On Memes and the internet
21 June 2013
Memes go bad...
When they aren’t true - It’s frustrating when things are passed around that aren’t true. Lies are the enemy of truth. Christian or not we should be people about truth. Social media being what it is means ideas can spread fast. This means good or bad true or untrue they all spread fast. A quick check of Snopes if something seems too incredible, is not that much to ask. Don’t just read, believe, and repost.
When they are smug - The overall tone of many memes is smug or worse still self righteous. At worst they dichotomise opinion, identifying the reader/liker/re-poster as a “goodie” in the narrative. In debate smugness is neither constructive or loving.
When you do it all the time - Please don’t be one of these people. People aren’t just an endless stream of memes and you shouldn’t be either. Better to post a few carefully chosen pieces rather than endlessly bombard people’s Newsfeeds with spam.
Memes are good when they...
Are actually funny or original - If you’re not a good judge of this then it’s probably best to avoid re-posting.
Challenging and thoughtful - I like to write challenging things, and I like it when other people challenge my ideas. This often helps me to think more deeply about issues, people, politics and the world.
You think of others before re-posting - I’d call this one the smugness test. Calling to mind a bunch of friends before posting something is a helpful check to see if what you’re doing is just destructive and alienating to the relationships you have.
Accurately reflect shared culture and experience - This is essentially the heart of what a meme is. This means friends will actually get your joke. If it’s obscure it’s less likely to be successful.
Look nice - In the world of the Internet aesthetics is becoming more and more important. There is already enough ugly things in the world without you sharing another one. I realise the word "nice" is very subjective. I’m referring a quality picture and readable font. Note also the irony of some memes that intentionally subvert this requirement.
*Picture is from one of my favorite Memes. See here for an explanation.
A more thoughtful engagement...
23 May 2013
When I posted about gay marriage I expected to cop some flack. Surprisingly most of the interaction was helpful. Having said that I’m sure there’s plenty out there who disagreed with my position.
Taking a step back, one criticism I thought was fair, was that I talked a lot about what Christians were doing wrong, but not a lot about what they do right, or could do right. Generally speaking it’s easier to criticise something you disagree with, than it is to set forth a positive framework for something you agree with. So in this post I thought I’d address how Christians could communicate more positively with the secular world on the issue of marriage, relationships and parenting.
You don’t need marketing experience to know that it’s more effective to market a positive message than a negative one. I find it frustrating that Christians seem to pigeon hole themselves into communicating constantly negative messages. “We're against X, we're against Y”. While there is a place for saying what we stand opposed to, Christians generally seem to fall into the trap of being exclusively negative. I’d like to see this balanced out a little more, with Christians looking to define themselves more positively. “Christians are for Z”.
In doing so Christians would communicate a more balanced understanding of what Christianity is to the world. Christians are for forgiveness, sacrifice, compassion, growth and love, driven to follow Jesus in laying down their lives for others not just against gay marriage, abortion and euthanasia.
“Excellent Marriage” is one example of positive marketing. The Excellent Marriage video was carefully thought through and positively framed. It focused on the positive ideas of sacrifice, growth and love. All of these are Christian concepts (although not exclusively so). Sadly, reading the speech on the Excellent Marriage webpage, it seems that the subtle tone and careful turn of phrase wasn’t really carried through from the video.
In the area of relationships Christians also have much to offer. One example could involve starting a discussion about what constitutes a “good” marriage or “great” relationships. Christians are for good relationships. This could be explored though couples forums and marriage training courses run by churches, but open to the wider community. Questions worth considering would include. How do common goals enrich relationships? What should those goals and purposes be? How does a Jesus and/or a Christian world view help us understand relationships? In my own life, my Christian belief has certainly helped me with my relationships.
More generally there is ample scope to encourage people to think about to make their relationships better. I was disappointed that more of my Christian friends didn’t get behind shows like the ABCs Making Couples Happy. The ideas and advice offered over the five week show, were most helpful and importantly sat comfortably within a Christian framework (although not exclusively).
My friend Adam blogged some excellent thoughts recently about what Christians can do more positively around the very difficult issue of abortion. While I don’t agree with everything in his post it is well worth a read if you haven’t read it already.
Similarly I really liked this idea from a group calling itself Save the Storks. These guys and girls, are Christians who offer free sonograms to mothers considering abortion. (It’s well worth having a look at the link). However it would require some contextualisation, to be successful in Australia.
Offering parenting courses, where advice and support are supplied to new parents is another form of positive engagement. The success of Hobart Mums Network shows that there is a huge need for mothers to be supported and encouraged in our communities. It often troubles me that more Christians don’t get involved in the network, as a way of positively influencing our community and supporting mothers. Other questions to consider might include... How does a Christian world view inform parents? How has following Jesus, changed Christian parents for the better.
I would argue that once these positive links and relationships were established, people would be able to evaluate the claims of Jesus more accurately. They would see that Christians aren’t just opposed to a set number of issues, but are also for a whole bunch of things too. They would see Christians have a positive message not just a negative one. They would see Jesus had a positive message not just a negative one. Not one at the expense of the other, both-and. In this relational context, people would see how Jesus underpins and shapes the life of the Christian. They would see how Jesus love motivates and drives Christians to be kind, loving people.
When Christians lobby an exclusively negative message, it shouldn’t be a surprise when people don’t listen. However it should be deeply troubling, when people are turned away not because of Jesus claims, but because of negative religious morality.
tags christian, ministry tips, thinking
5 Movies to see before you die
10 May 2013
Donnie Darko - This is a dark brooding hipster thriller movie. It was made in the days before being a hipster was cool and stars an misunderstood delinquent emo kid. Maybe that’s why I like it. It has elements of horror, surrealism and time travel. I love a film that warps your mind and challenges conventional thinking, and Donnie Darko does this well. I should add finally it has a pretty cool sound track. Watch twice for maximum awesomeness.
American Beauty - I love Kevin Spacey. He’s brilliant in this. The interactions between his and Annette Bening’s character are hilarious. He’s a rebel and he sticks it to the man, something I think we’d all like to do sometimes. The film also deservedly won 5 academy awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Original Screenplay and Best Cinematography.
Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels - Violence and black humour. If you don’t like or understand black humour you’ll hate this film. It’s a very cleverly told story, the acting is good and the protagonists thoughtfully sympathetic. There’s a fair whack of violence but the plot will keep you guessing to the end.
The Matrix - The action in this film for it’s time was amazing. I also really like the philosophical idea that you can be living inside a dream world or a world and not be aware of it. This film also illustrates well a number of Christian themes while not being a “Christian” film.
Seven - One of the harshest films I’ve ever seen. Acting is fantastic and storyline compelling. I particularly like Kevin Spacey’s contribution. He’s one of my favourite actors. There is also great skill with which the film shows that given the right circumstances any of us are capable of extreme misdeeds. I could say more but I don’t want to spoil it.
Gay marriage... but I'd rather talk about Jesus
23 April 2013
There are few issues that cause more debate and disagreement, hatred and
misunderstanding. For this reason I’ve kept out of this debate for a
long time. Below is my attempt to explain and clarify my own position
for the benefit of others. I’m hoping that this is helpful and gets
people thinking rather than adding to the bile of nasty commentary that
pervades the Internet.
Before we get started
Many nasty things have been said and done to gay
people by Christians in the past. This is something that Christians
must bear in mind before entering the debate. They must also be prepared
to express sorrow, regret, empathy and compassion for actions done to gay
people in the name of Jesus over the years. The Church and Christians
have done a poor job at articulating why they are opposed to gay marriage
and homosexuality. There are smug, nasty, hateful people on both sides
of this debate. Christians who claim to live by their ethos should be
ashamed of this. They should know better. More needs to be done in our
society to recognise gay and lesbian people and their fight against discrimination.
However...
Christians have the right to express their views in a democracy, just as those who are in favour of gay marriage
also have the right to express their views. Christians have the right
to campaign for their views in a democracy, just as those who are in
favour of gay marriage have the right to campaign for their views.
Saying Homosexuality is wrong is not hate. No doubt there are people who
use it as an excuse to hate. However just because something is used
(abused) for wrong purposes, doesn’t mean it’s bad in and of itself. You
can express disagreement with a person’s lifestyle choice, or
understanding of sexuality, in a kind way while still maintaining love
and friendship. Real tolerance isn’t fudging differences but looking
them in the face and getting along anyway. I have friends who are gay
(perhaps who are reading this) I care deeply about them. I’m not
scared of them. I may disagree with them profoundly. I certainly don’t
hate them.
My Position
Firstly it’s my conviction that
it is inconsistent with Christianity to be a practising homosexual.
Over the years I’ve read the Bible a fair bit. It’s hard to read it and
come to any other conclusion. There doesn’t seem to be much disagreement
on this issue among orthodox Christians who take the Bible seriously.
But can Christians actively campaign against gay marriage in a secular society?
Yes. We live in a free and democratic society that permits freedom of
speech. This means that Christians have the right to lobby for their
views just as those in favour of gay marriage
have the right to lobby for theirs. I should point out that Christians
should feel free to follow their conscious. For many Christians this is
an important issue and one they feel strongly about.
Should Christians actively campaign against gay marriage in a secular society?
This
is a slightly different question. Just because you can do something
doesn’t always mean that you should. There is also an important but
subtle distinction between expressing a view and actively lobbying for
it. Regardless of which camp you’re in I want you to consider more
deeply the wisdom of your approach for the following reasons.
First
I’m not convinced Christians have earned the right to have their views
admitted to the public square on this issue. Speaking to society on an
issue which has caused hurt and pain for many people, requires great
sensitivity and wisdom, something that is sadly lacking in many of the
engagements I have seen. When Christians speak against gay marriage,
it should take place within the context of having earned trust and
respect from the people they are speaking to. Have Christians done this?
Second,
the Christian world view has some very significant presuppositions
which are rarely acknowledged. Seeking to share a Christian view of marriage
divorced from the accompanying framework will always cause
misunderstanding, offense and expose Christians to ridicule. Christians
also run the risk of speaking to the world of a morality divorced from
the gospel.... which in the end is merely religious conservatism.
Something Jesus had some very strong things to say about.
Third, it’s very difficult to hold to the Christian view of marriage using purely secular arguments. “Marriage is for the flourishing of society” is probably the best one I’ve heard. Christians fail when they argue against gay marriage like this...
- It’s about children having both parents male and female... what about divorced and single parents, adopted children etc.
- It will result in people marrying dogs... an appeal to the ridiculous and not what is currently proposed.
- It’s about the “Institution of Marriage”... Marriage as an institution is trashed and has been for sometime, one only needs to look at the divorce statistics to see that.
Fourth, I’m generally not fan of lobbying as it often results in voices being excluded from consideration or individuals having a disproportionate say in how our government runs things. I’m similarly unconvinced that some forms of lobbying achieve much at all. It’s more likely they drive people deeper into already intrenched beliefs. I’d like to see Christians be more thoughtful in how they choose to engage or lobby for what they believe in.
Finally the question of whether Christians should be engaged in lobbying for their views (which are in a minority) to be imposed on a secular majority also needs to be considered. Is there a Biblical mandate that says Christian values should be impressed upon a secular society and actively campaigned for? This is almost always assumed, and questions are never asked.
If you’re a Christian who likes to lobby, I don’t want to gag you. I don’t want to stop you expressing your views. I certainly don’t want you to go against your conscience... but I do want you to think about your views more deeply. If Christians choose to engage in this debate they must be careful that their views are articulated in the context of the gospel and not divorced from it. They must also bear in mind that there is a great hurt and anger around this issue.
Christians must always be in the business of speaking and acting in way that is gracious, loving, and respectful toward others. Unfortunately when I look around at what is said by Christians about gay marriage very often I see neither grace, love... or Jesus.
Yes I play the drums
13 April 2013
“You play Drums?!... Really I had no idea!”
This is usually the reaction when people find out I play the drums. I love playing the drums. When I say drums I mean kit. I’ve never owned one and am entirely self taught, although I’ve had some tips along the way. I started playing when I was at school and was taking flute lessons (which I hated). When I finished school and after five years of lessons I sold my flute and have not played since. Drumming has stayed with me. Whenever I've had an opportunity I've played and practiced.
In early Crossroads Church music days, I can remember playing with four or five of us bashing out tunes, focusing on “getting thorough song” without mistakes. These days music at Crossroads is much better. We’re more focused on thinking about how we can make the music we sing (and I play) at church better. This means we spend time actually thinking about how to arrange our music. Working out who will play when, where, why and how.
As a drummer I’ve noticed it’s easy to get bogged on technical stuff and showing off cool new beats or solos. While this may show technical brilliance and how awesome you are, often it doesn’t actually serve the song or arrangement. As Anthony Rochester has said to me many times “Just play a straight eight!” Sometimes simplest is the best.
Below are a couple of videos with arrangements of older songs which I really like. I enjoy them because of the way they build toward a climax very gradually. I also like the way the drumming serves the overall arrangement.
tags church, linkage, music, video
The Reason for God
10 April 2013
I don’t post links for many Christian things these days unless I actually think they are actually REALLY worth watching. So it’s in this context that I’m posting this video. Dr Tim Keller was invited to to speak at Google as part of Authors at Google talks back in 2008.
He was asked to speak on the reasons for belief in God. The video goes for just over an hour but the last 20 minutes or so are questions and answers. It’s well worth a watch especially if you don’t believe in God or necessarily sign up to Christian belief. He addresses why this is in his first point. Let me give you a taster summary for his talk.
- Why the reasons for God are important.
- How the reasons for God work.
- What the reasons for God are.
What ever your stripe you will enjoy this... at least what the Google employees are wearing at 54 minutes in.
tags christian, christians i respect, thinking, video
5 Albums I bought in the last 6 months...
04 April 2013
Lana Del Rey - Born to Die
I’m not really sure of the story here. Maybe I heard her voice on Triple J. I added a playlist of her album on Spotify and listened. Her husky tones bring to mind smoke filled men's clubs and Film Noir made the 30s 40s and 50s. The songs are poppy and catchy.
Owl City - The Midsummer Station
Total trash. I would never defend Owl City as good music. I bought this album because I have a couple of other Owl City Albums. I first listened to Owl City when Googling around about The Postal Service (another band I really like). From memory a number of critics mentioned that Owl City is similar to The Postal Service. I listened to and I liked it straight away. It’s very definitely pop and it’s great to dance and jump around to. Olivia and Ella like anything with the beat and some lyrics they can shout. They also picked up the tunes pretty easily.
Frank Ocean - Channel Orange
I like and own Kanye West’s album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. I think he’s a very good producer... but you wouldn’t let your Mum listen to that album. Frank Ocean is Mum friendly. A more palatable, gentle version, abate with a sprinkling of bad words. His style is probably closest to R&B with electronic keyboard, samples and subdued rhythms. I not really sure how I came to hear of him. He’s also pretty relaxing to listen to.
Ellie Goulding - Bright Lights
I saw the beautiful above video advertising an Octocopter last year (watch the video if you don't know what an Octocopter is). The video uses a remix of the track "Lights". Olivia and Ella really liked the video and the music. Again I added a Spotify playlist of album and began. I managed to also catch a performance she did in London as part of the iTunes music festival. Watched it on my big TV at home. It was very impressive. I enjoyed listening to her youngish girly voice.
Air - Moon Safari
This is a strange one. When I checked I was very surprised I bought it less than six months ago. I had the feeling that bought this album a few years ago. This is possibly because this is the oldest album here (1998). I think this was on high rotation on Triple J back in the early 2000’s when I lived at the Castle with Bernie and Chris. I’ve liked it ever since and finally got round to buying it. I find it dreamy and relaxing to listen to. If you were harsh you might call it chilled, electronic, elevator music.
Introduction the second
25 March 2013
It’s been a long time since I was in the habit of regularly writing. It’s certainly been a long time since I’ve written and published anything regularly maybe three years. A lot has changed in that time. The world has changed, communication has changed, the internet has changed, blogging has changed, and I have changed.
I’m somewhat foggy with what I want to achieve with writing here on my blog. Part of me thinks it may help somewhat in dealing with the difficulties of life, learning to be more resilient. Part of me thinks that in some small way I might be part of changing an opinion, helping someone think that little bit more deeply about life and positively transforming their life in some way. More certainly, for me writing has always been about communicating opinions, starting conversations, and expressing ideas and frustrations.
I know I enjoy writing. I like playing with words. I love to create the perfect sounding piece of prose, or well wrangled rhetorical flourish. I also like to think. I think a lot, maybe too much. Writing for me is not the beginning of an idea but rather the crystallising of it. Sitting and writing, is about working out how to communicate an idea in the clearest, simplest, possible way to share with others.
But I do all this knowing that I don’t always get it right. I get angry. I get frustrated. Grammar, spelling and punctuation errors are ever present waiting to trip me up. I don’t always write in ways that I should. Sometimes hurt people. I have many flaws, we all do.
If I had a goal perhaps it would be this, to help myself and others along on this journey we call life, not as someone who has all the answers, but as a fellow traveler reflecting on experiences and the sometimes difficult world in which we find ourselves.
The stupidity of Steven Conroy and the Daily Telegraph
18 March 2013
See what I did there?
If you disagree with my title, your mind has probably already skipped to thinking how much you disagree with what I said. In fact, you might be tempted to skip down to the bottom of the page and just state your contrary opinion in the comments section without reading further. Perhaps your blood pressure has raised slightly...
On the flip side if you agree with my post’s title you’re probably experiencing feelings of smugness and perhaps even self-righteous congratulation and which will now shape how you understand and perceive what I’ve written...
My point is simple.
"The way in which an idea is communicated has an effect on how people respond."
If it’s overly simplistic and inflammatory, this has the effect of causing strong reactions, which push people deeper into already intrenched beliefs. This low brow approach appeals to people who think more simply, with others having neither the education, skills or impetus to read deeply on an issue. Rather they adopt what seems “right” and fits with how they already think about the world.
There are also other problems with this. The more inflammatory the tone, the more polarised the debate becomes. Instead of working toward ideas we have in common, we move away from a more centrist position and wind up adopting an extreme positions. In my experience (and upon reflection) I have found myself fighting for extreme positions, which when I’m thinking calmly and rationally, I don’t really agree with. This approach also stifles discussion, so rather than sitting round a table discussing things like adults we end up shouting one liners and ad-hominem arguments at each other across the playground.
Now of course now provocative headlines and commentary can be ok. Good examples of this include blogging and editorials where opinion is designed to spark discussion. Often I’ve seen that very effect here on my blog. But that’s a far cry from the front page of a newspaper where an Australian Senator is compared to a bunch of Military Dictators.
Important aside - While inflammatory opinion is generally unhelpful, I don’t think the media should be censored from printing such stuff. Part of living in a free and democratic society is that we allow people to express views we don’t agree with and even allow them to be presented in ways that are unhelpful.
What I do want to see is for the media (in this case the Daily Telegraph), take seriously the responsibility to present news in a fair and balanced manner and tone rather then seeking to push an unhelpful inflammatory agenda. Personally I think that reform and regulation of some sort is needed in the Media industry in Australia (more here), however I also agree the timeliness and manner in which Senator Conroy has gone about the issue of reform is counter productive and silly (I haven’t actually looked at the detail of what’s proposed).
However it’s one thing to do something unhelpful, naive, even stupid, but it’s another thing entirely to respond in an even stupider manner. As is so often the case, two wrongs don’t make a right. In this case the Telegraph has overreached in a childish, unhelpful and irresponsible way. They’d do better to sit down at the table with a cup of tea, talk calmly, and treat people like rational thinking adults.
UPDATE: It's also worth watching Media Watch's take on this from Monday.
tags blog, linkage, rant, stupid award, thinking
Love, relationships and other stuff
13 March 2013
The ABC does reality TV much better than the commercial channels. When I watch I don’t feel feel like I’m being patronised and having advertising shoved down my throat every second of the program.... Which brings me to Making Couples Happy a four show series that has just finished on the ABC (although you can still catch it on iView). The premise of the show is to counsel struggling couples and seek to improve overall happiness in their relationships. The show had some great one liners. I won’t detail them here but it’s definitely worth watching for that alone.
I’ve enjoyed it because it’s helped me think about my relationships. I found that it held a mirror up to some of my own behaviors showing the effects of engrained ways of thinking and acting. As the show went on I increasingly identified with some of the subjects.
One of the more helpful things was to do with Five Love Languages. If you haven’t heard or read about them before, it pays to check that Wikipedia link out. The basics are pretty simple and you don’t need to read the book to glean very helpful information, and while it’s a Christian-ish book, the principles are secular and universally helpful regardless of what you believe.
In short everyone has one of five different love languages. The theory goes that your personal love language is the the one that you use by default when interacting with others. For example my love language is Words of Affirmation, therefore in my relationships I offer words of affirmation to others.
The problems begin when (for example) my wife’s language is Physical Touch. So where I keep telling her I love her (words) she just wants me to give her a hug. On the flipside she just gives me hugs when I need to hear her say she loves me. Therefore when it comes to showing our love we actually miss each other entirely. Finding this out for the first time was a revelation. I can still remember thinking back over my past relationships and realising for the first time why some of them had hit the proverbial fan.
I’ve also found this sort of stuff doesn’t just apply to “partner” style relationships but relationships in general. To best express appreciation for a colleague friend or student it’s sometimes worth making sure you’re speaking their "love language"... of course you need to be careful here.
To summarise I found both the Five Love Languages and Making Couples Happy series very helpful. And you dear reader, might just find it helpful too.
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