Emergent Mid-Atlantic Conference

Peter Rollins told stories, pushed the envelope, and dialogued with John Franke. Here's a few highlights:

• subjective violence vs. objective violence
• retroactive need
• refusal to do pastoral care
• theology as the architecture we build in the aftermath of God
• we always get God wrong when we speak, but we are impelled to keep on talking
• interdependent particularity

And two questions it stimulated for me:

• If we tend to be attentive to subjective violence (the crime-fighting of Batman) while objective violence (the poverty-creation of Wayne Industries) is sublimated, might rejection of success (or criteria for success) enact a Girardian unveiling for churches or other bodies?
  
• Might a focus on embodied existence in general (and Gen 1:26 and Matt 25:40 in particular) provide a path beyond a framework in which finitude and fallenness form an impenetrable barrier to Truth?

Ecclesiological Desire and the Empire We Find Ourselves In

Evangelicals and Empire Discussion
New York Theological Seminary

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Citizens for Global Solutions is holding its 4th Annual Multimedia contest

Citizens for Global Solutions is holding its 4th Annual Multimedia contest for artists, designers, poets, activists and just about anyone interested in thinking about global issues and making some cool art. The top contenders will be published on our website.

They're looking for short multimedia pieces (flash animation, spoken word, digital video) that can inspire, amuse and activate people out there who believe that a better world is possible. You are welcome to work alone, in a team, or as part of a classroom project (but the cash prizes remain the same).

In 2003 the world awakened to the terrible tragedy unfolding in Darfur, Sudan. Five years into the armed conflict, the situation remains dire for civilians. The conflict has claimed over a million lives, and the people there are still living in abject poverty. This year Citizens for Global Solutions would like to re-focus attention upon this crisis to remind the world that we still have a duty to help the Sudanese people. The Sudanese government continues to disregard its international humanitarian law obligations and flout UN Security Council resolutions, including the ban on offensive military over-flights, the disarming of the Janjaweed militia, and cooperation with the International Criminal Court at the Hague.

This contest is all about communicating your thoughts and ideas on the conflict:

* Feel free to focus on one specific aspect of the Darfurian case that interests you, since this will give you the most creative space to work in.

* You can also choose to expand the theme to include the larger issues of war and genocide. Remember, this theme is there mainly as a guidance tool; you have complete leeway in deciding which direction you will take when planning for this contest.

* As with all previous Flash and Multimedia contests, the yearly theme is considered elective. You can choose to tackle world hunger and poverty, environmental issues, nuclear weapons & the arms trade, or a different global issue of your choice. Simply choose a GLOBAL ISSUE that you care about, and give us your SOLUTION(s)!