Churches and Technology

I thought that our recent discussion in class about churches and technology was fascinating. Christians have taken advantage of new technologies for centuries to further their mission, but some churches take it to a whole new level.

So many churches around the country have their own apps to download now, which feature things like videos of sermons, more information, mission statements and even a page to give offering. I was looking around on a website of a megachurch back home, and found that you can even "text to give" instead of putting a few dollars in the offering plate when it comes around. I thought that in particular was really interesting, since offering has always been so engrained into the Christian worship service for most denominations. If everybody is texting to give and watching the sermon on their phone, do churches still really have to exist or are they on their way to becoming entirely online?

So many other things in life that are supposed to be based on relationships and face to face contact now happen online. Online dating, online classes -- they are both things that people thought necessitated someone to be there in person, but both programs have enjoyed great online success. Are churches headed that way too? In a society that has already lost interpersonal skills, face to face conversation and attention span, could an online church be the perfect answer for everybody who is already glued to their phone and computer 24/7? It's interesting and a little terrifying to think about where this all might lead in another decade or two.

Closed

The blog is now closed. Comments posted after this will not impact one's participation grade. Best, Lynn

$haddy

Since we were on the topic of megachuches this week, I was curious and wondered what the pastor at one of the megachurches near my house makes for his salary. Apparently, he would not reveal his net worth, but is building a house that costs over $1,000,000. I think that's way to much for a pastor to be making. What do you guys think?

http://www.christianpost.com/news/pastor-steven-furtick-says-jesus-wouldnt-want-him-to-reveal-how-much-money-he-makes-149835/

Religion and Social Media

On Tuesday, we talked about religion and how it is shown in media. I thought that it was so interesting that 1 in 5 Americans share their faith online once a week and nearly half of all Americans see faith shared online once a week. Because I am friends with several Christians on Facebook, both at Elon and back home, and follow a lot of Christians on Instagram, I see a lot of posts every week with various Bible verses, bits of testimonies and messages to God thanking Him for different things.

As a Christian, I also sometimes post little bits of encouraging Bible verses or refer to people in pictures I post as my "sisters in Christ" -- the thing is, do these posts really have any effect on my followers? Just because I put my faith on show every once in a while, does that mean that the people who see them will really be affected by it? Maybe. 

I have definitely seen my fair share of Instagram and Facebook posts that I just roll my eyes at -- posts that feel so fake or "holier-than-thou" that it turns even me, a Christian, off of Christianity. While it's great to share your faith or other beliefs with others online, I think that it's important to remember that these social media platforms were created to make our lives appear more perfect and airbrushed than they really are. Something that I hear all the time is how faith is messy and imperfect, so it's interesting to juxtapose that with the perfection and pressure that comes with social media. 

This topic also brings to mind the idea of Christian tourism and poverty photography -- so many people go on mission trips and end up taking a million pictures of themselves with impoverished children and orphans to post on Facebook. Matthew 6:3 talks about humility and acting in such a way that not even your left hand knows what your right hand is doing when giving to the needy. If everything is posted online, is that humility really in effect? Just some things to think about the next time you post something about your faith or other beliefs or the next time you see a post about faith. 

Baptismal imagery in "The River" by Manchester Orchestra

I have wanted to talk for some time about the baptismal imagery in one of my favorite songs The River by Manchester Orchestra. It is such a favorite of mine in fact, that I have plans to get lyrics tattooed. The lead of the band is openly Christian and biblical themes frequently slide subtlety into his music. The chorus is as follows:

Oh god I need it 

So let me see again 

Take me to the river 

And let me see again 

Oh my god 

Let me see again 

Oh my god 

Let me see again 

Let me see again 

These lines are, to me, calling out to God. The singer asks: "let me see again" a possible reference to the story of Jesus restoring sight to the blind. He then asks "take me to the river" a reference to the tradition of baptism by river submerging. Near the end of the song the meaning becomes even more overt the final lyrics calling:

Oh god I need it

Well I was wrong again

Take me to the river

And make me clean again

Oh my god

Make me clean again

And oh my god

Let me see again

The author asks God to "make him clean again" asking to be washed of sin in the river. This is further illustrated if you prefer the lyrics the singer uses in live shows (and the lyrics I would want tattooed). In this version the final "Oh God I need it." is replaced by: "Oh God I'm sorry." He asks forgiveness as he is baptized.  

Lucy patron saint of punk?

This is some spray paint artwork I did of St. Lucy a while ago. After looking at all of the artistic representations of her, she spoke to me a a punk. I felt she needed a punk representation in art. So I made one.

How Megachurches utilize technology

One of the SURF presentations I presented on was on how Megachurches spread their message in a digital age. It's really interesting and ties in perfectly with yesterdays lesson.

http://www.elonpendulum.com/article/2016/04/session-2-communications-surf

Virtual Church

After today's class I was curious to find out just how easy it is to attend a virtual church service. I googled "virtual church," and the first result is a website actually called virtualchurch.com (link). It's been established since 2004, so this really isn't a new thing! Until today's class I was unaware of just how common it may be to use the Internet for practicing one's faith. I clicked on the "Start Service" button, and an entire service downloaded to my computer! The more that I familiarize myself with this concept of practicing religion online, the more accepting I am becoming of it!
You guys should check out this website and comment what you think/find!

Evangelizing with the Internet

After today's class, we learned that Evangelical Christianity uses the media, such as the radio and television, to spread this religion's message and beliefs. Evangelical Christians have a call to evangelize, so they try to use any means available to spread the word. Because of this, evangelizers take advantage of the cultural trends in society to enhance this movement. These people use technology and the media because individuals who are unfamiliar with the faith use these tools in their everyday lives, so they can relate to them. Evangelizers make use of the accessible and prominent tool of technology so that others can adopt and accept these beliefs more easily because they understand technology. This movement becomes more powerful when it utilizes social norms to connect a large amount of people. Also, using media and technology enables this message to spread quickly and expansively, which strengthens Christianity since a large amount of people are hearing the beliefs. Although there are many positive effects of evangelizers using the Internet to reach numerous people, are there any downsides of technology that can hamper the movement?

May 10 Class Notes--- Christianity in a Digital Age

Church in the Digital Age

84% of Adults in the US use the Internet

-       There are some use differences based upon class, race, age, education level. But gaps is narrowing in the case of race

-       Gender parity is the norm in internet usage

-       Today 2/3 (64%) of adults in the US have a smartphone. This is up form 11% in 2011

A little historical context

-       The Christina church has often been shaped by the adoption of new media

o   Dominican public preaching (13^th century) – altering the power of the clergy

o   Printing Press (1440)- Protestant Reformation (1517)

§  Sola scriptura “by scripture alone”

o   Radio (early 20^th cent) – evangelical Christianity

o   Television (mid-late 20^th century) – evangelical Christianity

Billy Graham- The New Media Pioneer

-       Born 1918

-       Ordained Southern Baptist

-       1947: Starts his “crusades”

o   Over 400 in his lifetime

o   185 countries

o   6 continents

o   Many televised

-       1949: Raises o media prominence as an evangelist with circus tent revivals in LA

-       1950-54: Hour of Decision Radio show

-       1951: Stars World Wide Pictures

o   Over 130 Christian Films

-       1956 Starts a magazine, Christianity Today

-       2012: Billy Graham Evangelistic Association shifts its focus to online evangelism. In 2014 BEGA reached 7.5 million through their websites.

-       An audience of 2.2 billion people worldwide over his lifetime

Vatican II: Making a Way for Online Religion

-       1962-65

-       Sought to articulate the relationship between the Catholic Church and the modern world

-       One of the most notable changes from Latin to the vernacular

-       Celebration of Mass facing the congregation

-       More acceptances of modern styles of music, art, ect.

-       Emphasis on the importance of knowing Scripture. 

Religion Online v. Online Religion

-       Providing information about religion v opportunity to participate in religious activity

-       Reference to offline activities v religious activities that take place online

Religion and Social Media

-       According to a 2014 Pew Survey on Religion and social media

o   One in five individuals share their faith on social media every week

o   Nearly half of American adults see someone share their faith online every week

Does all this mean that people aren’t going to church

-       Online religion does not mean a decline in participation in face to race religion

So, who is using this stuff?

-White evangelical s and black Protestants are more likely than other groups o engage in some form of electronic religious activity.

Religion vs. Jesus

*Disclaimer: I'm a Christian, so if the following sounds preachy, I'm sorry! I thought the video was really interesting and wanted to share/provide my own context for it. Thanks :) *

Jefferson Bethke is a well-known Christian youtuber, author and speaker. Recently, one of my friends sent me this video, which a spoken-word poem he did on why he hates religion, but loves Jesus. It touches on the idea that religion is something that has been socially constructed, whereas Jesus isn't and can't be. It brings to mind the idea of CEO Christians (Christmas and Easter Only), but also people who may call themselves Christians just because they go to church every Sunday. Christianity is not whether you go to church or serve on mission trips or how many hours you devote to your weekly small group Bible study, but how you live your life. It's the decisions you make, the lifestyle you choose to lead, the beliefs you choose to reflect. I thought this video did a great job of making a distinction between religion and faith itself. I think that religion is the reason why so many Christian denominations and other faiths have so much tension between them. I think it's why so many people are offended by Christians or have negative stereotypes against them, because the basis of faith itself is love -- it's simply loving others unconditionally because of the belief that Jesus did and does the same for us. Anyway, watch the video and let me know what you think. I think it challenges Christians to take another look at their faith and non-Christians to see it from another perspective, which is really cool.

Is White Jesus Oppressive?

Hi everyone! I stumbled upon an article that talks about a perspective on the color of Christ that I don't think we've talked about in our class discussion too much. In a Youtube video, a young woman explains why she thinks that imagining Christ as white is not only historically-inaccurate, but it is oppressive and wrong. I found this interesting because in class we have talked about how a black Jesus can be viewed as liberating, but not how the direct contrast of this would be that a white Jesus would then be oppressive. I think that in this case it is as if the woman is saying that the depiction of a white Jesus and a black one are like two opposing forces.
What do you guys think of this? Are her arguments valid?

The link to the Huffington Post article that contains the video is here. 

Selma

So I was going through our list of films and saw that Selma was a film listed. I'd already been wanting to see that movie so I watched it last night, and wow. It was incredibly impactful and emotional. I also noticed a few similarities in the movie to what we've been learning.

Selma, somewhat like Passion of the Christ, uses some pretty violent and horrific images to evoke a response from the crowd. I almost screamed at some of the injustices shown, and to think these things happened!

Martin Luther King Jr. is often seen as a Christ figure, and he was indeed a unique and effective leader in history, but Selma shows that King was also human, making mistakes like everyone else. He cheated on his wife...A LOT. He was also a habitual smoker. King's actions were Jesus-like in their message and approach, but his personal life was a lot different.

Selma emphasized King's humanity but also draws a lot of parallels between MLK and Jesus. King is the leader of a peaceful movement unpopular with public officials. At one point someone refers to his followers as disciples. And speaking of disciples, King, like Jesus, is depicted with a loyal group of followers with him, effective but lesser than King and extremely loyal. King leads a humble life for the sake of his cause just like Jesus.

I knew people liked to compare King and Jesus, but I don't think I really got it till I saw this movie. King indeed has many similarities to the Messiah, but the film also shows how flawed he was. It's an interesting balance.

Recently, I happened upon the list of movies for this class and saw that Monty Python and the Holy Grail was listed.  Since I am quite the Monty Python fan, I could not let the semester go by without writing about this uniquely hilarious movie.  It takes religious themes and turns them on the viewer, making them question certain parts of their faith at times.  The Holy Grail is not for everyone; you either love it or you hate it.  Essentially, it follows King Arthur as he ventures on a quest to find the Holy Grail.  He believes he has been assigned this quest by God and assembles a team of other knights to help him.  There are a few religious themes throughout the movie.  

First, of course, is the Holy Grail itself, which is believed to be the chalice Jesus passed around at the Last Supper.  Legend says Joseph of Arimathea had it, brought it to Great Britain, and that it has never been found since.  I don't want to give away the ending or anything (it might be the funniest, most ridiculous part in my opinion), but they never exactly encounter the Grail.  

One religious scene is that of the Holy Hand Grenade, in which the knights observe a prescribed ritual before throwing a hand grenade at a ferocious bunny.  

God also appears in the film, except in animated cartoon form.  He is seen having a conversation with the knights and yelling at them for kneeling down and apologizing so much.  

The Pythons, as they are known, have produced other religiously satirical films and skits, most notably Life of Brian.  In this movie, people mistake a man named Brian for the Messiah and proceed to follow him despite him adamantly telling them not to.  While it does not directly attack Jesus or any of his teachings, it parallels Jesus' life.  Brian tells people they need to think for themselves rather than listen to everything someone says.  In interviews about the movie, the Pythons remind people of this same theme.  People should think for themselves and make their own decisions, especially about religion.  

Strange Fruit by J. Kwest

"It was Jesus on the lynching tree, strange fruit."

During The Ripple Conference in February, J. Kwest, a Christian rapper and friend of Joel Harter (our Associate Chaplain for Protestant Life), came to speak about his prophetic art, including his video "Strange Fruit" which won an Emmy Award. I think it fits well into our discussion of The Color of Christ as it brings up many of the things we've discussed over the course of the semester.

It is about ten minutes long and very powerful. Watch HERE. 

How is narrative functioning in this piece? How does the artist parallel biblical texts with the story of Thomas Shipp, Abram Smith, and James Cameron?

For reference, J. Kwest uses the following texts(phrased differently in his script): 

"And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil." (Genesis 2:9)

"Pilate said, "Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law" "But we have no right to execute anyone," they objected." (John 18:31)

"Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations." (Revelation 22:1-2)

How does race function visually in the text(video)?
How does the artist use ideas of truth, power, age/innocence, and progress?
How is this an example of liberation theology?

"Each and every one of us is made in the image of that boy, of that singer, of the one who flips the script."

White Jesus

Last Sunday, I went to the United Methodist Church in Burlington. I would like to share an image with you all of a painting that was hung in the hallway of the church. I think it's interesting to note that Jesus and his disciples are all portrayed as white. (On a side note, I think it is neat how they portrayed Judas with his back toward Christ). However, in other paintings such as Da Vinci's last supper, some disciples are rather racially ambiguous. Why is it that Judas is depicted as having the darkest skin color out of all of the disciples in this painting? What does this say?

Megyn Kelly on White Jesus/ Santa

Here's the video referenced in the first prompt:

A New Jesus Movie

A new Jesus movie is coming out.  There's an interesting piece in the NYT about it. Check it out HERE.

Easter in May?

Here's an article I found about how the date of Easter is determined. The basic idea is that Easter is to be on the first full moon after the Spring Equinox because that was when the Bible says Jesus was killed and resurrected. But this article is really interesting because it talks about the trouble historically with dating Easter and some things that can pop up in the future.  Apparently Easter will be in May 300 years from now...

http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/determining-easter-date.html

5/3 Notes Drew

Class Notes 5/3: Thinking about Liturgy and Worship in the US

Pentecostalism & the Society of Friends

Liturgy

·         Originally Greek word (composite of laos (people/public) and ergo (work)) suggesting an act was a public duty

·         Today we use it to describe a pattern or form of worship or the ritual performed

·         Denominations and individual congregations vary in their adherence to prescribed liturgy, although even churches that describe themselves as “non-liturgical” follow their own “liturgical logic”

·         Denominations and individual congregations may vary in the formality of liturgical style

·         Some protestant churches will follow liturgical calendar, but not necessarily a mass

·         Some masses don’t always have to be formal, sometimes informal, still follows mass

·         Differing views on note taking during worship service

Factors That Shape Liturgy

·         Denominational Affiliation

·         Congregational History

·         Congregational Character

·         Temporal Factors: Season/Day/Time

·         Spatial Factors

·         Financial Factors

·         What happens during liturgy often tells us about what the congregation values

Pentecostalism

·         Evangelical Christian movement growing out of camp meetings and holiness movements of 19^th-20^th centuries

·         Beliefs include:

·         Inerrancy of Bible

·         Gifts of Holy Spirit (speaking in tongues)

·         Faith Healing

·         God’s imminent return and rapture of church

·         Generally conservative on social/moral issues

·         Grows out of early African-American worship practices

·         Holy Spirit guiding liturgy (unstructured/guided holy spirit)

·         Hundreds of denominations and non-denominational congregations: Assemblies of God, Church of God in Christ, Universal Church of the Kingdom of God

·         One of the fastest growing traditions in the world, esp. global south. One quarter of world’s Christians identify as Pentecostal

·         Growing in Latin America

Quakers

·         Movement emerges in 17^th century England by George Fox

·         Everyone has Inner Light and following this light leads to spiritual development

·         Focus on a lifestyle of plainness and simplicity

·         Belief in radical equality leads to suppression in England, many came to Pennsylvania/RI

·         A variety of sects of Friends, ranging from more traditionally protestants to  non-theists/Universalists

·         360,000 Quakers worldwide, largest concentration in Kenya, 85,000-90,000 Quakers in the US

·         Devoted to Peace, Quakers practice conscientious objection, many were abolitionists

·         20^th  century: 2 kinds of Quakerism in US: liberal and evangelical

·         Liberal Quakers often advocate for progressive social causes, including disarmament, racial and social justice, and care for the environment

·         Liberal Quakers, which make up 11%  of Quakers in general practice of “waiting worship” 

Notes from 5/3

Housekeeping things

*FINAL DUE 5/12 @9AM*

Also meeting for the "final" at 9:00am rather than 8:00am

Remember to properly cite in-text- No bibliography needed

Liturgy

• Greek word (leitourgema) a composite of laos (people) and ergo (work), suggesting an act that was a public duty
• Describes form or pattern of workshop or ritual performed
• Denominations and individual congregations vary in their "liturgy," although even churches that describe themselves as "non-liturgical" may follow a liturgical logic
• Catholic for instance "prescribed experience", universal
• Protestants vary more in liturgical ceremonial experience
• Vary in formality from denomination to denomination

Liturgical calendar based on (birth, death, life, resurrection) calendar of events

Over three years, you are hearing all the prescribed texts

We can think about liturgy and worship patterns in 'spectrum'

PRESCRIBED

I

I

I

I

FORMAL I I I I I I I I I I I I I INFORMAL

I

I

I

I

NOT PRESCRIBED

Prescribed means HIGHER order not just congregational historical order

Factors Shaping the Liturgy

• Denominational affiliation
• Congregational history
• Congregational character
• Temporal factors: season/day/time
• Spatial factors
• Financial factors
• Others?
• Children
• Gender assumptions
• Size of congregation

What happens during the liturgy often tells us about congregational values *

Worship in Two Christian Traditions

Pentecostalism

An evangelical Christian movement, growing out of the American Camp Meeting and the Holiness movements of the 19-20th centuries

• Sharing and converting
• Importance of "born again"

What does Vondey tell us about emergence of Pentecostal tradition?

• Influenced by early African American worship practices and slave worship, although multi-racial today
• Holy Spirit guiding the liturgy
• Unstructured ***but also embodied worship

Beliefs:

• Inerrancy of the Bible
• Gifts of the Holy Spirit (glossolalia) spiritual languages
• Faith healing (as a sign of devotion and faithfulness)
• God's imminent return and the rapture of the Church
• Generally conservative on social/moral issues

*Aimee Semple McPherson- founder of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel

Growth of Pentecostalism

• Hundreds of denominations and non-denominational congregations: Assemblies of God, Church of God in Christ, Universal Church of the Kinddom of God
• One of the fastest growing traditions in the world, especially in the Global South
• 2006 Pew Study concluded that 1/4 of world's Christians identify as Pentecostal or charismatic
• Pentecostalism is growing rapidly in Latin America (90% Catholic in 1960's, now only 69%, while 65% Pentecostal or charismatic)

Check out Pentecostal worship videos on Youtube!

• Enthusiasm
• Crying
• Healing
• Physical contact
• Repetitive

{EXTREME EMOTION}

Importance placed on egalitarianism

Evangelical identity

• Not ashamed
• What we do here impacts what is happening outside
• Boundary between sacred and profane is permeable

Quakers (Society of Friends)

Movement emerges in the 17th century in England under George Fox

• Has a direct call from God
• Teachings about Inner light and inner voice regardless
• Following the light leads to spiritual development and perfection

Focus on a lifestyle plainness and simplicity

God's continued revelation

Belief in radical and many came to RI and that PA seeking sanctuary

A variety of sects of Friends

• Ranging from more traditionally Protestant to Non-theists/Universalists

In 2010 there were about 360,000 Quakers worldwide, with the largest concentration in Kenya.  There are 85,000-90,000 Quakers in the US

Devoted to peace

• Conscientious objection
• Abolition of slavery

20th century, two types of Quakerism (liberal and evangelical)

Liberal Quakers (11%)

• Progressive social causes )disarmament, racial and social justice, care for the environment)
• Waiting worship (listening, shaking hands)

***MEETING****

Why would I put Pentecostalism and Quakerism in the same class lecture?

• Holy spirit focused- listening for God from different directions

Important theological differences, although similar