Read and Learn -- Popular Culture Visit

In the last week two things have really caught my eye. The first was Kings a new NBC series based on the life of King David. The second was the current Time magazine cover story called, Ten Ideas Changing the World Right Now. What I found so interesting about the Time magazine story was that Idea #3 is -- The New Calvinism.

I can't say that I am very impressed with either of them, frankly. That isn't really the point. (By the way, if you missed Kings it is now available free on www.hulu.com. Another piece of pop culture to get used to.) I am kind of impressed with NBC's choice in Kings and I find the choices being made to make it work interesting. I also think both of these things present a fabulous opportunity to talk about faith, religion and even that hard to deal with Old Testament and doctrinal stuff.

Although, so far, my favorite part has been the reviews of Kings. Being a life-long member of the Bible belt, I am really astonished at how little some people know of the life of King David and how unwilling they are to check the facts before writing a review destined for a major newspaper. Check out this review by Tim Goodman from San Francisco. This author clearly knows the basics of the David and Goliath story. He also clearly doesn't know that it is part of a whole, bigger story.

I thought it might be interesting to see what parts of these stories you find are the most interesting and how you plan on using them to address pop culture. So, comments anyone?

JusticeSeeker
JusticeSeekerOK@aol.com

King David on NBC Sunday night

I am not trying to obscure Adam's very interesting post below. I just wanted to put up an alert that this Sunday evening at 8:00 ET/PT NBC is premiering a series that is a modern day retelling of the story of King David. The actual review of it that ran in USA Today this morning is not great. However, I found this secondary article about the Biblical history behind the modern story (and the interpretive choices made) to be quite interesting. Not everyone here will agree with the interpretive calls made. The series may not be worth watching, but the line about the censors backing down every time an OT chapter and verse was cited is priceless.

If you watch it, let's talk about it here next Thursday. Oh, the name of the series is, Kings.

JusticeSeeker
JusticeSeekerOK@aol.com

Sunday Devotion: Guitar Man

One of today's lectionary texts is Psalm 33

Psalm 33:2 Praise the LORD with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.

Since I was a teenager, I've always enjoyed playing the guitar. I started it when my sister gave up her guitar because she wanted to play the cornet. I took her books and taught myself, which is why I have my own individual style. I wish I had learned to read music along with it, but in those days, I was just content to strum along, making up my own tunes, rhythms and chords.

When I became a Christian, I started to write songs and was given the opportunity to play them on Wednesday nights at the 428 Gospel Club in Glasgow, Scotland. I've still got some copies of the original songs, but when I look back at some of them, I cringe because the lyrics are hokey, the rhythms irregular, and the rhymes are terrible. I guess I was naive and didn't know any better.

It makes me wonder how David got started in the song business. His first audiences were the sheep of his father's flocks, so I guess it didn't matter what his early songs were like. But I am glad he persevered and, that as he grew in faith, his songs became richer and deeper in thought, expression, and love of God. Perhaps one bright day, in the Elysian Fields of Heaven, he'll put on a concert and we'll get to hear the original language, melodies and rhythms of the psalms. That will be something worth waiting in line for, even if it takes forever.

Prayer: Lord God, we thank You for creating music and song, praise and psalms. We thank You for David's expressions of faith, which help us in times of trouble, fear, worry, and weakness. Enable us to express our faith in words of love, prayers of peace, and songs of thanksgiving. In Jesus' Name, we pray. Amen.

Stushie is the writer of the daily devotional blog "Heaven's Highway."