How Old Is the Old-Time Religion?

Scholars challenge David Bebbington in The Advent of Evangelicalism.

Reviewed by Collin Hansen

Michael Jackson, American Idol

First he charmed us. Then he bored us. Then he wowed us. Then he sickened us. Finally, mercifully, he left us.

The Michael Jackson story has been told and retold ad nauseam since the once-and-future superstar died apparently of a drug overdose last week. Like the narrative of Elvis-like a train wreck-the rest of us look away and cannot. Our morbid fascination turns our heads as we gaze with horror at what the man, and we, had become. An American idol before there was such a term, Michael Jackson drank deeply from the well of stardom and came up parched.

The original MJ was the smiling, sparkling, diminuative centerpiece of a gifted musical group driven to stardom by an abusive father. Then he went away for a while as we looked to other entertainments.

When he grew up, Jackson no longer needed the Jackson Four and morphed into a pop icon that, if not quite rivaling Elvis and the Beatles in ground-breaking originality, grabbed U.S. celebrity culture by the throat and shook it for every loose nickel. Jackson had it all: the gravity-defying moves, the white glove, the shades, and, still, that piercing voice.

And talk about morphing. Jackson, whether from a desire to be a crossover figure to white audiences or out of a profound desire to escape his blackness, began to change before our ever-gazing eyes. The skin lost its pigment, the hair its kinks, the nose its shape. But the result was not a black man who now looked Caucasian. It was a man who had become something less, something disturbing.

Like the Joker emerging from a vat of acid, the new Michael Jackson was a horror to behold, a caricature of self-absorbed, out-of-control Hollywood celebrity. What Michael wanted, Michael got, no matter how awful. And there was no one to deny him.

And the ugliness spread. As Michael built his creepy Neverland home, stories of his unnatural affection for children who were not his own began to seep out. Mostly he was able to buy the silence of the victims and their parents, through money or his fading charm.

Then came his addictions and a desperate attempt to recapture his youth and stardom. What came instead was a premature death. His corpse was not yet cold and we heard reports of his enslavement to Oxycontin and Demarol in a futile effort to escape the pain. From self-loathing? Guilt? Too many workouts or plastic surgeries?

Then come the vultures. Race-huslers Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are sighted. Jamie Foxx says Jackson belongs to the black race. Like the case of Princess Di, coverage of the "event" is nonstop, as are the questions about his death. Everyone is represented in the celebrity mosh pit-except his victims.

Michael Jackson was an American original. Until the next one.

Two Cheers for Team Obama

The latest from the Washington Post:

The Obama administration, fearing a battle with Congress that could stall plans to close Guantanamo, has drafted an executive order that would reassert presidential authority to incarcerate terrorism suspects indefinitely, according to three senior government officials with knowledge of White House deliberations.

Such an order would embrace claims by former president George W. Bush that certain people can be detained without trial for long periods under the laws of war.

Obama advisers are concerned that bypassing Congress could place the president on weaker footing before the courts and anger key supporters, the officials said.

Several officials said there is concern in the White House that the administration may not be able to close the facility by the president's January deadline.

Once again, facing the responsibility to actually govern rather than simply bloviate, the Obama administration has reversed course and embraced a national security policy of the Bush administration. Somewhere in Texas, a much-maligned man can be forgiven for a tiny smirk.

Healthcare Cost Control

LaVonne Neff has a helpful approach to keeping healthcare costs down.

Our current health-care system resembles free enterprise like a mugging resembles a trip to the mall. When we go to the doctor, the pharmacist, or the hospital, it's "your money or your life." We consumers usually have no idea how much any health-care service or product will cost until the bill arrives--we only know that we need help, and so we pay whatever is asked. Comparison shopping, an essential feature of budget management, is impossible.

So what if we figured out a way to make comparison shopping not only possible, but easy?

What if doctors' offices were required to post a list of their most common procedures, with prices for each?

Here's my response, which I posted to her site, Lively Dust:

LaVonne,

I like this idea a lot, though I'm not sure it goes far enough. Yes, doctors and other medical people ought to post their prices, but what is the incentive for users of their services to care, if the insurance company is just picking up the tab? Insurers do have the "reasonable and customary" limits, but these usually don't directly affect consumers.

I'd like to see medical savings accounts as part of your solution. That way, users have a direct incentive to keep their costs down, because what they don't spend, they keep.

Personally, I also think insurance needs to be de-tethered from employment to help it become more of a consumer good, subject more to the market.

Another thing: As physicians post their prices, consumers also need to be able to see their quality: satisfaction ratings, death rates for certain procedures (!), complaints, etc. Seems that with the Internet we should have more of this kind of info than we do.

Thanks for getting the discussion started.

Stan

Catching Up with History

Over the weekend, after calls from members of both parties to say something clear and forceful about the unrest in Iran, the Grand Orator finally opened up. In a CBS interview about the crackdown against citizens protesting a stolen election, Barack Obama finally said, "I want to repeat it that we stand with those who would look to peaceful resolution of conflict, and we believe that the voices of people have to be heard, that that's a universal value that the American people stand for and this administration stands for."

No, it doesn't quite rank with "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall," but it's a start.

While Ronald Reagan is remembered for facing down the "evil empire," George H.W. Bush for driving Saddam out of Kuwait, Bill Clinton for intervening in the former Yugoslavia, and W. for ousting the Taliban and Saddam after 9/11, the current occupant of the Oval Office seems destined to be remembered for facing down Big Tobacco. While Obama fiddles, Tehran burns.

Why has Obama been so slow to take a stand? The former presidents stood for freedom, but that's not the first thing that comes to mind when pondering the current administration. Obama stands not for freedom (though he's not personally opposed to it, unless you make a lot of money, smoke, drive a junker, or do other things not favored by the federal goivernment). President Obama's passions, such as they are, are focused elsewhere: reregulation. Inspiring, isn't it?

Obama has also staked much of his political reputation on his ability to talk with dictators, such as Iran's Ahmadinejad. If the people of Iran throw the guy out, then who will be there for Obama to charm before the cameras?

Sad to see, Obama seems to be sprinting to catch up with history. Perhaps he should heed the following words, which seem prescient today:

Sixty years of Western nations excusing and accommodating the lack of freedom in the Middle East did nothing to make us safe -- because in the long run, stability cannot be purchased at the expense of liberty. As long as the Middle East remains a place where freedom does not flourish, it will remain a place of stagnation, resentment, and violence ready for export. And with the spread of weapons that can bring catastrophic harm to our country and to our friends, it would be reckless to accept the status quo.

Who said them? George W. Bush.

Stan on Filedby.com

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The Spiritual Uses of Unemployment

This is the three-minute talk I presented at College Church on June 14, 2009. A longer version for print will be coming.

By Stan Guthrie © 2009

On May 19, which I now call “Black Tuesday,” my bosses gave me the news. One was fighting back tears, the other glum. Because of economic conditions, my job was being eliminated. As I tried to process what was happening through my sudden mental numbness, it began to sink in that I, my wife of 22 years, and our three children were suddenly facing a very uncertain future.

My story is far from unique. About 8.5 million people in the United States today are receiving unemployment insurance, and the jobless rate has grown from less than 8 percent in January to 9.4 percent in June. Some economists predict it could reach 11 percent by next summer.

Now I’m no expert on joblessness (and hope never to become one). But as a follower of Jesus, I am beginning to learn some vital spiritual lessons—whether I want to or not. Here are five. Perhaps they will help you, too.

First, respond like a Christian. What difference does Christ make when the chips are down? Can people see any difference in me? Am I willing to follow Jesus wherever he leads—even to the unemployment line?

When the late Tony Snow learned that he had contracted cancer, he heard a quiet voice whisper, “You have been called.” I too have heard this voice. Unemployment, every bit as much as employment, is a calling.

Second, resolve not to become angry or bitter. When “the worst thing that could happen” happens, God is still there.

Third, rest in the truth that God comforts us in our afflictions so that we can comfort others in theirs.

Fourth, receive gratefully the kindness of others. Friends across the street are picking up low-cost groceries for us at their church. Another bought and installed more memory for our ailing computer. Others pray, buy lunch, share job leads, and help with faxes and resumes.

We are learning in ways large and small what it means to be members of Christ’s body.

Fifth, reach out to God and expect his blessing. God has promised to provide what we need. That might involve a better job with higher pay (though again it might not). If it does, praise his goodness; but if, in his mercy, it doesn’t, praise his goodness anyway. The blessing may simply be more of him, and that will be more than enough.