Friday, March 31, 2017

Speculative Faith article and thoughts thereafter

Here's a link to an article I found interesting and then spent a lot of time thinking about:

http://www.speculativefaith.com/stop-hating-christian-popular-culture/

Here's how I responded to the Facebook post:

I got up from the prior comment, washed some dishes, and thought a book chapter's worth of thoughts, but will reduce it to only a few of the points: Kincaid. I've read a variety of critiques about his work, and I agree with all the criticisms that people have come up with. And yet....I go into relative's homes and there is a Kincaid painting lovingly featured on a wall. And I think it's lovely. I like to look at pretty. It's why I grow flowers and trees. Is my love of gardening only worthwhile when I use it to introduce new food crops into Rwanda? (which, btw, is a lot of fun)
It is such a balancing act between the desire to be the intelligent one with great taste that understands more than the bleating masses, the desire to encourage people who are trying their best even when their best isn't very good by a blinkered view, the desire to be better than one's own best, the desire to be humble, the desire to be great, the desire to be recognized as great, the desire to be discerning, the desire to be accepting.
It's interesting, Stephen, how you like the Left Behind Series. You are not my only friend who does. I can't understand the attraction. I read a few paragraphs in one of the books and tossed it away in revulsion. And here you are, I freely admit it, an intellect that towers over mine. You have an ability to mine the good that sometimes bypasses me. Which brings me to a final point:
It seems like some people work hard to find the tiniest sliver of redemptive quality in a secular work they like, and refuse to look at the larger redemptive quality in a Christian work because it offends their refined sensibility. Maybe some people is me.