Repaso: Cuban travel ban; John Stott on worship & witness; religious pluralism & “holy ground”; church as “polis”; public art in a favela
1. Two views on the Cuban travel ban
The Miami Herald recently had dueling op-eds on the topic of the Cuban embargo and travel ban. Miami, as many know, has a large Cuban-American population and this issue, always a contentious one, is only heightened there. Humberto Fontova writes “Why we remain resolute against traveling to Cuba,” while Elissa Vanaver represents the other view in “Cuba: Why we made the trip, and what we saw.” Neither of the writers seem particularly fond of the Castro regime, but have different ideas of how to best respond.
2. John Stott on worship and witness
Q Ideas, in partnership with the Evangelical Environmental Network, published an old sermon by John Stott on worship and witness:
The works of the Lord are to be the subject of our witness. Worship and witness belong together. We cannot possibly worship God—that is, acknowledge his infinite worth--- without longing to go out into the world to persuade other people to come and worship him. Worship leads inevitably to witness, but witness leads to worship, too. It is a continuous cycle of worship leading to witness leading to worship and so on. The two cannot be separated. In both worship and witness, the works of the Lord are paramount.
3. Religious pluralism and “holy ground”
Philip Jenkins, who introduced many of us to the shifting center of global Christianity toward the South and East and away from the West, writes for Christian Century on religious pluralism and “holy ground.” It’s not a new issue, of course, but growing religious extremism, coupled with changing religious demographics due to migration, has made it all the more timely. It’s something Miroslav Volf addressed in his book A Public Faith, which I reviewed here.
4. Ken Myers on the church as “polis”
Ken Myers, host of the Mars Hill Audio Journal (which I’m thoroughly enjoying this year thanks to a Christmas gift from my in-laws), wrote a book on faith and culture that’s now being re-released more than 20 years after its original publication. Here’s an excerpt from the introduction:
The Church is not simply in the business of getting individuals saved. The Church’s task is to nurture and shape its members into disciples, who observe everything their Lord—the Lord of heaven and earth—has commanded. Of course, the Church must be eagerly active to bring in new members. But it must deliberately be a body the membership in which makes a difference. It must offer a way of life—a culture—which is distinct from the world’s ways. And it must seek to baptize its new members into Christ and into his body, which means that they must be exhorted to abandon their old memberships and allegiances.
5. Participatory public art in a favela
The polis blog, which I continue to love, has an interview with Boa Mistura, a group of five Spanish artists who call themselves “graffiti rockers.” They spent some time living with a family in a favela in Sao Paolo, Brazil, saying they "wanted settle in the slum, dissect it, smell it, live it and love it." They ended up working on a public art installation with neighborhood residents, painting words like “love,” “beauty” and “firmness” in Portuguese in bright colors on walls. It’s fascinating stuff.
Repaso is intended as a thought-provoking compilation of news and commentary from the past week related to the intersections of faith, development, justice and peace. As always, I welcome your thoughts on any of the links and ideas in this roundup!
[Photo credit: Boa Mistura via thepolisblog.org]
Weekend Video: “Revelator”
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I love the music of Josh Garrels. This collaboration project with videographer/artist Evan Mann, vaguely reminiscent of the book of Revelation, is weird and breathtaking and awesome.
Repaso: Poverty defined; photography saving cultures; visions of Quito; redemption for Fidel; NYC church ban
1. How do you define poverty?
This one was posted last October but I stumbled upon it again this week and thought it would be worth sharing here. Chances are good that if you’re asked to define poverty you’d speak almost entirely in economic and material terms. That’s certainly part of any full definition, but when HOPE International’s Chris Ordway surveyed a “saving circle” of 20 men and women in Rwanda who are classified by standard definitions as being poor or very poor, their answers were very different from what you might expect. It’s interesting food for thought in considering what poverty truly is, and by extension, what possible remedies might look like.
2. Can photography save indigenous cultures?
Jacob Maentz, a photographer based in the Philippines, has a post at the Visual Peacemakers blog about the Katutubong Filipino Project, which he started. It seems like a very worthwhile project. Here’s a blurb:
For indigenous peoples who depend on the forest for their food, pharmaceuticals and peace of mind, taking away their land, as history shows, will diminish their way of life... The Katutubong Filipino Project aims to bring about awareness of the Philippine archipelago’s indigenous peoples’ by visually documenting their slowly disappearing cultural heritages... Strong photographs can cause people to stop and think for a moment letting them generate emotions about a subject while getting a glimpse into a different world. Likewise, photographs have a way of showing our common humanity, despite our many differences, and can help people unite and generate respect toward each other.
3. Visions of Quito from Ecuador's most iconic artist
Jordi Sanchez-Cuenca has a post at polis (“a collaborative blog about cities across the globe”) introducing us to the work of Oswaldo Guayasamín (1919-99), an Ecuadorian painter of Quechua descent who wove his politics into his art, and now makes me really want to visit Quito:
Besides being Ecuador's most famous artist, he was also a politically active intellectual who supported the causes of the poor and victims of slavery, exploitation, wars, famine and other tragedies on the continent... Most of his pieces express a profound sense of sorrow, which can be interpreted as a condemnation of the suffering that millions bore because of social injustices and wars. Despite this, his art is strikingly beautiful.
4. Redemption for Fidel Castro?
Brian Dijkema writes at the Cardus blog about something that, if true, would be extraordinary for Cuba:
Fidel Castro is a thief and a murderer... But rumour has it that Fidel is contemplating a return to his old faith. As with most news from Cuba, it’s difficult to determine the veracity of these claims, but an Italian newspaper quotes his daughter Alina as saying, “Today he is more interested in the fate of his soul than the future of Cuba.” Let us hope and pray that this is true. Let’s hope that he embraces the true fidel.
5. Tim Keller on NYC schools' church ban
I was curious whether Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church, would weigh in on the controversial decision in New York City last December banning churches from renting space in the city’s public schools for use on Sundays, when the buildings otherwise stand empty. He spoke out this week about the churches affected:
Redeemer has many ties with those churches and their pastors, and our church community invests time and resources to assist them to be good neighbors in their communities. Let them be those good neighbors. I am hopeful that the leaders of New York City and the legislators of New York State will see the value of a society that encourages all spheres of culture—the church, government, education, business, etc—to work together for human flourishing.
Repaso is intended as a thought-provoking compilation of news and commentary from the past week related to the intersections of faith, development, justice and peace. As always, I welcome your thoughts on any of the links and ideas in this roundup!
[Photo credit: Chris Noble via BarefootArtists.org]
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