Saturday, February 23, 2013

A T-Rex Making a Bed and the Best Things You'll Read All Week

by Ben Howard

Reads of the Week

1) Why I Respectfully Decline Feminism by Grace Biskie

"Until Feminism can reconcile a ‘women’s right’ with the fact that 30 million African-American souls have been lost, and that abortions are the #1 way African-Americans are dying (faster than even heart disease) I can’t do it.  Not in a judgemental way,  I’m hurting for my people.  I say this from a place of pain, not of finger pointing judgement."

2) It's Not Mumford, It's the Music Industry: Whiteness by Bo Sanders

"I think a lot about issues of race, gender and class. I read about it and talk it over with people every week. I am working my way through an expensive program in order to write my dissertation about it.  I care about matters of diversity and justice a great deal."

3) Michael Jordan Has Not Left the Building by Wright Thompson
"Smoke curls off the cigar. He wears slacks and a plain white dress shirt, monogrammed on the sleeve in white, understated. An ID badge hangs from one of those zip line cords on his belt, with his name on the bottom: Michael Jordan, just in case anyone didn't recognize the owner of a struggling franchise who in another life was the touchstone for a generation."

4) DJesus Uncrossed: Tarantino, Driscoll, and the Violent Remaking of Jesus in America by David Henson
"We have tried to arm him with our military-industrial complex, drape him with our xenophobia, outfit him with our weapons, and adorn him with our nationalism. We’ve turned the cross into a flagpole for the Stars and Stripes. We have no need for Tarantino to reimagine the story of Jesus into a fantasy of violent revenge. We’ve done it for him. We’ve already uncrossed him, transforming him from a servant into a triumphalist who holds the causes and interests of our country on his back rather than brutal execution."

5) Swords Into Plowshares and Hate Mail Into Origami by Rachel Held Evans
"And I’ve been thinking that this idea of learning a new skill so you can turn something ugly into something beautiful might be a good Lenten practice. Whether it’s turning an AK-47 into a rake, an old tire into a flowerbed, or trash into a work of art, there is something profoundly fitting about struggling through the creative process with the goal of finishing something new by Easter to provide a tangible, hands-on experience in discipline, resurrection, and restoration."

Honorable Mention

Wings, the NBA All-Star Game and Selling Out by Macklemore

Don't Upset Jesus! by Alise Wright

Dear Proverbs 31 Woman by Shane Blackshear

Line of the Week

"Los Angeles Lakers forward Metta World Peace put on his Cookie Monster pajamas and came to the rescue of his nephew and brother who had been detained by police outside his condo complex earlier this week." - via this ESPN story

On Pop Theology Week in Review

On Cynicism (Or, Beware The Ides of March)
Is the world as bad as we sometimes think it is? Or are people trying to do their best?

One Small Step for Benedict
Where does the Catholic Church go now? And does anyone care?

That One Time When Jesus Had a Machine Gun
If Tarantino made a Jesus movie, I'd laugh. I hope you would too.

Theology Trade Deadline
Obviously, you can't trade people from one century to another, but wouldn't it be fun if you could?

The Day I Was Called a Demon
Working with the oppressed can be hard, and sometimes you don't even feel the pain anymore.

Song of the Week

"Find the Light" by David Ramirez


Peace,
Ben 

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