The Twit Network

You've probably heard that a movie about Facebook is being released in October. It's called The Social Network. I'm kindof a sucker for biopics, especially ones about technology, so I'm pretty excited about it.

The movie was written by West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin, so as a West Wing fan I'm pretty excited about that too. But Sorkin's writing is undoubtedly a contributor to the over-the-top melodrama (unsurprisingly decried by the actual Facebook creators) in the following trailer:



This trailer just begs to be parodied. And it was, beautifully, in the following Twitter spoof, "The Twit Network."



Better stop this before I come up with a fully-formed idea...

The Guesswork Theory Top Twenty

A good friend recently suggested that I create a list of my favorite posts to recommend to newcomers to this site. I thought it was a great idea. This post will be linked from my sidebar and updated regularly. Posts are in order from newest to oldest.

Why I'm Still a Christian
Rethinking Conservatism
The Jesus Pitch
Fear and Loathing in Middle America, or Brief Conversations with Tea Party Protesters
Thirty Thoughts on American Healthcare (Part II)
A Retrospective Letter to Myself on the War in Iraq
Anna and I Make Faces
Living the Simple Christian Life is HARD
Community Church and the Dunbar Number
Real-Time vs. Relevance: The Future of the World and the Web
End All Youth Groups NOW (Part II)
A Rule for My Unborn Son
The Sound of Inevitability
Tiller
Enjoy Him Forever
Haircut
Death to the Left Brain
Essential Truths of the Christian Faith
The New Hypocrisy
The Human Knowledge Archive

If there are any posts you think should be on this list, please let me know in the comments!

Why I'm Still a Christian

I was having a discussion with an agnostic friend of mine a few months ago when she commented that she wished there were some language to separate mean Christians from more loving ones. In the moment, I quickly agreed with her. "If I had a penny for every time I've felt that while watching some TV evangelist or sidewalk preacher make a mockery of what I believe, I'd... Well, I'd have a lot of pennies," I said.

This conversation came to mind recently when I read that author Anne Rice has in her words, "quit Christianity." Here is part of her explanation:

For those who care, and I understand if you don't: Today I quit being a Christian ... It's simply impossible for me to 'belong' to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten years, I've tried. I've failed. I'm an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else.

As I said below, I quit being a Christian. I'm out. In the name of Christ, I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life. In the name of ... Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen.

My faith in Christ is central to my life. My conversion from a pessimistic atheist lost in a world I didn't understand, to an optimistic believer in a universe created and sustained by a loving God is crucial to me. But following Christ does not mean following His followers. Christ is infinitely more important than Christianity and always will be, no matter what Christianity is, has been, or might become.

Anne Rice

Volumes could be written about the ideas Rice has presented here, but I hope to keep this to just a few brief thoughts.

When I read this story, I felt a deep resonance with it. I, along with almost every Christian I know and I would guess many others, have felt Anne's sentiment many times. We've felt love for Christ and disgust at his followers. We've felt embarrassment when some popular Christian figure utters hateful words or indignation when our non-Christian friends lump us in with some prevailing Christian stereotype. We've felt misrepresented and abused by organized religion. We've suffered hurt at the hands of other Christians and hated Christianity for it. We've seen hypocrisy over and over again by people who claim to follow Jesus and wanted nothing to do with them.

Once, during the beginning of my freshman year in college, I seriously considered the idea of just forming a whole new religion, with Jesus at its center. Abandon everything about organized "Christianity," including all history, names, and language. Call myself something completely different. Make a clean break.

But I couldn't. Because I felt Christ himself wouldn't allow it.

You see, all of Christianity is predicated on the notion that everyone, including Christians themselves, are sinful. We have a natural proclivity towards all the things I hated Christians for. And instead of abandoning sinners, Christ called us to love them. "There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Even the anti-gay, the anti-Democrat, the anti-science. I realized that much of my desire to abandon Christians was rooted in a belief that I wasn't like them, that I was less sinful than they were—but everything I knew about Christ told me I wasn't. When I realized this, I wrote about it in a post called "The New Hypocrisy."

But there's more to it than that. God designed us to live in community with one another. Community is messy. It is full of messy, hurt, confused people. And Christianity is the largest, oldest community we have. I'm not suggesting people should stay in communities or relationships when they become abusive or members refuse to repent, but I am suggesting that there is no perfect community, Christian or otherwise. I was never going to find a religion or belief-system full of perfect people by abandoning messy Christians. The world is woefully messed up, and throwing my lot in with a small group of humble Christians has gained me so much more than abandoning them ever could have. As Jascha Heifetz said, "No matter what side of the argument you are on, you always find people on your side that you wish were on the other."

There's even more to it than that. It hurts me to hear Anne Rice tell the American public once again that mainstream Christians are "anti-gay, anti-feminist, anti-artificial birth control, anti-Democrat, anti-secular humanism, anti-science, and anti-life." Some of the staunchest Democrats I know are Christians. Some of the brightest scientists I know are Christians. My own wife is a glorious, unbounded Christian feminist. I could go on. These wonderful people have had a profound impact on me—as a Christian. I know this probably goes without saying, that there are many Christians who are not "anti" these things. But it hurts to hear this contradicted publicly.

Despite all this, I can't blame Anne. I'm not blaming her. She's absolutely right when she says following Christ doesn't mean following his followers. Amen to that. I often feel pulled to abandon Christians, just like her. But I've also come to believe that the one thing this "quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group" has going for it—Christ's forgiveness and redemption—is worth aligning myself with. I choose to live in community with these quarrelsome folks because I know I am quarrelsome enough myself, and Christ's redemption is what binds us together, as it did our Christian ancestors. I understand and commiserate with Anne's decision, but I'll stay for now.

Update 8/28/10: Anne Rice shared this post on her Facebook page with the following comment: "One more commentary from Justin Scott on my decision to walk away from organized religion. Let me comment briefly. I don't feel alone. I think the Body of Christ is not limited to any one church, sect or group, or to those who call themselves 'Christians.' It includes all of us who believe in Him. (And I appreciate Justin's gentle and generous approach.)"

The Elmorelian Dispatches

There are a few names which appear regularly on this blog, and one of them is Nathan Elmore. Nathan was one of the elder/pastors at a dear church I attended for seven years, and our friendship has a profound and lasting impact on me.

So it gives me great joy to announce that this week Nathan has begun a blog. I encourage you to hop over to nathanfelmore.com, pull up a chair, and stay a while as Nathan explores those sacred meeting places between soccer and politics, wine and cheese, Africa and the West, film and art, Islam and Christianity, history and culture, God and man.

Here are a few posts of mine which Nathan has had a hand in:

The Jesus Pitch
Street
In Friendship with the Other
Finally, a Real Answer

Thoughts on the "Ground Zero Mosque" Controversy

1. To be clear, it is not really a Mosque and it is not really at Ground Zero.

2. It will cost $100 million to complete. Currently, $0 has been raised. Maybe we should all calm down for a second.

3. It is absolutely unquestionable that the First Amendment guarantees that those who want to build it have every right to do so.

4. It is questionable that the president needed to comment on it. I'm starting to feel that Obama doesn't choose his battles very well; sometimes I wonder if he feels he must provide leadership on every controversial social issue. I certainly don't believe that is what is needed from a president. I've heard pundits say that his administration is so overworked they are losing focus. This sounds possible.

5. The project is legal, but I'm not sure it is wise. Were it up to me, I wouldn't build it. I don't think it will serve as the healing, unifying space its leaders hope it will, especially in light of all the hoopla we've seen over the last few weeks. While it is true that the September 11th terrorists were no more Muslim than Eric Rudolph is Christian, many Americans cannot see this distinction. Historically, Christianity is still very close to us, while Islam is very "other." At a distance, Islam and the radical Islamic cult that produced Osama Bin Laden and his ilk converge in many minds. Though those crooked, twisted men made a blasphemous mockery of Islam when they attacked New York City, it is inescapable that they did so in the name of Allah. If the leaders of this project wish to unify Muslims and non-Muslims, they must conquer this convergence. They must proclaim the distinction. Is this project the best means to that end? I have a hard time believing it is.

6. The runaway feedback loop of our country's attempts at public discourse, whereby the media feeds the people's anger and their anger feeds the media, sickens my heart.

Quotes: Bush Fires, the Gospel, and a Cleft in the Walls of the World

"Earth's crammed with heaven,

And every common bush afire with God;"
Elizabeth Barret Browning

"Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words." St. Francis of Assisi 

"A cleft has opened in the pitiless walls of the world, and we are invited to follow our great Captain inside." C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory

M. Ward – "Never Had Nobody Like You"

Just got back from the most amazing vacation possible with Jared and Sarah Ray in sunny Seattle, WA (with a cameo by Knox Burnett!). They all assured me the weather is always as beautiful as it was last weekend. This song is a pretty good expression of the joy I felt throughout the entire trip.

M. Ward – "Never Had Nobody Like You"

Top 5 Things Which Cause Me to Lose Faith in Humanity

1. Reality television
2. Greeting card poetry
3. The continuing popularity of Betty Boop
4. Congress
5. YouTube comments

Cee Lo Green – "Georgia"

Cee Lo and I have similar feelings about our home state.

Anyvite: Like Evite, Only Awesome

I don't know about you, but I don't like getting emails from Evite. They don't contain any information about the event you've been invited to and you're required to visit Evite's ugly, confusing, ad-laden website to respond.

If you feel similarly (Time Magazine does), allow me to recommend Anyvite. It's dirt simple to use, the interface is a model of Web 2.0 cleanliness, and creating and sending an invitation is quick and effortless. It does everything you need an online invitation to do with no mess and no fuss, and looks good doing it.

Click here and never use Evite again: http://anyvite.com