Jonathan's blog

The race theme continues...There's an interesting opinion piece from The Christian Chronicle by Barclay Key titled "Opinion - When it comes to racial reconciliation, our churches have a long way to go." Some excerpts:

[During the civil rights movement of the sixties] Despite claims of theological purity and uniqueness, churches of Christ were remarkably similar to the surrounding culture in their approach to race relations...Many congregations taught "spiritual equality" on Sundays but practiced inequality the rest of the week. When racial identities were subordinated under the guise of Christian unity, blacks and whites interacted with surprising frequency in the segregated South, based on their self-perception as the "true church" vis-à-vis "the denominations." While other Protestant churches formed what amounted to racially exclusive denominations or administrative districts, churches of Christ did not because they understood themselves as the only authentic expression of Christianity. This perception partly explains why blacks and whites within churches of Christ, even during the Jim Crow era, interacted with some regularity. These interactions, however, were in no way an expression of racial equality or even unity, since churches practiced and even taught racial segregation. A few instances demonstrate a level of association that was uncharacteristic of that era. For example, black preacher Marshall Keeble sometimes baptized whites, even though riots resulted from "mixed swimming" in some parts of the country. The confluence of ecclesiology and race relations raises significant questions about common conceptions of sin and salvation in churches of Christ. Many Christians have chosen to think that keeping women out of pulpits and pianos out of church buildings are more important than how we treat people. Replicating these "marks of the New Testament church" has taken precedence over those issues often labeled "not a matter of salvation," including our treatment of, associations with and thoughts about people who are "different" from us. As a fellowship, we have taught that having women preach or using a piano in worship might jeopardize one's eternal salvation, while racism has been relegated to the realm of custom or personal opinion, as if racial reconciliation were optional. While some positive changes have occurred since this era, in a collective sense, churches of Christ have failed to recognize and repent of their past racial sins. Rather than actively and consistently pursue racial reconciliation over the past 40 years, churches of Christ have mostly acted as if legal reforms absolved Christians of any responsibility in facilitating interracial dialogue, understanding and community. In many places today, we have reached a standstill. Our leaders have not developed the necessary fortitude to preach racial inclusion and make it happen. We have chosen to ignore rather than to discuss and resolve the sources of distrust among blacks and whites within our fellowship. Instead of seeking and maintaining meaningful, cross-cultural relationships, we find it more convenient just to affirm "unity." We have discovered that excuses - "they don't want to worship like we do" - are easier than working to make Christian unity a lived reality. Pursuing racial reconciliation invites controversy. It requires sacrifices of will, control and power. Yet sacrifices are necessary if churches of Christ are to be credible. Young people are increasingly perplexed by the racism of their parents and grandparents. Concerns about interracial marriage, for example, that often characterize older Christians, both black and white, seem irrelevant to youths who have interacted with people of other races for all of their lives. Racist stereotypes gain little traction with students who learn in biology and anthropology classes that concepts of "race" have no scientific justification. Historically, churches of Christ have reflected, rather than molded, the racial mores of the surrounding culture. Now, if churches wish to be respected and valued in the 21st century, they must actively include "every nation" as the gospel has always demanded.

Continuing the theme of racial tension, the selection for grown-up movie night today was Crash (2005,R). From Wikipedia:

Crash is an Academy Award-winning drama film directed by Paul Haggis. It premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2004, and was released internationally in 2005. The film is a commentary on racial and social tensions in Los Angeles. It won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay and Best Editing of 2005 at the 78th Academy Awards. Crash (which opened in wide release on 6 May 2005) was a critical and box-office success in the early summer of 2005. The film's budget was $6.5 million (plus $1 million in financing). Because of the financial constraints, director Haggis filmed in his own house, borrowed a set from the TV show Monk, used his car in parts of the film, and even used cars from other staff members. It grossed $53.4 million domestically, making back more than three times its budget (roughly 60% of the box office takings of a movie do not return to the financiers but instead pay for distribution costs). Despite its success in relation to its cost, Crash was the least successful film, financially, to win Best Picture since "The Last Emperor" in 1988.

Lisa and I thought it was a great film. I give it 5 out of 5.

The kids' movie night selection for today was "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit." From Wikipedia:

Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit is a 2005 Academy Award-winning stop-motion animated film, the first feature-length Wallace and Gromit film. It was produced by DreamWorks Animation and Aardman Animations, and released by DreamWorks Pictures. The film was directed by Nick Park and Steve Box and shot entirely in Britain. The Curse of the Were-Rabbit is in part a parody of the horror genre, and contains many images that parody or pay homage to specific horror films. The directors have oft referred to the film as the world's "first vegetarian horror". Peter Sallis (the voice of Wallace) is joined in the film by Ralph Fiennes (as Lord Victor Quartermaine), Helena Bonham Carter (as Lady Tottington), Peter Kay (as PC Mackintosh), Nicholas Smith (as Rev. Clement Hedges), and Liz Smith (as Mrs. Mulch). Gromit remains silent, communicating only through body language.

The Moore boys weren't especially impressed. We probably didn't get the references to specific horror films.

From a story by Sharon LaFraniere in the NY Times:

In Lesotho, as throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa, children with AIDS were generally considered a lost cause. Treatment, to the extent it existed, was limited to adults, for whom antiretroviral therapy is cheaper and easier. Now, that is slowly changing. Through some charitable foundations, pediatric AIDS medication is available for as little as $200 a year, half of what it used to cost and only $60 more a year than adult medication. Governments, international agencies and private charities have begun to train the region's ragtag health care corps to treat children. Still, only a few children get help. Death comes swiftly for those who go without. Half of all untreated H.I.V.-positive infants die before the age of 2 for lack of medication that can produce transformations seemingly overnight. With medicine, some American infants infected since birth have survived into adulthood and become parents themselves. Specialized and costly tests are needed to determine whether a child under 18 months is infected, although treatment can begin based on symptoms alone. Children are also more complicated to treat, partly because their medication must be constantly adjusted as their height and weight change. And pediatric drugs cost more than adult medication - until recently, up to three times as much. In Lesotho, a nation of 1.8 million encircled by South Africa, more than one in four adults is believed to be infected with H.I.V., the third highest infection rate in the world. Treatment for adults began only in November 2004. Treatment for children followed last April. Caseloads have been swelling ever since. But with an average of one doctor for every 20,000 people, patients sit shoulder-to-shoulder, sometimes waiting more than a day to be seen at a hospital. Health care workers continue to leave for better-paying work in South Africa, Britain or elsewhere. Lesotho officials have yet to treat AIDS like the national emergency it is, said Tim Rwabuhemba, Lesotho director for the United Nations AIDS agency. But other experts praise the government's determination to battle the epidemic, and foundations and charities are beginning to flock here. The World Bank and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria are pouring millions into the national budget for AIDS programs. The Clinton Foundation persuaded one pharmaceutical firm to halve its prices for pediatric AIDS medicines, and is donating the drugs to Lesotho and other nations.

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