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Culture

A Poet’s Look at the Environment

My earliest memory of facing an environmental issue is from my 5th or 6th grade year.  My mom had moved to Las Cruces, NM with my step-dad.  Las Cruces was a thirty minute drive from El Paso, TX which sat across the Rio Grande from Juarez, Mexico.  When I visited my mom (I was living with my dad elsewhere) we would often drive to El Paso.  There were shops there which we didn’t have in Las Cruces.  Each drive to El Paso took us past a large industrial factory on the outskirts of El Paso.  The factory was located near the homes of thousands of the poor in Juarez, Mexico who lived in cinder block homes.  From miles in any direction you could see thick colored smoke pouring out of the smoke stack of the factory.  Day and night smoke spewed out of the factory.  Read More »A Poet’s Look at the Environment

Christians and Culture

My family and I loved watching the Summy Olympics this year (2008). The only thing we didn’t like is how sleep-deprived we get. The opening ceremony was especially powerful. Two things happened during the Opening Ceremony which caused controversy. First, we learned that some footage of the fireworks exploding across China’s capital was fake. What millions watched on television was not all actual fireworks. Some of what we saw was digitally inserted into the television coverage to make the fireworks appear more spectacular than they really were. Second, we learned that the nine year old girl who sang during the ceremony was not actually singing. She was lip-synching. The one actually singing was a seven year old girl who was originally scheduled to be in the ceremony. At the last moment, however, she was judged not cute enough and was replaced with a cuter nine year old. The seven year old had the better voice. So, she sang while the nine year old lip synced.[i] Even in front of millions of viewers, something false was presented as true.Read More »Christians and Culture

Taking Thinking Captive (2 Cor. 101-6)

Raise your hand if you watched the Summer Olympics. I and my family watched them. We love watching the Olympics. The only thing we don’t like is how sleep-deprived we get. What was your favorite Olympic moment? Raise your hand if your favorite Olympic moment had to do with swimming? With gymnastics? With track and field? (I won’t ask anyone to raise their hand about the beach volleyball). How about the Opening Ceremony? How many of you watched it? Two things happened during the Opening Ceremony which caused controversy. First, we learned that some footage of the fireworks exploding across China’s capital was fake. What millions watched on television was not all actual fireworks. Some of what we saw was digitally inserted into the television coverage to make the fireworks appear more spectacular than they really were. Second, we learned that the nine year old girl who sang during the ceremony was not actually singing. She was lip-synching. The one actually singing was a seven year old girl who was originally scheduled to be in the ceremony. At the last moment, however, she was judged not cute enough and was replaced with a cuter nine year old. The seven year old had the better voice. So, she sang while the nine year old lip synced.[1] Even in front of millions of viewers, something false was presented as true.Read More »Taking Thinking Captive (2 Cor. 101-6)