Rahab's Attic

Who will deliver me from this Body Of Death?

rahabsattic — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 03:05:04 +0000

It has been many moons since I wrote a blog post. I am very different now than I was then. I have grown, changed, learned, lived & failed. However I have also thrived. For this I am thankful. I am dying yet I still live. I am wanting, yet I have no needs. I am forsaken yet I am found. I hope 2 go further down the path of peace, love, mercy & enlightenment…
Yet I still feel hopeless.

Grace & peace be with you.

“christianized ghetto” apparel

rahabsattic — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 04:35:51 +0000

Many moons ago I was on my way home from the beach with my family and we stopped at a store. They sold the above t-shirts, among many others. I chose to show these because they were very interesting. I especially love how Jesus is compared to the “easy button”.

christian anarchist animation

rahabsattic — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 23:36:48 +0000

These are brilliant.

The Emergent “Peace Pipe” is outlawed.

rahabsattic — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 17:47:37 +0000

I am not a cigarette smoker… usually. However, from time to time I have been known to occasionally enjoy a clove. But now since the federal government has put a ban on all flavored tobacco (this includes cloves) they are just as illegal as marijuana. Oh well, its probably for the best, although it is odd that the government is just now stepping in on this decision. The main reason for this post is to acknowledge how devastated many of my friends will be once they find out the sad news. For many “emergent” types out there they will now have to part ways with their sacred leaf, unless they can get them on the black market… which brings up a myriad of other questions. I think I know a shop downtown that still has them in stock. I may go grab a pack just to say farewell and savor the flavor one last time…

Ikon’s Pyro-theology

rahabsattic — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 16:35:08 +0000

This is a short video of a transformance art installment that was performed by members of the ikon collective at the Greenbelt music and arts festival. Ikon is co-ordinated by Peter Rollins and if you dont know who he is u should find out. His books have opened my eyes and strengthened my faith…and my doubt. I just wanted to share this video because I really appreciate the work that Pete is doing and I hope u will find this interesting. It is not long and its only an excerpt from the entire performance, but it gives u a feel for what their doing over there in Ireland.

Fatherhood

rahabsattic — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 03:23:19 +0000

Being a dad can be a challenge. This is my 6 year old daughter Natalie. She is a lively little girl with a great outlook on life. Last night she finally pulled out one of her front teeth that was loose. It was in that moment that I realized she is growing up. One day I will watch her grow into a beautiful young woman. This thought brings feelings of both joy and sadness. The reason for this reflection is that father’s day is coming up this weekend and I suppose this has been bouncing around in my head lately. As the years roll on, I struggle to be a good father and many times…I fail. That is the nature of the beast. We are all too human and we will let our children down, just like our fathers let us down. I have friends who occasionally grab a beer with their dad and seem to enjoy the time they spend together. I also have friends that don’t have a clue who their father is or where he lives. When the outcomes of human fatherhood can be as varied as these two examples, what do we make of Jesus’ claim that God is our father and that he wants to give us good gifts? Like allot of other things he says Jesus seems to imply something very profound in a very concise, simple statement. Here is an example where not all fathers will measure up to the standard of a good God who takes care of his children. Just as I don’t always measure up to that standard, the metaphor itself (of God as a father) doesn’t seem to meet the standard either. God may be correctly thought of as a good father but the emphasis should be placed on the former not the latter. It is his goodness that sustains us and gives us life, not his “fatherhood” per say. Other working metaphors such as mothers and grandparents could be replaced when were talking about God from outside the text itself. Father’s may fail us or they may do good, regardless it is no easy job to raise children. There are challenges that I never imagined and now that Natalie has her 1 month old baby sister (Maya) at home there are allot of sleepless nights and long hours filled with crying. But hey, Its all good. My faith journey is a work in progress but fatherhood is one connection point between my life and the scriptures that is a constant source of inspiration and motivation. One look in my daughter’s eyes and allot of my naive, nihilistic assumptions about life are not important at all. It is in that moment that as a parent you know what you should do. You just hope you can follow through with the task at hand. If you are a father or if you have a father, reflect on the nature of that relationship this father’s day. For all the hardships we may face we should realize it’s mothers and fathers that keep pushing this experience we call life forward. To be a father is to be in the company of the creator.

Something Different

rahabsattic — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 06:05:30 +0000

This is an old pic of some of the original rahab’s crew at the old building. For those of us in this photo- it is wild to see how much the years have changed us from the people you see in this snapshot. This picture makes me realize how much life changes us. We want to belong to or behold a certain way of life but all the while we are living something different. That is what’s happening to Rahab’s. Some of the folks in this pic live in St. Louis, some of them still play rock and roll music and can be found frequently at bottletree for the next indie-rock band to roll through. Some of the people in this photo are currently working on an important project that will be coming down the pipeline in the future and some of them can be found driving around town in a subaru outback with a giant canoe on top. The point is I still know and care about these people and I wish them all the best but these days are long gone. Rahab’s is changing and it will surely be something different.

Meta-narratives and Soap Operas

rahabsattic — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:13:11 +0000

A thought hit me today. I was home doing some research on the web before work and I was fortunate enough to catch “The 700 Club” (Its a religious show on CBN). It’s not my favorite program, as you may imagine. Regardless I enjoy observing what others who follow Jesus have to say from all over the spectrum. They showed a farmer and his wife who watched their milkhouse burn to the ground leaving their cows homeless. They showed how this farmer and his wife had written a check to CBN every month prior to this horrible tragedy. Then they showed how this farmer was fortunate enough to have neighbors and church members who helped clean up the mess and raise funds to rebuild the milkhouse. After the story was over they brought out their special guest who had written a book called “God’s Supernatural Powers”. He told of how his father died before he was born. He said his father had slept with alot of strange women and had contracted V.D., which crept up his spine and eventually claimed his life. He told how his mother tried to do an “at home” abortion by using a wire coathanger. He had written this book because he believed God was looking out for him and that God had “saved” him. Then he talked about how our view of salvation was too limited in the sense that there is more to salvation then just getting a ticket to heaven. This interested me. He also spoke of us joining the Kingdom while here on earth. This too was intruiging. All in all it was a good interview with this author/speaker. I cant remember his name, but he seemed like a nice guy. Underneath their guise of “stories” I heard their meta-narrative loud and clear. Im sick of it, I’ve heard it my whole life and I want something new, something better. As the show went to commercial I couldnt help but feel a huge disconnect from what their trying to do at the 700 club. I too want to follow Christ. Their doing “good” things. What is it that frustrates me so much about the 700 club? Is it their name? Is it Pat Robertson’s Turtleneck sweaters? Is it the fact that I share his last name and I feel kinda quasi-related to the guy? Maybe it’s the fact that he claims he can leg press 2000 lbs! Im not exactly sure what it is about the show that gets under my skin but I do know one thing. The ideology that is underneath the show is one that has been inherited from the cultural framework and theology that was most prominant at their inception. That is an inevitability we all will and must face. That is what excites me most about deconstruction. Hot Hot Truth. I enjoy the search. I find answers along the Way. I am exhilirated even now as I type because I believe that I am onto something. Im not saying Pat Robertson’s epistemology is dead wrong. I am fighting for the right to use the tools he so readily employs to show the weaknesses in his mode of thought. The purpose of this post was not to elaborate on the 700 club. Forgive me. The thing I would like to focus on is the soap opera that followed their “Christian Television Program”. Days of our Lives follows the 700 club every weekday. CBN bought airtime on NBC. It is a paradox of sorts to go straight from good ol Pat, teaching the Roman’s road to the entangled web of deceit and betrayal that takes place on “Days”! Between the two shows I observed something. People love stories. Always have, always will. It’s like its in our blood or something. People watch Soap Opera’s in a different way than they watch “christian television”. I mean im sitting there and Im exhausted from all this religious programming. Im actually excited to see a soap opera! Im wondering “Why is this stupid soap opera so appealing? is it because it’s on the heels of the 700 club?” ( If your wondering why I was watching either one, I dont have cable and i can only pick up this one channel!) Too often soap operas are telling stories that are far more interesting than the same old meta-narratives that are unconsiously being fed to the avid watchers of the 700 club. All denominations have their own meta-narratives. Stories about stories. I think one strength of the emerging church may lie in our hopeful attempt to cancel out ALOT of these meta-narratives and get back to a simpler story. There is beauty in simplicty. Can we join together and create a story that is worth hearing? I hope so, and I hope its way better than a cheesy soap opera….and The 700 Club.

What is Rahab’s Attic?

rahabsattic — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 00:25:30 +0000

The answer to that question is not a simple one. Over a year ago, a group of friends, along with my wife and I started a “faith community”. We were an odd group and it was not your typical church service to say the least. There were painters, musicians, and many other creative people as well. We met at a abandoned building that was formerly inhabited by a spanish speaking congregation. We would meet at this building every sunday at 3:00 pm. Over time we felt drawn to social justice and we also got sick of “playing church”. You see, every sunday many of us felt as though we were playing church much like children “play house”. We knew we wanted to be an eclectic group of christians because we represented a wide variety of denominations. We didn’t know how to be deconstructive without fading into obscurity. Anywhere there was a pattern, we broke it. Whenever a leader would arise we would agree to decentralize the power and allow other voices to be heard as well. Many times this was a great idea, but too often it would lead to an unraveling of sorts. I remember when the talented young lady who led our music showed up one day without her husband. They soon divorced. Many people in our group were struggling with serious problems. A week or so later our main musician (an incredible guitarist) had a heat stroke in front of the building. We spent the rest of the service time splashing his forehead with water and pointing fans at him (we didnt have air conditioning and its hot in alabama!). This type of craziness was regular for us. It became hard to do the type of social work that we longed to do because taking care of our small community (30 people at most), became a full time job. Previously we had provided entertainment and the occasional meal at First Light (women/child shelter) from time to time. But eventually we had to close the doors and the community dissolved into nothingness. Many of us still talk but we do not meet collectively on sundays. We never set out to “save” anyone, only to offer others to follow Christ as we followed Him. So thats the short of it. What will the future of Rahab’s Attic be? Stay tuned to find out.