Book Review: Colossians Remixed Ch. 1

The reading for this week in Colossians Remixed* is:
Chapter 1 [pp. 15-37]: "Placing Ourselves: Globalization and Postmodernity"

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1. Optimism of globalization ("empire") and postmodernism

i. Do you agree with the chapter's premise? Why?
ii. Is globalization a byproduct of Western Civilization, or something broader?
iii. Can you relate to William's experiences?
iv. How (if at all) does the current economic climate affect the chapter's premise?
v. Is this economic downturn a necessary and logical stage to globalization; a bump in the road; or something else entirely?

2. The Church

i. How does the church in America and the world fit into this globalization/postmodernism dynamic?

ii. Could one claim that mission activity has been affected by this societal phase?

3. Discussion
i. List any other thoughts, comments, or questions you have about this chapter.

List your answers in the comment section to this post by Wednesday, January 21, 2009.

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Source: [*] Colossians Remixed [B. Walsh; S. Keesmaat].

Spring/Summer Hiatus

Barroco Cervantes has been beset again with temporary Spring hiatus. We will be back hopefully in mid to late July 2008 with our Colossians Remixed book review. Check back soon!

The Weekend Five Ruminations - 2/9/2008

Ordinarily we have five, but this week it will be three.

[1] Exceedingly saddening news is emanating once more in the tobacco industry. Over at Time, an article details a World Health Organization report forecasting 1 billion tobacco-related deaths in this century. To put it in perspective, 100 million have died this century from tobacco-related deaths. Not surprisingly, the forecast is most calamitous for populous nations with the least health care: "'the shift of the tobacco epidemic to the developing world will lead to unprecedented levels of disease and early death in countries where population growth and the potential for increased tobacco use are highest and where health care services are least available.'" I think one of the best alternatives to cope with this issue--besides outright bans--would be this policy: "'One of the most effective ways to curb tobacco use is to ban all forms of tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, but it said only 20 of 179 countries that responded have complete bans.'" Source: Newsweek/Associated Press [Edith M. Lederer].

[2] It has been mentioned before in many contexts, but there is a clear and disturbing problem in Europe with racism in sports. Seen commonly in soccer venues, this crisis has extended to Formula One. "'In response to [prior] incidents like those, the Spanish government passed legislation last summer that imposes stiffer penalties on those who foment racism within sports. But even this new law may not be enough to combat a larger problem. 'The real issue is that Spaniards have a habit of not taking this kind of thing seriously,' says Esteban Ibarra, president of the Movement against Intolerance, a watchdog group. 'There's a banalization, a permissiveness in the face of racist incidents that worries me more than the incidents themselves. As long as society as a whole continues to see these crimes as insignificant, they're going to recur.'" I am not sure what answer lies in store to end these problems, but I suspect that the solution towards racial tolerance in European sports will frustratingly take a long time. Source: Time [Lisa Abend].

[3] I want to let everyone know that they should tune in during the upcoming weeks and months as we will be reading and analyzing Colossians Remixed, written by Brian Walsh and Sylvia Keesmaat. It looks to be an extremely interesting read, and I am sure that the discussions will be fruitful and insightful. Feel free to contribute to the discussion, we will be posting the reading schedule soon. Source: Amazon.

Recession Fears and Us

Chris Isidore has written an interesting article about the US economy at CNNMONEY.com.* He quotes several prominent economists who claim that a recession has already arrived:

"Alarm bells were set off Tuesday by a grim report on service businesses, which make up the majority of the U.S. economy. The Institute of Supply Management said that activity in the service sector declined for the first time in nearly five years. This report also indicated that employers are cutting staff. The survey covers the retail, transportation and health care industries as well as hard hit areas such as finance, real estate and construction.... Economist Bob Brusca of FAO Economics said he doubted that the U.S. was in recession a week ago, but now he believes there's about a 75% chance that a recession began in January. 'That's what recessions do. They come upon you all of a sudden," he said. "When you look back at history, you're struck by how even-keel it is until the bottom just falls out.'"

I know that many people have been dreading the economic fate of our country, what with the terrible drop in housing. But this article seems to indicate that the hit is being felt in the business sector. Aside from when our housing values will climb back, consumers must be wondering how long this set of bad news will play out:

"Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Jeffrey Lacker, who is known primarily for being more concerned about inflation than economic growth, said in a speech Tuesday that 'the prominence of downside risks means that further easing ultimately may be warranted.' Lacker does not get to vote on monetary policy decisions this year, however. Lacker added that 'sluggish growth in the near term' -- not an actual recession -- is the most likely economic scenario. But he did not completely rule out the possibility of a 'mild recession, similar to the last two we have experienced.'"

It comes as no surprise that the most sense we tend to have about the economy as consumers is almost entirely based on our own personal expenditures. The question becomes how much of this economic downturn is truly felt by everyday people. One would find it difficult to separate business cycles from our own true economics when it seems that our pocketbooks reflect the surging cost of energy and insurance, which we don't always (or rarely) see reflected in scientific economic reports. Frankly, some data on those realities could place this current economic cycle into a realizable context for consumers.
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Source: [*] CNNMONEY.com [Chris Isidore].

The Illogical Chaos of Disbelief

Edward T. Oakes, S.J. has a lengthy article about the so-called "new atheism" over at First Things*. I sometimes hesitate to give so much air time to these articles on atheism, as I feel we should be constructively discussing Christianity, but I felt that this one deserved a look. We should nevertheless always be open to the discussion of ideas, which is after all, the purpose of this blog.

This is Oakes's ending paragraph, to give you a sense of the article:

"Given these hopelessly confused and superficial arguments, it’s hard to take the new atheism seriously. Nietzsche was surely right when he said that serious Christians would come to appreciate his witness. But who can take seriously these recent tub-thumping accusations that believers are the sole source of violence, all coming from writers who themselves advocate violence in their next breath? That’s why these books from the new atheists can hardly represent a threat to believers. Pascal was already on to their game in the seventeenth century: “All those contradictions that seemed to take me furthest from the knowledge of any religion,” he said in the Pensées, “are what led me most directly to the true religion.”
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Source: [*] First Things [Edward T. Oakes, S.J.].