Repaso: Reject Apathy, faith & science, culture-shaping moments, globalized Christianity, “social” justice
1. Reject Apathy, #2
The second issue of Reject Apathy is now out and available for online viewing for free. Lots of good stuff in it, intended especially, I think, for twenty-somethings interested in doing good (tag line: “Sustainable Change. Sacrificial Living. Spiritual Formation”). I blogged about the debut issue back in July.
2. Faith and science
My friend and former pastor/coworker Brian Moore has a series going on his blog about faith, science, and often uncomfortable relationship between the two that seems to be driving a lot of young people away from the church. Brian’s a thoughtful guy, and his series is worth your time. Parts one and two have been posted so far.
3. Top culture-shaping moments of 2011
The folks at Q Ideas have compiled an inspiring list of the most memorable culture-shaping moments of the past year. Despite the many caricatures that evangelical Christians have in our culture (many of which are not entirely undeserved, in my estimation), it’s cool to see how in every sphere of culture there are evangelicals seeking the common good. Let’s support them, cheer them on, and join in the fun, what do you say?
4. Five observations about globalized society and Christianity
With the next Urbana conference just a year away, missions consultant and member of the Urbana leadership team Paul Borthwick shares five insights into our changing world and what it means for Christians.
5. Who put the “social” in social justice?
Scot McKnight shares a Sojourners post from Tim King from earlier in the month (originally here), and offers perspective on the debate over the redundancy or necessity of lumping the words “social” and “justice” together.
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!
[Graphic credit: Reject Apathy, Vol. 2, p. 41]
Rene Padilla & Samuel Escobar on Latin American evangelical theology
In my review of An Evangelical Social Gospel? by Tim Suttle for the Englewood Review of Books I suggested that in our search for a third way beyond extremes we look beyond our culture’s current Christian polarities and be willing to listen and learn from brothers and sisters elsewhere in the world. I named two worth listening to from the region with which I’m most familiar: Rene Padilla and Samuel Escobar, both from Latin America. Whether you’ve read their work or not, you may enjoy this video. Speaking at the Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization last October in Cape Town, South Africa, Padilla and Escobar here recount key moments in the history of the development of an evangelical theology for Latin America, particularly in reference to the Lausanne movement. The audio level is a little low, but nothing headphones can’t solve.
About nine minutes into the clip, Rene Padilla outlines three concerns that he believes are shared by many in Latin America. I can imagine some of the delegates at the congress squirming in their seats, at least for the second and third concern he mentions.
- Discipleship: Jesus didn’t send his disciples to make converts, but to make disciples who would obey everything he taught
- Globalization: specifically, the globalization of an “unjust economic system” that is “destroying people” all over the world, but especially the poor
- Ecology: if ecological destruction continues as it is, who knows what the future will hold for our children and grandchildren?
Samuel Escobar also mentions the trend towards Latin America sending its own missionaries to Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, and that in many cases they are doing so with an “integral” or “holistic” approach to mission and faith -- “the only possible way to do mission in those places.”
At any rate, consider this an addendum to my suggestion in the review.
Even the Rain
I'm really intrigued by the trailer for a new Spanish film called También la lluvia, or Even the Rain, starring Gael García Bernal. A synopsis with brief background:
A little more than a decade ago, the Bolivian government joined forces with multinational organizations to privatize the water supply in the city of Cochabamba. The local community took to the streets, protesting new regulations that would make water unaffordable for the city’s poor. Some claimed that under the proposed law, people would need a license to even collect rainwater from their roofs.
That's the source of the title of the new Spanish movie, Tambien La Lluvia, or Even the Rain, which tells the story of an unsuspecting movie crew that comes to Cochabamba in the days leading up to the water war.
It looks like a somewhat satirical look at the filmmaking industry, but more significantly, draws parallels (at times heavy-handedly, according to some critics) between the colonialism of Columbus 500 years ago and the effects of globalization today. I'm guessing that the film exaggerates things to make a point, but the so-called "resource wars" in Latin America and elsewhere are real and deserve attention. Whether this is the best vehicle for that, I'm not sure, but I look forward to seeing it.
Recent Posts
- Mini-vacation
- Repaso: Chris Wright interview; refugees in Lancaster; science in a fallen world; most read books; Jeppe on a Friday
- Lesslie Newbigin on faith, doubt, and gospel reasonableness
- Truth, gentleness, and convicted civility
- Remembering Iraq with Preemptive Love