light of drug abuse. He continues to sing in “Starting Over”, “If I can be an example of getting sober, then I can be an example of starting over.”

The Heist is also filled with theological and philosophical contemplations that have been lacking in popular music. In his single “Same Love,” he addresses the long lasting homophobia that exists not only in our culture but especially in rap, singing, “If I was gay, I would think hip-hop hates me.”

Courtesy of http://act.mtv.com/
Courtesy of http://act.mtv.com/

He continues to write, “It’s the same hate that’s caused wars from religion, gender to skin color, the complexion of your pigment, the same fight that led people to walk outs and sit ins, It’s human rights for everybody, there is no difference… No freedom till we’re equal, damn right I support it.”

Another issue Macklemore engages with is our cultural addiction to consumerism. He addresses this with a hint of humor in his hit single “Thrift Shop,” attacking the ridiculousness of consumerism with witty lines like, “oh that Gucci – That’s hella tight. I’m like, “Yo – that’s fifty dollars for a T-shirt… I call that getting tricked by a business.”

Macklemore doesn’t stop there, though; in “Wings” he continues to discuss how consumerism does more than just take our money — it destroys lives. He raps about a boy being killed for his Nike Air Force IV’s. He writes, “I’m an individual, yeah, but I’m part of a movement. My movement told me, be a consumer and I consumed it… I look inside the mirror and think Phil Knight tricked us all, these Nikes help me define me, but I’m trying to take mine off.”

Macklemore’s music is refreshing. The Heist, as its name suggests, is attempting to “steal back” any preconceived notions in regards to rap. Macklemore is concerned with the socio-economic, gender-based, racial and religious issues that plague us as a society. This album is more than just a chart topper; it is one of the most important critiques of our society and a fantastic piece of artwork.